Susan's Epic Weight Loss 11/04/16

Weight: 298.4  (1.8 lbs lost since yesterday)
Workout: Bodyflex

Measurements (starting):

Neck: 16 1/4"
Bust: 50 1/4"
Bicep: 16"
Upper Abs: 53"
Lower Abs: 54"
Hips: 56 1/2 "
Thigh: 28"
Calf: 17"


Breakfast:  Nothing

Lunch:  Shari's Triple Decker Club Sandwich; Side salad w/ranch on the side (no croutons): 700 calories

Dinner:  Almond Chicken (281 cal) , Sweet & Sour Chicken (276 calories), Beef & Broccoli (338 calories), Egg drop soup (66 calories):  Total calories: 861 calories   Diet Soda to drink

Total Calories:  1561


Synopsis:  Not as much energy as yesterday, but I've been up since 5 a.m. and I didn't even try to take a nap today.  Plus, I never hit the treadmill.

On another interesting note, I only ate twice today, and aside from lunch time, which was around 11:30 am (because I never had time for breakfast), I wasn't hungry at all. In fact, I didn't finish by breakfast or dinner.

Went to the movies tonight (Hacksaw Ridge is AMAZING, by the way) and didn't buy anything to eat.  I think that's the first time EVER we've never bought food at the movies.  It's always been a ritual until today.  Woohoo! It's all about change, baby!

Xylacore: The First Tester Product I'm PAYING To Use Again

So, if you haven't noticed, I'm a professional product tester.  I test lots and lots of products.  This month alone, I've tested more than 50 different items.  Don't get me wrong.  I don't test just anything.  I choose each item because I am looking for something, and I'm hoping the items will be 'the one'.

For instance, one of the products I have spent the last month testing is called Xylacor.  I'm in the middle of a major weight-loss journey (160 lbs, to be exact), and I have been looking for things that aid me in the process.  I'm big into supplements and usually shy away from the all-in-one fat burning pills because I'm afraid of the side effects.

I don't know what came over me (maybe it's the hot pink pills that drew me in!) but when I saw Xylacor, I wanted to try it out.

It took a week before I realized what was happening.  I wasn't having cravings any more.  For the longest times cravings were one of the hardest things for me to control.  I am BIG into pizza and pop.  Like I eat pizza 2 to 3 times a week or more, and something equivalent to a 2-liter of diet soda per day.  It's a family thing.  Most of my family is like that. And, quite frankly, it shows on more than one of us.

A few days later, I realized that not only was I not craving sweets or pizza, I wasn't hungry all the time.  In fact, There was an entire week there I kept forgetting to EAT.  For a fat girl, that's unheard of.  You don't just forget to eat.  In fact, we're more apt to forget to STOP eating.  But I had days where I would be entering in my food for the day and realized I'd only had 800 calories.  Not good.  And yet oddly exciting.  How many times do you tell your spouse, "Yeah, I'll come to bed just as soon as I find something to eat.  I've gotta get my calories in for the day."

Yesterday I was 286.8.  Hmm I foresee my period coming on!
You'll see the difference in my belly.
It isn't sticking out beyond my boobs as much as they used to.
  Baby steps...

Then I noticed the extra energy.  I work nights, so I average about 4 hours sleep per night, which meant when my son took a nap during the day, so did I.  But this last month, I haven't felt as strong a need to sleep.  Now I can usually get through the day without crashing mid-day.  I'm not jittery, or hyper.  I just...don't crash.

The most exciting thing, though, has been the inches lost.  Oh my gosh! The inches lost around my belly!  It's frustrating to take pictures because they don't do the loss any justice.

What I can tell you is that I've lost 6 1/4" from my upper abs, 3" from my hips, and 1" from my waist (I just started measuring last week).  My stomach 'flap' has shrunk enough that I can see a difference when I look in the mirror, and I'm down a pant size.


I talked to my husband about the difference and he's noticed too.  In fact, he wanted to know if there's a male version of this pill (which there is).

I can honestly tell you that after nearly 4 weeks of using this pill as a part of my weight loss program, I am thoroughly convinced of the quality of Xylacor.  It truly does what it claims to do. And it is the very first product I've received for free, that I will be PAYING to use again because I like it that much.  Plus I will be buying a bottle of the male version for my husband.


P.S.  Don't forget what I said about the appetite!  Make sure you get enough calories each day to avoid putting your body into starvation mode!!

Week 3 Weigh In: Me and My Man Legs

It is week three and I'm proud to announce that I'm down to 288.8 lbs!  I'm in the 80's, baby!!!!  That means I'm -15 lbs already. 

I measured myself to see how the changes have been thus far, measuring my neck, arm, bust, upper abs, waist, hips, thigh and calf.  on Week two, I'd gained 2 lbs and gained 2 1/4 inches overall.  This week, I'm down 7.8 lbs from last week and down 4 1/4" overall, most notably -2 1/4" in my upper abs (yeah, baby!!).  Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.  

The only body part that increased was my calves.  And this was the second week in a row they've grown in size.  Yeah, I'm definitely getting my man-calves back - which is why you will NEVER see me doing any calf exercises.  Actually, when I'm in shape, I have man legs period.  

In high school, my legs used to rival my older brother's who had played soccer for 13 years. I had to buy my pants to fit my legs which meant my waist always had a gigantic gap. My legs & hips are why I identify myself as 'pear shaped'.  They're also why I rarely eat red meat, instead preferring fish or chicken because red meat has a tendency to bulk my legs (Not my arms.  My arms are scrawny!).

Regardless, it all needs work right now.  So, I'm not too worried.  It won't be long before I'll be buying pants to be fitting my legs instead of my gut again.  This time I'll revel in the experience!

Bleacher Laps: Feeling the Burn

I've been working out pretty hard trying to get back into shape.  I've been playing with the same 4 or 5 lbs for the last week or two, so I decided to mix things up a bit and hit the bleachers for some bleacher laps intermixed with walking around the track while my oldest son worked with his track throwing coach.

I put in 6 bleacher laps and a mile around the track before the 90 degree F weather finally caught up with me and I had to stop. I think I worked out for a good 45 minutes in the sun.

The interesting thing I noticed as I was working out was that my lungs never got to that point where I was gasping for breath.  The majority of my effort was in the legs.  They were burning and cramping something fierce.

Yes, I was doing stairs.  And yes, I stayed hydrated.  An interesting tidbit about being so severely overweight is that underneath all of that fat (at least there is for me) there's a bunch of muscle already.  You NEED that muscle to heft around all this extra weight.

For example, halfway through my bleacher laps, an athletic guy showed up and started running the bleachers.  Good for him!  He's in shape and he's putting forth an effort.  And one day I hope to be running the bleachers just like him.  The difference right now, though, is that I'm traversing the bleachers with 20 lb weights on each leg.  20 lbs of FAT covering the muscle I possess.  With each step, I must lift that extra 20 lbs.

Consider this for a moment.  How far do you think that same man (or a women) would get with a 160 lb person on their back?  Would they be able to run very far before they get winded, or body parts begin to ache?  Could they even do the bleacher laps with someone on their back? That's what it's like for me.  I'm an athletic person with 160 lbs of dead weight hanging off my body. And until I lose that weight, my muscles will constantly be burning and aching, slowly lessening as ounce by ounce, that dead weight is burned into nothingness.

So, this morning, when I began to walk down the stairs and felt my quads screaming in agony, I smiled.  Because for the first time since I began, I was feeling a GOOD pain.  Lactic acid had built up and my body was building more muscle.

I have surpassed the hardest part of the 'torture' phase of my weight loss faster than anticipated.  Now I can begin the burn & build stage:  Burn the fat and build the muscle.  Yes!!!!!

 

Starting Point: Susan's Epic Weight Loss Measurements.

I should have done this sooner, but things became crazy around here.  Better late than never though, right?




OK, as of today, this is my Starting weight: 294.8 lbs (However, I started at 303.2 lbs)





















Fat: 55.8%
Water: 32.2 %

Neck: 16"
Bust: 49 1/4"
Arm: 16 3/4"
Waist: 50"
Lower Abs: 56"
Hips: 57"
Thigh: 24 3/4"
Calf: 17"

Pant Size: 24/26 Women
Shirt: 2XL
Shoes: Size 11 or 10 WW

I will try to add new pics and measurements every 10-20 lbs.  Let the games begin!!