I won the contest!!!

[Cosmos Human]

The contest is called "Lighten Up". The Lake County News Herald newspaper ran the contest. The first weigh-in was the last Sunday in January. I started out at 185. Yesterday at weigh-in I was 136.4. My goal was 135, a little short. But, I won! I lost over 26% of my weight.

 

The entire article will be published with before and after photos next Sunday and I will provide a link. I will also be on a local radio show in the next few weeks. I am rid of diabetes and high blood pressure. My BMI is now 20. My body fat went from nearly 38% to 25%. I will continue to work out and gain muscle and strength to lower my body fat.

 

I followed a high protein low carb diet and work out program. I allowed "cheat meals"...trust me I did!

 

I went clothes shopping and Old Navy "Diva" skinny jeans in size 6 look fantastic!

 

Here is a link to the first article:

 

http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2012/01/15/news/nh4970113.txt

Edited July 29, 2012 by Cosmos Human

[road2freedom]

That's awesome. Congrats!

[punkin49]

The contest is called "Lighten Up". The Lake County News Herald newspaper ran the contest. The first weigh-in was the last Sunday in January. I started out at 185. Yesterday at weigh-in I was 136.4. My goal was 135, a little short. But, I won! I lost over 26% of my weight.

 

The entire article will be published with before and after photos next Sunday and I will provide a link. I will also be on a local radio show in the next few weeks. I am rid of diabetes and high blood pressure. My BMI is now 20. My body fat went from nearly 38% to 25%. I will continue to work out and gain muscle and strength to lower my body fat.

 

I followed a high protein low carb diet and work out program. I allowed "cheat meals"...trust me I did!

 

I went clothes shopping and Old Navy "Diva" skinny jeans in size 6 look fantastic!

 

Here is a link to the first article:

 

http://www.news-hera...s/nh4970113.txt

CONGADULATION little Ms. Skinny Jeans

[SplashMom]

Wow! Congratulations on hanging in there and doing it. I'm sure you feel better about the way you look AND you must be thrilled that you're not dealing with high blood pressure or diabetes any longer. YAY for you!

[punkin49]

CONGRADULATIONS little Ms. Skinny Jeans

[Krish]

Good job and you should be proud of your hard work. Since you are near or at your goal, make a new goal to maintain your weight around 130 and 139. Never let this get out of your hand.. ever again.

 

We are all proud of you. We know how hard it is to lose weight and you did it.

 

ETA: I remember you saying that your local gym gave you free membership. If that is true, you should give them some free publicity. Its win-win for you and them.

Edited July 29, 2012 by Krish

[dawniedawn67]

That is awesome! You should be sooooo proud of yourself!!

[Cosmos Human]

The manager at the gym is checking with the owner and he thinks I'll be able to continue to work out there.

 

Danger Will Robinson: I'm going for dinner at my parents house tonight...will be a huge challenge. Mom is making world famous eggplant parm..the lite version and roast chicken. I will eat small portions.

 

Also I went to Sams Club. They now carry Eddie Bauer clothes. I bought a few long sleeve V-necks ($9.98) in size Medium! They have the EB ruffled tops as well...ruffles don't look well on me.

 

OT: Also I though my cell battery was dying as it didn't charge up last night. I plugged it in the car charger and it charges, so the wall charger has failed. It is a USB cable to a wall charger, the cable works fine it must be the wall thingy. I tried different wall plugs, all the same, its that doo-hickey thingy. So I went and bought a new one this morning setting me back a little less than ten dollars. I installed an app killer to save my battery further.

 

I am going to do my best to keep the weight below 140. I need to burn more fat and do more intensive trainings. I have a lot of lose skin and my insurance company considers that cosmetic...but I am not ready for any type of surgery now as I am getting ready for grad school.

 

I won a month of training and nutritional guidance; which I really need since my insurance eliminated in-person visits with a registered dietician, only 1-800 calls to who knows where, but it's better than nothing.

 

I wanted to thank everyone here at CB for your support and well-wishes!

[jolla]

That's amazing. Congratulations!!!

[beli]

Congrats!

[ArchonInitiative]

Fanstastic!

 

Don't worry too much about the dietician thing. You already have an idea of how to control your portions.

 

Keep it up.

[Cosmos Human]

I need your help. I am now pretty much "fashioned challenged"!

 

Nothing fits right. I need clothes for work that are considered "business casual". Like Dockers, black straight lef pants...I hate baggy pants, especially at the thigh, knee, ankle. I know I look best in straight legs. All I have now are baggy capri pants...for summer. I have one pair of size 6 Old Navy jeans skinny "Diva" (perfect fit), and one pair of size 7 skinny (used) and a 29" pair of "sweetheart (used) style" jeans, a slight flare. It is not too easy to find used business casual clothes in good shape to wear to work. I am deathly afraid to bring home bugs hidden in clothes. I was lucky to find the 2 last pair at a used clothing store in great shape, almost look new.

 

Sure I can wear a smaller size, but I feel like I look so fat in tighter fitting clothes. I am not used to wearing something that shows off my figure. How do I nominate myself for "What Not to Wear:? I would be their biggest problem I guess. One look at me and they would say "A dog has more hope", trust me! My self-esteem wains....

 

I was able to get at Sams Club Eddie Bauer long sleeve t-shirts in size medium for $9.98...they are going fast. they also have a ruffle style as well..I don't like ruffles.

 

Any fashion help or advice will be gladly accepted! I can take criticism.

 

I lost almost 20" off my waist! I went from a very tight 14 to a 6 in six months.

Edited August 1, 2012 by Cosmos Human

[deluxmary2000]

First of all - CONGRATULATIONS!! That's very impressive, and you must have worked very hard.

 

Secondly, I highly recommend "New York and Company" for reasonably-priced business casual clothes. Their pants come in petite/average/tall, so I can always find pants that fit, and they're always on sale. If you check out their website they have a ton of straight-legged pants on sale for $23, and they are also running a "$50 off of $100 purchases" right now so you could theoretically get 5 pairs of nice pants for $65. Their tops and dresses are also nice.

 

Also, I'm not a fan of Old Navy (most of their clothes don't fit me right), but a girl I work with wears their dresses a lot (like this one: http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=49426&vid=1&pid=898192&scid=898192022) and pairs them with tights or a light jacket and it looks cute.

 

Anyway, I can understand not being comfortable wearing tighter clothing, but you want to make sure you're wearing clothes that truly fit. They shouldn't be baggy, but they also shouldn't squeeze and cause unnecessary "rolls". What I've noticed A LOT is that when someone loses a lot of weight they sometimes go overboard and buy clothes that are TOO SMALL. Wearing clothes that are too small actually make you look fatter because it causes rolls, etc. Someone who only weighs 98 lbs can still look "lumpy" if they're wearing the wrong size clothes. Don't fall into that trap! (Note - I'm not saying that's what you're doing, just saying to be careful and make sure you're buying your actual size).

[TeeSharice]

The majority of my work clothes come from Old Navy & The Gap.... I live for wrap dresses and funky colored tights.... I go up & down on the scale like a public elevator.... these types of dresses flatter and I can get away with pulling the belt tighter or loser to accomodate

 

 

 

For work pants, I think all of the ones I currently wear come from The Gap.... Express used to be pretty good but I havent shopped there in a long time

 

 

I need some new clothes for fall....wish ya were near, we could go storm the clearance racks together

[Cosmos Human]

I will check into NY&C. I hope there is a local store. I know about the rolls, as my belly has a lot of lose skin and I'm doing my best to firm up but the trainer says I could do 1000+ crunches and it won't go away.

[Cosmos Human]

Link to the final article..and my photo!

 

http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2012/08/05/news/doc501dfd5819d5d529285219.txt

[hegemony]

congrats!!!

[UGAFan]

You look AMAZING! Congratulations!

[Cosmos Human]

Thanks everyone! I feel great...albeit I'm at work and I hate Mondays! Now the hard part is...keeping it off. What can I really eat and maintain and how many times a week do I need to work out at the gym. I did the elliptical yesterday for 30 minutes and burned 200 calories. Remember the smaller you are the less calories you burn on the machines. I can't...not even return to my old bad habits...no Red velvet cake Blue bunny Ice cream! Damn, the commercials look so tempting!

 

Update on almonds....they have been upgraded...they don't have 160 calories per serving...now they have 120-130...I saw this on the news...so it must be true! LOL!

 

Seriously now...I can't wait until I speak with the 1-800 dietician from my health insurance company...I left the message last Monday and still waiting to hear.

 

Someone said I should try WW for maintenance. I don't know. I now weigh 135. Will they tell me to get lost?