Have You Regained the Weight? Esther Has!

How many times have you lose weight, only to regain it (plus more)?  This is exactly what happened to NYC woman – Esther. Some of you longtime CGB
readers may remember Esther on my blog 5 years ago when I portrayed her progress for 6 months. She lost 19 pounds and looked great. But like many us – she regained the weight. Now her 50th birthday is coming up and she is seeking our support to lose 19 pounds. She doesn’t want to be chunky and 50 (her words, not mine!)

I’m posting her story again at her request. Some people like to diet in private while others prefer to enlist support. Esther obviously likes a lot of support (and pressure) as she wants to be very visible on CGB. Please send in comments to help motivate her! I feel sharing her story will help motivate some of you who have regained weight and are struggling to get it off. Hopefully there will be a positive outcome to the story.

Here is the recap:
Esther was featured on City Girl Bites in May 2008 when she had asked for help with her weight loss journey. She weighed 146 pounds which was more than she ever weighed in her life. Six months later she lost 19 pounds! She was determined that after all of her hard work she would not be one of those people who gain the weight back. I checked in with Esther in April of 2009 and was pleased that she kept her promise and was still at her goal weight. Maintaining weight loss for a year … so far so good.

Yikes! What happened?
Fast forward February 2013, three years and Esther has regained ALL OF HER weight back along with an extra two pounds. Like most of us, life tends to get in the way. While Esther swore she would NEVER regain the weight, she did. Esther shared her stats:

May 2008                                October 2008              February 2013
weight: 146                                weight : 129                     weight: 147,6
arm: 12                                        arm: 12 1/4                      arm: 12
natural waist: 30 1/4                  natural waist: 29″          natural waist: 31
lower abs : 36                            lower abs:  31                  lower abs: 36.5
hips : 42 1/2                               hips: 39                             hips: 44
thighs: 25 3/4                            thighs : 22 1/4                  thighs : 26

Reasons for her weight regain:
Obviously weight comes on a lot easier than it comes off. Here are some of the reasons she regained:

• the major factor was several job changes in the last three years which changed her  lifestyle
• working inconsistent hours (she sometime works until 11 pm)
• not hydrating enough
• eating at odd hours
• not going to the gym on a regular basis.
• dining out a lot more frequently with her friend Carol (who likes to eat and drink)
• overall more alcohol (as per my observation of her food records)

Reality time
Esther knew that she had been gaining weight but didn’t have the courage to weigh herself until she had a physical a few weeks ago. Once the truth was out she was determined to fix the situation. She contacted me to started working together again. Coincidently, CBS News also contacted me to do a story on a client who uses an app for weight loss. Perfect timing! I will show the clip of Esther and I on the news in an upcoming post.

Plan
Esther feels super motivated to get these 20 pounds back off. While she won’t get it all off before her 50th birthday (end of April), she can get at least 8 pounds off by then.

1. Keep food/exercise log via Loseit
2. Exercise 5 times a week
3. Hire personal trainer (early BDay gift from her parents!)  Pic is of a svelte Esther in 2008 with her trainer
4. Follow a 1300 calorie diet plan
5. Lose an average of one pound a week

I’ll do a follow-up story on her in a month. Please send in your comments to help motivate her!  To read more about Esther’s weight loss journey in 2008, just do a search on ESTHER on my blog.