Weight loss: 15 pounds in 5 months. Currently I still weigh around 136 pounds. Also, excuse the photo of me with a baseball glove; Tony and I were playing catch.
The number one question I ask myself is: Why is losing weight so hard? Over the course of the past year, I’ve worked out at least 5x a week, ate healthy MOST of the time and am pretty active. So what gives?
Well here’s the thing. I went into the doctor for my yearly physical a month or so ago and of course, had to step on the scale. The scale read 136 pounds. I thought to myself, “I’ve weighed 136 pounds for almost 5 months now, why can’t I just lose weight?” Then when talking with my doctor, she mentioned that I had lost some weight since last year and also added that I looked terrific. I thought she’s probably just saying it to be nice, so I brushed her compliment off. I then asked her how much I weighed a year ago and she told me 151 pounds. I cringed when I heard that number, still dissatisfied with my current weight.
Ahhhh, here we go again. The thoughts of a perfectionist. After struggling with an eating disorder in college, my brain is weirdly wired when it comes to food and exercising. Deprive, eat too much, exercise – the neverending cycle.
I left the doctor’s office and made the drive back home. Thoughts were racing through my head, such as how can I lose more weight by the end of the year and what can I cut out of my diet that I just don’t need? The attainment for perfectionism in everything sounds ridiculous, I know. The doctor said I was at a perfect weight for my height, so why can’t I just be happy with that? I’m able to eat what I want in moderation and never feel deprived, so why won’t these thoughts just go away?
I text my mom in hope for some encouragement. She congratulated me and told me how proud she was of me. Later, I told Tony about my weight loss and he seemed to brush it off his shoulders saying, “I love you no matter what.” Adorable, I know.
These words from the people I care about were uplifting. When I racked my brain for how much weight 15 pounds really was and peeked at photos from last March, I realize how much more comfortable I am in my own skin these days. Those pounds were a huge weight lifted off my shoulders (ha!) both physically and mentally. During that time period, I learned how to balance my love for food and exercise with my passion for nutrition. Sure there are still things I don’t like about my body, but doesn’t everyone have those small insecurities? I’m betting yes.
I noticed my arms, waist and hips became more toned and slimmer
It probably took me a good 5 months to get down to 136. Of course, my ultimate desire is always to lose weight as quickly as possible but that doesn’t always work out for the best; typically I’ll feel deprived and end up eating all the things I missed out on later.
First, I began analyzing my exercise habits and switched up my routine to include more cardio, went for plenty of walks around the lake with friends, and stuck to lifting weights only 3x per week. I also only really pushed myself 30% of the time. (When I say push I mean hardass plyometric, cardio and weight lifting workouts.) This helped tremendously! Previously I had been doing close to the same workouts and a friend recommended that my body might need a routine change. She was right.
one of my favorite workouts — yoga!
Next was my eating. Probably the hardest part was cutting back on sweets. No matter if something is healthy, I learned that you can still overdo it. I brought most of my snacks and lunches to work and ate salads nearly every day. I said no to snacks passed around the office, they were almost never worth the calories. I ate small meals every 2-3 hours. My dinners were high in protein and included healthy carbs (like sweet potatoes) and of course, veggies. Each week I would allow myself a cheat meal or two which included pizza or a big night of going out and drinking too much wine.
And… slowly but surely, the weight came off.
These days the scale jumps up and down. A little up now that it’s cookie season and since I LOVE LOVE LOVE to bake. But overall, I know my boundaries. I practice yoga 2x per week, do cardio 2x per week and try to lift weights 2-3x per week. Each week is different though and I’m always eager to try out new fitness classes or experiment with new food. Best of all, I’m so happy to have great health and that in itself is good enough.
I’d love to hear your weight loss stories, struggles or whatever else you feel like talking about. I’m all ears and of course, I’m glad we can be open and non-judgmental with one another.
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37 comments
Girl! You look amazing!
Thank you xo
You look amazing! Slow weight loss is key. That means you’ll keep it off forever!
You look wonderful and are at a great weight! I can relate to those thoughts that run through ones head but when I hear it from someone else about themself I can see it is just crazy thoughts! Good thing you have your mom and boyfriend to keep the reality check with you!
Isn’t that funny how it works that way? Thanks for leaving a comment! xo
It’s really great to hear your story of finding the right balance between a love of fitness/health and baking, I share the same struggle! It’s definitely challenging at times, and i find that it helps to reassess my goals every month or so to see what I can increase/decrease in my routine, or if my priorities have shifted.
I’m currently working on getting over a fitness plateau with a new strength routine and I am excited to see the outcome. I really enjoy dynamic cardio, bootcamps, and HIIT circuits so it’s a new challenge for me to put more focus into consistent weight training with less cardio! Hopefully I won’t get derailed around the holidays, but if so I will just hop back on the pain train 🙂
Thanks for all your delicious recipes, and you really look fab- congrats on your success!!
The pain train – haha love it! And thank you Bonnie!
Monique, I love reading your Wellness Wednesday posts. They always inspire me. (: It’s interesting how our bodies can get used to certain exercises — I’ve been trying to switch up my workout routines, too. And by the way, you look fit, healthy and absolutely gorgeous. Just sayin’.
Thanks so much Abbie! I’m so happy that you are loving Wellness Wednesday xoxo!
You are amazing Monique!!! Thanks for sharing your story. Keep on keeping on my dear 😀
You’re the cutest. Thanks, Lee!
I love this so much. as someone who has suffered from a eating disorder and my own form of perfectionism I found this to be so inspiring and true. You look absolutely stunning.
Monique! you look beautiful before and after. U are fine either way! how tall are you?
you are a great role model and baker 😉
i wish you the happiest of holidays….looking forward to the rest of your posts for this season!
Amy
I lost a lot of weight but making an achievable weight goal. I ended up losing more than that without even noticing. I was wondering how you get your arms so toned? I do free weights and like planks and pushups two days a week but mine are just skinny, not toned. Any advice?
Hi Laura! I do a lot of yoga and also a class called yoga sculpt (basically a mix of cardio, weights and yoga). To get my arms lean, I do a lot of body weight workouts, but also do high reps with small 5 pound weights.
My question to you is: Have you had your body composition done by a trained professional? There’s a lot to be said for finding the ideal balance of lean body mass to fat weight in calculating what an ideal “weight” would be for you. If you want some more information on this topic, I’d be happy to provide it. It’s what I teach about as an educator for fitness professionals.
I have! 🙂
Monique you look amazing! I have been following along all of your “wellness wednesday” posts and admire you for touching on these topics that SO many, if not all of us? struggle with. You are truley one of the most inspiring bloggers out there in my opinion especially when it comes to posts like these and your delicious desserts! 🙂
Thank you so much! 🙂 I’m so happy you are loving Wellness Wednesdays!
Yay for your success Monique! You look beautiful! Like the other ladies, I too can relate to so much of your mental state. Loving wellness Wednesdays!
You look great, congrats! I need to lose about the same amount and am trying to figure out how to limit my favorite foods 🙁 Do you feel like it was more of an overall calorie reduction, or the changing of the workouts?
For me, it was mostly eating healthier and paying attention to what my body needed. I took rest days more often and tried to eat as many colors as possible. I did cut back on bread quite a bit too. 🙂
Dang I love bread 🙂 and cheese 🙂 Thanks for sharing, I think listening to your body and making healthier choices is so true!
I have struggled off and on with my weight and overeating over the years. I am currently trying to lose weight after having baby #2 just 3 months ago. I’m constantly hungry from nursing and its hard to find time to get a good workout done. Trying to be patient with myself but also ready to get back in my clothes. Loving this series!!
You look fantastic, girl! Toned, trim and healthy. It’s hard to notice the little improvements along the way until you look back at old photos or put the scale numbers into perspective. We all struggle with trying to attain an unrealistic sense of perfectionism. I’m always trying to remind myself to celebrate the mini victories, stay positive and appreciate my body and all it is capable of. Your story shows a lot of strength and is inspiring! Xoxo
Mini victories are the best! Thank you for the kind words, Jamie! xoxo
You look amazing! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I agree that you look fantastic!! sounds like you have found a great balance between healthy eating and exercising…just curious-how tall are you?
Hi Leana – I’m 5 feet 6 inches. 🙂
I’d say your just right!! I LOVE your blog by the way…my kids and I made your pb choc chip sea salt cookies tonight and HELLO yum-a-licious! I have a major sweet tooth like yourself…couldn’t stop at just one..
don’t forget that muscle weighs more than fat (and also burns more calories than fat). beautiful!
Such a brave post. You look beautiful no matter what weight you are at!
First, great job! Second, do you realize how many people would love to lose 15 pounds in 3 months?? I know it’s extremely hard, especially in your 20s to be happy with your weight. But, please be happy. As long as you are healthy, that’s what counts. Trust me, you don’t want to look back in 10, 20 years & wonder why you weren’t happy with your 20-something body. Keep cooking, baking, shopping, traveling & loving life!! That’s what I love about your blog. = )
Wow! Thank you for your honesty! I was just thinking this SAME thing yesterday. I weighed 196lbs in July of 2013. By April 2014 I was 130. After adding weights into my workout routine, I now hover between 133-138lbs.
I feel SO much better when I’m on the lower end of the scale, even though I know nobody can see a difference.
Everyone says how great I look and yet I still secretly think “why can’t I just lose 15 more pounds?!” Nobody knows I think this because I know it’s crazy. I’m a comfortable size 4-6. Very athletic…and yet, I’m struggling to feel comfortable in my own skin.
Instead of trying to lose weight I’m working on loving myself for who I am, where I am.
It seems much harder than losing 65lbs!
No offense, but I actually look a lot like you in your before pic, probably worse, and have a pretty unstable body image – reading this just made me feel pretty crappy about myself. I’m not saying this to make you feel bad, but just to put it out there that it’d be good to be careful when dealing with the topic of weight loss. You never know how others will take it. You look great, by the way 🙂
Lovely post!
Monique, just found you on Pinterest and I read this post. You are beautiful and look amazing. I am celebrating a journey of weight loss myself of 150 pounds gone. A person. What a journey it has been. I am involved in a Cardiac Rehab Program and under medical care. I too struggle sometimes with the scale and think well maybe I should try to lose a little more. Thanks for sharing. I look forward to following you. What is your height if you do not mind me asking. Blessings! Janie