Friday, June 26, 2009

Who am I? Who are you? Time to be Brutally Honest!

Name: Team Six Pack
Age: 27
Birthday: May 13th (That's right, I share a birthday with Stephen Colbert!)
Current Weight: 209lbs
Height: 5'9"

Weight on April 6, 2008 the day I decided to make a change: 275lbs.

Hello out there to whoever is reading.  I am writing this blog with the hope that if you're a follow dork like me and you've been struggling with your weight like I have my entire life you might be inspired or motivated to make a change as well.

It only takes one person to make a difference and it takes one step to start weight loss!!

Here's a little bit about me. I have been over weight my entire life. I don't remember a time when I was small. Genetics was not on my side, I was the only chubby child in my family. Growing up with two rail thin siblings was not easy. I was tipping the scales by the time I graduated high school close to 300 pounds. (5'9").

When I went to college my weight dropped drastically because my diet changed and being away from the large meals and junk food at my parents house helped. I transferred and went to a college in a large city and didn't have a car. So all that walking to get here and there brought my weight down even more. I think my smallest in college was 225.

Unfortunately, after I graduated I couldn't stay in that environment of constant walking and moved back into my parents house (in a suburb) to find a job and help get my feet back on the ground. I didn't even realize what I did to cause this, but in two years my weight jumped back up to 274lbs. None of my old "cool" jeans fit, and neither did my favorite shirt. I started buying knits that I could stretch out. I even said (out loud to a friend) at one point that I could never be skinny, I didn't think it was possible so I would just have to learn to be happy how I was. Looking back I have no idea why I was so self-defeating with out even trying, but I'm realizing now that negativity was just a very large part of my life and I hope to eliminate those feelings bit by bit.


This is me at a friends wedding in 2006 almost a year after I finished college.
I was a size 20-22. :(


I visited my doctor last April and shared my concerns about my weight and also my concerns for the future. If I didn't lose weight now what was going to happen to me? Would I always be like this? I was constantly reading articles about future health risks to myself if I remained the way I was. So that's what made me decide that I need to take control of my life and change my habits.

So I'm still in the middle of this crazy journey but I feel like I've made many steps to far. I feel better, healthier. I still doubt myself sometimes, but I will only look forward from now on. I won't ever revert back to how I used to be. My first goal was to lose 85 pounds and see how I look at that point and decide if I need more work. I've decided now after 65lbs of loss I can shoot for 100lbs or more. Wish me luck! I also want to live a healthier, natural and more active lifestyle.


This is me in June of 2009. I've lost 65lbs, and I'm a size 14-16!! :)


That's me rock climbing something I never dreamed of doing a year ago!
Never Stop Reaching for the Top!


This blog is going to be about what it takes to reach your fitness goals! I'm only halfway there, but I'll reach the top one day! I'm going to talk about what I've done so far with my diet and exercise to lose weight and what I'm going to continue doing to reach my full fitness potential. I hope maybe I can meet some folks with the same goals and we can all support each other!

So if you're reading this blog I want to hear from you... I want to know who you are! We can't kid ourselves about weight loss anymore, I did that for 26 years of my life. It's going to take hard work and determination, but I'm proof that it's not impossible!!

4 comments:

tasha said...

Name: Tasha =]
Age: 26
Birthday: May 29, 1983 (I share a birthday with Justin Chon...uh..yay?)
Current Weight: 136lbs
Height: 5'2 and 1/2 (hey...the half matters!)

Weight on May 26, 2006 the day I came home from the hospital after having my last child: 180lbs.

I have an "athletic" build.(Due to 13+ years of gymnastics.)I'm not slender by any means. I'm short and curvy.

Birthing kids does irreversible things to one's body. So, it was almost impossible to lose all my baby weight between my two kids. After, having my son 3 years ago, I've struggled to get to where I am now. Mentally and physically.

What kickstarted me was nursing. I lost ALOT of my weight by nursing for 7 months. But, I was still left with 20lbs and alot of muscle that needed to be toned. I quickly found out that my pre-baby workouts were NOT gonna cut it. I wasn't really losing weight at first and I was getting bulkier. That NEVER happened before. I thought about the doctor/pill thing too, but I have mitral valve prolapse and THAT idea got squashed real fast! So, I sought out a personal trainer at a local gym to help me.

I went for 3 sessions, and he showed me a basic and easy workout plan specifically for me. I no longer could do any heavy muscle training, because I already had larger well worked muscles under 4 years of pregnancy weight. So, my workouts now consist of lots an lots of cardio via elliptical machine(which I despise)and light weight training with multiple reps. I do this about 3-4 times a week.

My plan is to just be healthy. I don't wanna be a size 4 and sure abs sound nice, but babies stretch skin and it's never gonna happen. So I'm happy with my size 8. I don't have pronounced muscle tone like I used to. I'm soft and less flabbier then when I first started. I'm content with me now. Sure I could probably lose alot more weight and inches, but I like food. ALOT. I can't stand anything diet. Gross. I do watch what I eat, mainly portion control. So really, I have to workout in order to enjoy the food I love so much. Works for me.

I'm really glad you started this blog! I'll be here to cheer you on the rest of the way! As long as you promise to keep me motivated on the horrid-elliptical-death-trap with more half-naked pics of Kellan. =]

Team Six Pack said...

Woohoo!! Hey Tasha! You know what's funny I used to say I was 5'8 &3/4" so I didn't have to admit i was so tall, but last time I had a physical my Dr. put 5'9" on my chart so I have to fess up to my height. I'm a kitten heel (or flats) kinda girl.

I have to give you major snaps because you have kinds and still found time to exercise. I don't have kids, I was just plain LAZY before.

I know I'm never going to be petite either (hello, I'm as tall as most men) but I figure if I can be a size 10 I'll be happy. I really just want to be fit and tone, I don't care what pant size comes with that.

I promise to try and find as many good shirtless pics of kellan as I can to keep you motivated :) That man needs to get crackin' on more photo shoots for us because recent ones have NOT been shirless... boo!

But you stay motivated on that eliptical, I need motivation to get up a 4:45am tomorrow and go to day 2 of bootcamp... everytime I think about waking up that early I cringe, but I always feel better after the work out.

Jenny Jerkface said...

Squee!! I am SO excited I found this!! You've been holding out on me, missy! LOL!

And congrats to you! You look fabulous. :)

I'm just over 5 feet tall. (My big mouth makes up for my height - I believe the term for this is Napoleon complex. Or asshole) and my weight has always fluctuated. I did weight watchers about six years ago and have managed to maintain my goal weight but something weird happened when I hit 30. I got really... squishy. So I'm trying to tone up a bit.

I think your blog will be a great motivator for all of us. I love it!!

:)

Team Six Pack said...

LOL JJ, I'm just the opposite, tall and pretty quiet in person sometimes. I guess I save my vulgarity and insanity for our blog :)

That's so awesome that you've maintained for 6 years! I can't wait till I reach my goal weight and then down the road I want to be able to say I've maintained for 6 years!

Once I get the hang out this boot camp thing I just started I might have suggestions for toning exercises that you can do with out weights or bands.