Welcome to War of Weight!

We continue to strive to lose the weight and keep it off… this is our goal!   Here is another story to inspire us and to motivate us in the direction of healthy living and healthy eating!  

I present C.C. Calmon

Hi!  My name is C.C.  I'm a Christian, a wife, a mom, a friend, a part-time graduate student working on my - Master of Divinity degree in Family Ministry, an AVON representative/recruiter, and I'm getting close to being the big twenty-ten!  I live in Abilene, Texas with my husband of almost 10 years Russ and our almost 8 year old daughter Damaris.  I've been a blogger on Xanga for about 2 years now - http://www.xanga.com/ccalmon

On April 25th, I hit rock bottom. On that day, I stepped on the scales and weighed in at a whopping 223.9 pounds. That is the highest weight I have ever been, ever, even when I was 9 months pregnant with my daughter Damaris, I didn't weigh that much.

I knew that I couldn't keep on this path. I've seen how other family members have struggled with their weight and I didn't want to stay on this path.  I deal with several health issues that are/were attributing to my weight issues - migraines, depression, hypothyroidism, and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

So, somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered a website I had heard about somewhere. It took a bit of searching, but I finally found it and joined that day.  That site is called SparkPeople.  http://www.sparkpeople.com

My first goal was to get back below 200 pounds - the last time I had been there was about 3 to 4 years ago and it was not a healthy way that I got to that weight.

I plunged in whole-heartedly with the plan given to me by the website. I began counting my calories and exercising 6 times per week. It was hard starting out. My knee ached constantly from exercising. I knew that my weight was attributing to that a lot though. I gradually was able to increase my exercise to 60 minutes a day plus strength training. The weight slowly has started to melt away.

Wednesday, July 11th, made 11 weeks since I started this program. And it was celebration day!!! When I stepped on the scale that morning, I weighed 198.8 pounds. That is 25.1 pounds that I've lost plus I've lost around 32 inches as well. I'm down 2 sizes in clothing.

I just purged my wardrobe and got rid of bags and bags of my "fat clothes". I know I still have a long way to go. My next goal is to be to 180 pounds by late September/early October (our 10th wedding anniversary is September 20th and my 20+10th birthday is October 4th).  I'm not sure what my goal beyond that will be.  I'll reevaluate once I reach 180.

My knee is feeling so much better. I can walk now without pain. In fact, it is so much better that I have started being able to jog and my goal is to be able to jog/run 3 miles by early September and 5 miles by the end of the year (I'm utilizing a plan called the Couch to 5K plan which is a 9 week program to take you from a beginner to being able to jog/run 3 miles).

I feel better than I have in a long time. I know that doing what I'm doing is working. I just have to keep on keeping on with the calorie counting and exercise.

Here are the specifics of the program I'm following:
#1 - Logging every single bite of food and drink that I take in into my calorie tracker at SparkPeople.
#2 - Drinking 21 glasses of water a day (this is the right amount for me, it may not be for you, listen to what your body tells you, you'll need at least 8 glasses, but may need more than that depending on your body).
#3 - Calorie Cycling (there is a SparkTeam for this on the SparkPeople website if you want more info than I share). The theory behind this program is that although you are eating the same number of calories per week (mine averages out to just over 1400 per day), you eat them in different increments to make your metabolism keep on keeping on because you aren't stagnant at one calorie intake level. For example, I eat 1275 calories on Sunday, 1375 calories on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and 1475 calories on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
#4 - Work out at least 60 minutes per day, 6 days per week. I alternate between using a "game" for the Xbox called Yourself!Fitness (it's a personal trainer that customizes an aerobic workout for me); jogging/walking; water jogging; and attending a cardio boot camp. Before I started using this program, I detested exercising. Now I enjoy it so much that I can't wait to do it every day.
#5 - Participating in several SparkTeams on SparkPeople. I am one who needs the support and encouragement of others to keep on with this new lifestyle. I check in at SparkPeople daily and love the teams I'm a part of.

My motivation for losing this weight and having a healthy lifestyle is to look and feel better about myself. I want to be healthy so that I can have a long and happy life with my hubby Russ and daughter Damaris.  I am determined to show my daughter that the cycle of obesity that has/is plaguing our family does not have to continue with her.

OK, that's all I can think of right now. If y'all have any questions, please ask. I'm an open book! I'm thrilled beyond words at the success I've had thus far. And I'm going to keep on with this to get to a healthy weight and so I can feel better and look better.

If anyone decides to join SparkPeople http://www.sparkpeople.com  please look me up.  My username for that site is LorelaiCC.

Here is a picture from my highest (starting) weight and from Wednesday, July 11th, when I reached my goal of being back below 200 pounds:

I have said it before and I'll say it again, "If they can do it, we can do it."  All you have to do is start movin'...

Have a great day!

Connie