9.10.2010
THE SEPTEMBER CHALLENGE + OUR FEATURED BLOGGER OF THE WEEK
10:28 PM | Posted by
EmMarah
Hello everyone! This is Em on a Friday night. ;)
How are you guys doing today?How was school and/or work all week? School started for me and it's ok -- so far. Well, you guys know how school could get pretty stressful from all the deadlines to beat and exams right? Yes. So far, I am not tempted yet to shave my head bald from the stress and pressure around me. haha And as for my part time job? I restricted myself on my availability, it sucks about not getting that much hours as I used to, but school is way more important right?
Ok.
That's that and let's move forward to my exciting news for everyone. I have TWO EXCITING NEWS! Are you guys ready?
hmm, remember the SEPTEMBER CHALLENGE? Where in the whole month of September I will try to completely eliminate my bad sugar and too much sodium intake? I posted that entry Monday night and it's been 4 days since then and 5 days since I last weighed in and to be honest, the challenge is pretty tough. I still get tempted to run to the convenience store and grab a chocolate bar, but I'm not gonna do that, I am taking the challenge and I am gonna be healthy! The exciting news you might be wondering? I weighed myself today and I LOST 2lbs! I am really happy that even despite of the lack of exercise and sweating for the past 2 weeks, I still lost 4lbs in total.
That is the first good news, and the second exciting or more like interesting news I have for everyone is this blogger.
How are you guys doing today?How was school and/or work all week? School started for me and it's ok -- so far. Well, you guys know how school could get pretty stressful from all the deadlines to beat and exams right? Yes. So far, I am not tempted yet to shave my head bald from the stress and pressure around me. haha And as for my part time job? I restricted myself on my availability, it sucks about not getting that much hours as I used to, but school is way more important right?
Ok.
That's that and let's move forward to my exciting news for everyone. I have TWO EXCITING NEWS! Are you guys ready?
hmm, remember the SEPTEMBER CHALLENGE? Where in the whole month of September I will try to completely eliminate my bad sugar and too much sodium intake? I posted that entry Monday night and it's been 4 days since then and 5 days since I last weighed in and to be honest, the challenge is pretty tough. I still get tempted to run to the convenience store and grab a chocolate bar, but I'm not gonna do that, I am taking the challenge and I am gonna be healthy! The exciting news you might be wondering? I weighed myself today and I LOST 2lbs! I am really happy that even despite of the lack of exercise and sweating for the past 2 weeks, I still lost 4lbs in total.
That is the first good news, and the second exciting or more like interesting news I have for everyone is this blogger.
Meet Steph everyone a.k.a Traveliztera in the blogworld. Yes. Steph is our featured blogger for the week. Why do we have this "featured blogger" of the week/month? It just hit me one day that there are people out there from different race, background, ethnicity, size and gender that could make a difference in their own little way. I wouldn't have met Steph if I myself wasn't inspired enough to be a better person.
Yes. I did "interview" Steph thru email, I sent her questions and she emailed me back (thank you! :D). If you didn't click her link and didn't check out her profile, Steph used to struggle with her weight as well and now I want to share to you guys her success story.
Yes. I did "interview" Steph thru email, I sent her questions and she emailed me back (thank you! :D). If you didn't click her link and didn't check out her profile, Steph used to struggle with her weight as well and now I want to share to you guys her success story.
- Please introduce yourself
- I'm Steph a.k.a. Traveliztera in the blogworld and I've been struggling with my weight for 11 years. I'm 21 years old right now, so yes, it all started when I was only 10 years old. Actually, there had been times wherein I was really thin then suddenly I'm overweight again and then I'm thin again... The cycle went on.I was really thin when I was a kid. I guess the fastfood mode really made me bigger when I reached the 4th grade. Of course, my parents tried to control me but in the end, it's still up to me, right? Well, I loved eating. I loved buffets. I was basically overweight during my highschool days and then I slimmed down again before college. Then suddenly, I gained weight again throughout my college years and I finally reached the heaviest weight I never thought I'd reach--150lbs. I've been doing a lot of weightloss stuff throughout my college years and I DID LOSE a lot but look what happened: I graduated heavier than before I even entered college. Here is where the ultimate cliche/lesson comes in: NOTHING BEATS PROPER DIET AND EXERCISE. Yes, I did all those fad diets back then. I even drank fatloss supplements. I loved making the excuse of "I'm too busy to even workout so I'll just starve myself!" Sure, you get to lose a lot of weight at first, but everything will come back and get you after some time and trust me--it's worse.
- What/who motivated you to lose weight?
- The fact that I wanted to prove to all the people who do not believe in the long-term power of proper diet and exercise that they are wrong. I was also dared by my friends that if I didn't lose weight in 3 months, I'd have to post a bikini pic--which I obviously didn't want to do. I took the dare. Hey, at least you have an additional motivation! Haha! Also, the reason why I started http://traveliztera.blogspot.com was because I wanted to track my weightloss process. With a lot of people watching my weightloss actions, the motivation was definitely intense.
- How did your first few weeks of dieting go?
- It was great! I guess my motivation was so strong. I was really determined and I learned to make a low-calorie version of each of my fave meals. I definitely enjoyed because I didn't deprive myself. You just gotta make dieting fun!
- What are your struggles in your "I wanna be fit and healthy" path?
-Weight plateau days are definitely "Garrrrr!", but instead of hating, I learned to love my body more. Of course, it's definitely annoying when your efforts had been really all-out but your scale still shows the same numbers, but you have to stop and think that your body is telling you something. In this process, you really have to stay positive. It's either you're overworking and your body needs rest, or you have to change your routines. It is during these times wherein you learn to unite with your body more because getting mad at yourself would just discourage you.
- Have you reached your weight goal yet? If yes, what are your plans/goals on how to keep that weight?
- I have gone beyond my weight goal and that was a huge surprise for me. I originally wanted to go down from 150 lbs to 115 lbs. but surprise! I currently weigh 103 lbs. To keep this weight, I shall continue what I have learned from the whole process. The thing is, when you get yourself into the proper way of losing weight, you get to adjust to the healthy ways and that is something long-term, unlike when you go for the fast weightloss ways.When you go for the easy way of losing weight, you learn nothing. You're dependent on something and what happens once the thing you're depending on is gone? When you're undergoing the healthy way of losing weight, you're totally in control and you get to do that forever. I still eat the things I want but I am still aware of their calorie count. Even though I don't count, it's as if my body has been trained to stop whenever I reach a certain amount of calories (for me, my calorie limit is 1200 calories) and that's the beauty of following a healthy weightloss process. I have a cheat day once a week and I work out 3-5x a week for 20 minutes.
- Did you enroll yourself to a exercise program?(gym, dancing, martial arts etc etc).
- During the first 3 months of my weightloss, I had a gym trainer who designed a program for me while I took care of my diet at home. After 3 months, I was on my own. I made my own workouts based on the stuff I saw in fitness books and magazines (like Women's Health). I also used The 30-Day Shred by Jillian Michaels in the last month of my weightloss process.
- Lastly, what's your message to us who are struggling in losing weight and how to keep us motivated.
1. Don't starve or deprive yourself.
You will definitely feel unmotivated. First of all, when you starve yourself, your metabolism slows down. Your body thinks you're not getting enough energy for it to work so it wants to save up by storing fat. Your body stores whatever you give it so you gain more weight. When you gain weight, you get more discouraged.
When you deprive yourself, you tend to overeat once you're exposed to your ultimate weakness. Have a cheat day or eat a small amount of your favorite "sinful" treats during your diet days. Trust me, a small bite is enough to satisfy those cravings.
2. Don't hate your body.
Love your body! You have to learn to listen to your body's needs. When you're friends with your body, you get to know more what it really needs. Plus, you feel happier and you get to be motivated more because you want your body to stay great.
3. Don't say you're too busy. A 10-minute workout can make a difference. ;)
4. Never go for short-term weightloss ways. You lose weight in a short time but you also get to gain it all back (plus some new pounds) in a short while as well!
5. You can definitely lose weight. Set goals in your mind. Never underestimate your mind because once you start setting goals, your mind works to give you determination.
***********************************
Thank you everyone for the time in reading this entry. I learned something new from Steph and I hope you guys also did.
Let's all be healthy!
Happy Dieting!
xo,
Em
Thank you everyone for the time in reading this entry. I learned something new from Steph and I hope you guys also did.
Let's all be healthy!
Happy Dieting!
xo,
Em
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1 comments:
awww thanks guys :) i'm completely honored and touched... :) i'm so glad i've met you and CONGRATULATIONS for achieving A LOT in your sptember challenge!!! :D
MORE POWER TO U GUYS! :D