Weight Loss Progress

I Love You Like A Fat Kid Loves Cake - Eye Exam Chart Print by CJ Prints

For the past few years, I've been making false promises to myself to get my then-fat ass in gear and drop all of my college weight.

Backstory - In 2003, a fresh-faced Pokey arrived in San Francisco for art school, weighing in at 132lbs., and a size 7US juniors. By my last summer semester at AAU in 2007, SF has proven well in it's omnomnomy good eats as I had ballooned up to 210-220lbs. and was squeezing into a size 14-16US in womens. Curse you, SF for your deliciousness.

Got fed up, started out with baby steps by cutting back on the fatty foods, eliminating sodas from my diet. Started taking morning constitutionals in the Pac Heights region and managed to drop several inches total all over by December. Shortly after I graduated, my friends and I had to scramble together for the big move to the east coast, so wound up melting off more pounds from all of the packing, tossing out garbage and simply not eating enough.

Shortly after the great move in '08, I went to the doctor's office for my annual physical during my visit back to my hometown and weighed in at 182lbs. Found out my triglyceride levels were too high so the doc put me on a diet and ordered me to lose at least ten pounds. Fair enough, since I was trying for that anyway. Managed to lose the ten pounds...but that didn't last long.

From then up until March of this year, my weight kept yoyo-ing between 165-175lbs. and I kept hovering at a size 8-10US. I certainly had enough of that bs, so after my bitchfest/breakdown I opened up an account at MyFitnessPal and started calorie counting. Technically, I tried calorie counting before but pretty much half-assed it for a bit before giving it the boot. This time was permanent.

I also ended my gym contract since it didn't help me a whole lot (NOTE: I'm not hatin' on gym memberships, I just think I didn't achieve the best results from mine personally). Picked up a couple of Jillian Michael's dvds at the local Wally World and pushed myself through the circuit training, gradually progressing through each level. It also helped that I didn't have to deal with traffic when I used to go to said gym.

Combined with (mostly) healthy eating and cooking at home more often, I was pleasantly surprised to find my weight dropping and my clothes fitting looser. Of course, this was all over the course of several months, so it was gradual yet steady, losing an average of 4-5lbs. per month. Currently I'm at 146.8 and have lost 26lbs. (huzzah!). My clothing sizes are about 4-6US misses depending on brand and 5-7 juniors (also depending on brand). Still have a little more than 20lbs. to lose, but I know I can do it!

With that in mind, back in my SF days, I was discussing weight loss with a friend of mine and how I wanted to return to my former athletic high school physique. He responded with, "We rarely return to our glory days." True, but I still thought, 'Oh yeah? I'll fucking show ya.'

For those who are also trying to get into shape, a great method of motivation would be to buy a pair of jeans, a bikini, or whatever article of clothing fits your fancy in your goal size (or the next size down from your current) and hang it up on the wall in front of your bed. My mom suggested this to me a while back and it's been working fairly well as of late.

Also, get rid of your clothes as soon as they become too loose fitting for you. The purpose of this part is to discourage oneself from overeating and to assure that you won't need to revert back to your larger clothes again. And hey, if said bigger clothes are in decent condition, there are some thrift stores like Plato's Closet where you can turn them in for a bit of cash. Plus, there's also Ebay.

For those interested, I've kept a fitness log to track my measurements. Sorry if the calculations are a bit off, I had to readjust my new goal measurements and may have screwed up some of the numbers by accident.

OLD MEASUREMENTS (Summer '07):
Bust: 44" (lose 10")
Waist: 36" (lose 9")
Hips: 43" (lose 7")
Thigh: 25" (lose 6")
Upper Arm Cir.: 14" (lose 4")

12.3.07
Bust: 42" (lose 8")
Waist: 34" (lose 7")
Hips: 42" (lose 6")
Thigh: 23.75" (lose 4.75")
Arm Cir.: 13.25" (lose 3.25")

1.7.08
Bust: 40.5" (lose 6.5")
Waist: 34" (lose 7")
Hips: 41" (lose 5")
Thigh: 23.5" (lose 4.5")
Arm Cir.: 12.75" (lose 2.75")

02.21.08
Bust: 40" (lose 6")
Waist: 34" (lose 7")
Hips: 40.5" (lose 4.5")
Arm Cir: 12" (lose 2")

3.31.08
Bust: 39.5 (lose 5.5")
Waist: 33.5" (lose 6.5")
Hips: 40" (lose 4")
Thigh: 22" (lose 3")
Arm Cir: 11.5" lose 1.5"

4.29.08
Bust: 39" (lose 5")
Waist: 33" (lose 6")
Hips: 39" (lose 3")
Thigh: 22" (lose 3")
Arm Cir: 11.5" (lose 1.5")

5.21.08
Bust: 38" (lose 4")
Waist: 31.5" (lose 4.5")
Hips: 38" (Lose 2")

10.9.08
Bust: 37" (lose 3")
Waist: 31.5" (lose 4.5")
Hips: 38" (Lose 2")

(Notice the huge time gap between these entries. I was like, "fuck it!" and gave up measuring for a while, only relying on the scale.)

3.9.11
Bust: 37" (lose 3")
Waist: 32" (lose 5") :(
Hips: 38" (lose 2")
Thigh: 22" (lose 3")
Arm Cir.: 12" (lose 2") :(

3.23.11
Bust: 37" (lose 3")
Waist: 31.5" (lose 4.5")
Hips: 37.5" (lose 1.5")
Thigh: 21" (lose 2")
Arm Cir.: 11" (lose 1")

4.26.11
Bust: 36.5" (lose 2.5")
Waist: 31" (lose 4")
Hips: 37" (lose 1")
Thigh: 21" (lose 2")
Arm Cir.: 11" (lose 1")

8.4.11
Bust: 36" (lose 2")
Waist: 30" (lose 3")
Hips: 35.5" (reached goal)
Thigh: 20" (lose 1")
Arm Cir.: 11" (lose 1")

8.19.11
Bust: 35.5" (lose 1.5")
Waist: 29.5" (lose 2.5")
Hips: 35" (reached goal)
Thigh: 20" (lose 1")
Arm Cir.: 11" (lose 1")

9.15.11
Bust: 35" (lose 1")
Waist: 29.5" (lose 2.5")
Hips: 35" (reached goal)
Thigh: 20" (lose 1")
Arm Cir.: 11" (lose 1")

GOAL MEASUREMENTS BY 06.03.12:
Bust: 34"
Waist: 27"
Hips: 36"
Thigh: 19"
Arm Cir.: 10"