Between my college graduation (December 15th) and January 4th, I managed to gain 15lbs! But as always, I’m back on track. I’ve lost 5 of that already, for a total loss of 43.

The trick is getting back on track..over and over again.

Losing weight really is a battle!

Discovery Health has a big program called the “National Body Challenge” at the beginning of every new year to promote weight loss and fitness that you can join for FREE. There are several benefits, including meal plans and an 8 week free trial to Bally’s Total Fitness. I have just joined myself and will be beginning my fitness routine tomorrow to shake things up a bit. You can find out more information and can join by clicking here.

~Shrinking Kim

Before and afer pics- 50lbs. lost!!

It’s been a long time comin’, but hey, I made it! 

Halfway to 100

~ShrinkingKim

~ShrinkingKim

I was really excited to get to 50, and couldn’t wait to take the next picture… and then I gained 4lbs back, for a total of 45lbs lost.

Full-time school with about 2 tests each week and an average of 30hours of work a week has moved my weight loss to the back burner. I’ve been kind of in limbo with the whole diet thing- losing my grip on the bandwagon. Then I weighed on my scale this morning, and much to my surprise, I’m down 50lbs!!

I will take a new picture as soon as I weigh in at the diet doctor- I feel like their results are more “official.”

Hopefully that pic will be up Wednesday, so keep an eye out.

~ShrinkingKim

P.S. My sister has also started a diet. What do you say we drag her on here too? Carmen, send me over that before pic!

Lost two more pounds for a total of 40lbs!

Here’s the new pic, as promised..

Check out the photos page to see all of the pics together!

~Shrinking Kim

..a deadly combination?!? Not anymore! Good news for all you junk food, candy bar lovers!

My brother and I both love sweets, and being on the Atkins diet, we’ve been severely deprived! So we went out (on what we thought was going to be a wild goose chase) in search of some good tasting, low-carb, candy bars. We bought a few different types of Atkins bars, and much to our surprise, they didn’t all taste like cardboard! When I was on the Atkins diet 8 years ago, there was nothing like this available- they’ve come a LONG way.

I’d like to recommend to you one of our favorites-
Atkins Endulge - Caramel Nut Chews

A blend of chewy caramel, dry-roasted peanuts, and nougat covered in a tasty chocolate coating, you’re guaranteed to love it! This really is the Snickers of the Low-carb world. (Clicking on the picture above will take you to a site where you can purchase this product. I visited several sites to find the lowest price possible for you guys!)

Rating: 5/5 stars
Net Carbs: 2

I hope you enjoy this product as much as we did! Comments are much appreciated

~Shrinking Kim

I weighed in today and I lost another .6 lbs for a total of 38lbs!

I know you must be thinking- “Half a pound? Psh, that’s all?!” But this week has been absolutely crazy and I’m grateful for any weight loss.
I obviously won’t make it to the goal I had set, -50lbs by the end of September, but I’ll be happy if I reach -40lbs. As long as it keeps going down, I’m happy. It’s not supposed to happen overnight.

It’s that time of the semester when exams start- I had one this past week, have one tomorrow, and two next week, so I’ll be staying very busy.

Hope you all are happy and healthy!

~Shrinking Kim

With my newfound willpower, I stuck to the diet this past week, and it paid off!!! I lost 8.4lbs in ONE week!

That makes a grand total of 37.4 lbs lost so far. Be on the lookout for a new picture update coming up at 40lbs lost

Here’s a little side note that you may find interesting- it’s a pretty eye opening, different, way of looking at weight loss.
Just in my house, my mom, brother, and I are all on Atkins:

• My mom has lost 40lbs (my inspiration to get started)
• My brother has lost 35lbs (he needed a push to get started, but now is doing great)
• And me- I’ve lost 37lbs now

So when we all ride in the car together, that’s 112 lbs less that the car has to haul around. That’s the weight of a whole other person (well, not one of us, but you get the idea haha)!!

Now I’ve gotta head off to do some last minute studying before an exam that I have today, and then it’s off to Nashville, TN for my cousins’ auditions for a new TV show!!

Adios!

~Shrinking Kim

I’ve had several people ask me what exactly I’m doing to lose weight, so here is a detailed explanation. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions.

Exercise-
I have not stepped in a gym since starting this diet on July 4th. I have, however, started walking a few times a week for 30 minutes each time with a buddy. Also, the school semester started two weeks ago, and anyone that has ever gone to college knows how much walking is involved there. I would add at least 30 more minutes of walking per day for the four days a week I am on campus. So, in short:

• No gym routine
• An average 30 minutes of walking per day

Diet-
I am following my own version of the Atkins diet. I eat mostly meats and cheese and usually have a salad if I have to eat out somewhere. Normally the Atkins diet isn’t concerned with the amount of fat that you eat, but I don’t think all that fat is very healthy, so I try to eat the lean meats- chicken, fish, and turkey- instead of the other meats, as often as I can. Eggs, lean steak, and lean hamburgers are also foods that I eat on a regular basis. I try to use just ketchup and mustard with my hamburgers as opposed to mayonnaise (which is allowed on Atkins), because of the amount of fat that’s in mayo.

My biggest problem on a diet like Atkins is that I can’t have any sweets!! So, I sought out some Atkins products that I can eat while still losing weight. My brother and I have found a low carb ice cream (4 carbs in 1/2 cup) and a low carb candy bar (2 carbs) that both taste like the real thing. They are so good that I actually feel like I’m cheating by eating them, but I still manage to lose weight!

Water. Water. Water. I drink close to a gallon of water a day. Occasionally I will have a crystal light if I want something sweet, but I never drink sodas, even though you are allowed to have diet sodas on Atkins. I have heard so many things about the ingredients in diet sodas and about how bad they are for you that I just stopped drinking them altogether. Actually, November will mark THREE years that I haven’t had a sip of any kind of soda. As for alcoholic drinks, a low carb beer or two (weighing in at 2.4 carbs per beer) comes in handy when having a social drink with friends. To sum it up:

• Atkins style diet, low carb
• Meats, cheese, eggs, anything with no/low carbs
• More lean meats than those with a high fat content
• Trade mayo in for ketchup/mustard
• Low carb alternatives for sweets (without sacrificing taste!)
• Drink almost a gallon of water a day, an occasional crystal light, and no sodas
• Drink low carb beer if I will be drinking alcoholic drinks

Support-
Currently, there are at least 7 members of my family (immediate, cousins, aunts, etc.) who are on the Atkins diet. If that’s not enough support, I don’t know what is! Also, weighing in once a week at a weight loss clinic helps keep me on track.

• 7 family members on Atkins
• Appointment w/weight loss clinic once a week

Other-

• Taking two to three appetite suppressants (Phendimetrazine) a day, 1 hour before meals
• Taking one multivitamin each night

~Shrinking Kim

Motivating yourself to get out of bed in the morning or get up off the comfy couch to go exercise can be a daunting task, but I’ll share a quick story with you and give you a little tip to make it a lot easier!

Last night my cousin and I planned to go for a walk this morning to get a little exercise in, but I ended up going to bed way later than I was planning. When my alarm went off at the ungodly hour of 7:45am (give me a break, I’m a college student!), I just wanted to hit the snooze button, roll over, and go back to sleep, but I remembered something I learned a long time ago. Someone once told me that if you don’t feel like exercising, just put on one piece of your exercise clothing. So I put on my shorts. Once I got that first piece on, it was easier to put the second on, then the rest, then my socks, and finally my shoes. Once I got my shoes on, I was in a much better mood and ready to exercise. There’s just something about wearing exercise clothes and shoes that make you want to exercise!

I know this tip may sound silly, it sounded silly to me too when I first heard it, but try it. Next time you don’t have the motivation to start exercising, try putting on just ONE piece of your exercise clothing, and go from there. Once you get started, you’ll feel that it’s much easier to keep going and keep your exercise goals.

~Shrinking Kim

Starting the school semester, my new job, and financial issues have seemed to push my weight loss to the back burner.

I’ve been very disappointed with myself these past couple of weeks. I think because I’ve been stressed out, as well as bored with eating the same foods over and over, I fell off the bandwagon. I stopped taking my appetite suppressants and started eating junk food. I went out to eat several times and was very close to giving up. Being a psych major, I really think there are a lot of psychological issues involved when you’re trying to lose weight. I’ve lost over 30lbs now- you’d think that would be enough to keep anyone sticking to it, but that wasn’t the case. There are other factors playing a part there that I plan on researching a bit more. With such great results, why would I even think about just giving up altogether??

When I went to the weight loss clinic on Wednesday (9/5), I went there ready to quit. I shamefully stepped on the scale and found out I weighed the exact same weight as I had when I weighed in the time before that, which was two weeks earlier. I was very disappointed because I had lost about 5lbs over the course of the two weeks, but managed to gain it back in the three days before my weigh in. I told them the problems I was running into- I couldn’t afford it anymore ($50 every week or $60 every two weeks) and that I was having a lot of trouble sticking to the diet because I couldn’t possibly eat another bite of the SAME foods. I’m sure this is a common problem with people who are on a diet like Atkins or a different one that is very restrictive.

The nurse had a lot of helpful suggestions. First of all, she said that if I would promise to stick with it they would work with me on the cost, lowering it from $50 to $25 a week- for both me AND my mom. Money is a precious commodity right now, so I was grateful that the nurse was so kind in helping us out and so encouraging. Another suggestion that she made was to be creative with the foods that we cook. Find new recipes and try different combinations to mix it up a bit.

So with the encouragement of the weight loss clinic and my own will to succeed, I’m losing weight again. I’m about 35lbs down now, but that’s weighing on our home scale. The official amount will be determined when I weigh in on Wednesday.

So please, if you’re on your own weight loss journey and you’re struggling, don’t give up. You can do it! Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep on shrinkin’.

~Shrinking Kim