My Struggle with Weight Loss #50_before50

Last Updated on December 11, 2019 by Jody Halsted

My #1 goal and the whole catalyst for #50_before50 is weight loss.

See all #50_before50 goals here

I weighed myself this morning.

It's something I usually only do on Saturday after sticking to my closely monitored eating plan all week. I'm not sure what prompted it today. I weighed 190.5 lbs, down 1 lb since Saturday.

When I first thought about starting this #50_before50 project I weighed nearly 200 pounds.

That's a number that surprises most people who know me. I am short- 1/4″ under 5'5″. And relatively strong from years of activity and weight training. (Though definitely not as strong as I once was.)

As I mentioned previously, my body is a ‘classic hourglass' shape. This does a pretty good job of disguising weight because, really, all people notice are the exaggerated curves.

I have also learned how to dress my body to cover flaws and enhance my assets. Because, let's be honest, fashion isn't made for most women.

I'll go more into this in a later article, but for now I'll leave you with a bit of information. I took a course called Adore Your Wardrobe. Learning everything from body shape and measurements to fit and tailoring, I learned how to dress the body I have to make it appear its best.

Click the link above or the image below for more information on this course. A new session begins in January! (Yes, this is an affiliate link- but I paid full price for the course and it was worth every penny.)

So, as I was saying, what I weigh actually surprises people because I do a decent job of camouflaging it.

BUT I know what I weigh- and I am not happy with it.

Weight Loss Struggle

Through my teens and 20s I didn't have weight issues. My jobs kept me active and dancing at clubs in the evenings was my workout.

In my mid-to-late 20s I spent a lot of time in gyms, both with a girlfriend who did fitness and figure competitions, and with a boyfriend who was also a body builder.

I was toned, but definitely not healthy. Truly, there is very little healthy about bodybuilding.

Marriage and Children

Isn't it ironic that some of the highest moments in life can lead to some of the lowest?

It wasn't until I was in my early 30s that weight became an issue. I had advanced from my active job into a management role that kept me behind a desk most days.

I had also bought a house, which meant that the ‘spare income' I had was now going to home ownership costs and not a gym membership.

And then I met my husband. Because we dated long distance for 6 months that meant road trip food, restaurant meals, and date nights.

We married after dating for 13 months and had our first child one year and 2 days after our wedding. And our second child not quite 2 years later.

It was a whirlwind!

I was blessed to be able to stay home with our children, but as many moms know, you tend to lose your own identity.

It's actually pretty amazing that men are associated with midlife crisis more than women are…

But I have digressed, again…

My Plan to Lose Weight

Though I've tried to lose weight for what feels like years, I think I can honestly say I've ever been serious about it. I'm pretty sure I was in denial of some sort…

I spent a year working with a personal trainer. I was strong, but my weight and measurements never fluctuated.

I tried Noom. It didn't change my behavior.

I did the FASTer Way to Weight Loss. Though the workouts kept my fitness up, the scale didn't move and I barely had a change in measurement.

I tried other programs before all those but had no real progress.

One thing I have learned through trial and error is that I build muscle easily. And we all know that muscle weighs more than fat. Which means that while on those exercise programs my body did change- but not enough to move the scale or change the fit of my clothing significantly enough to give me ‘a win'.

And the one thing you want when you begin a life change is a win!

One Step at a Time

To chase those ‘wins' I've begun with a single step – the foods I eat.

Though I have used the Cooking Light Diet for healthy, easy to prepare dinners for a few years, I upgraded to the whole plan, which includes breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner recipes and simple goal setting.

A Day of Meals with Cooking Light Diet

I like that I am cooking real food; very little that comes into my house is processed. And I can set preferences like vegetarian or gluten free, whether to leave certain items out of my meals, and how many people dinner recipes need to feed.

The goal setting spits out my calorie goal and the Cooking Light Diet meal planner keeps me in line.

Follow me on Instagram & check out some of my meals in my #50_before50 story highlights.

What About Exercise?

I have cut back on weight lifting for now and am doing a bit of light yoga/ stretching most days. For now, that is enough.

At the end of January I plan to add strength training back into my routine.

But right now it's all about getting some WINS in to keep me going.

I hope you'll stick around to see what happens!

Similar Posts

4 Comments

  1. I have struggled most of the time between 25 and now Being short just a few extra pounds can really make a difference – after going 40 pounds up I just didn’t feel well, sitting with the seatbelt, standing at a counter, etc. I tried WW so many times, but without my hubby doing it, it was hard for me. We decided to go low carb together and I think that has made the biggest difference – if everyone around you is not eating what you are it is tough!

    1. I am so impressed that you are doing this with your husband. My husband isn’t interested in joining me in this, though he eats what I feed him. But he is a horrible accountability partner!

  2. Oh I feel you pain! In the last year I have gained over 10 pounds. I am hovering between 185 and 190. I am struggling so much. I am now doing intermittent fasting. Food has always been my comfort and sugar especially. At 57 it is so hard to get that extra weight off. I’ll be following your journey!

    1. It really is so difficult to lose weight as you get older! And I’m finding it even harder with sheltering restrictions in place! Thanks for following along!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.