Featured Challenger: Shannie (Solidice242) @ In Search Of My Thinner Side

This week's featured challenger is Shannie, she has been doing an excellent job in the challenge, and has lost 8 pounds in 5 weeks!  I asked her a few questions and this is what she had to say:

1. Why are you in this challenge?

I am doing this challenge because it is simple. All I have to do is lose 1lb a week for 15 weeks and at the end, I would have lost 15lbs! Need I say more? I think not…lol

2. What are the top 5 things you did this week to help you lose weight?
Honestly, I had so many things going on last week that it was a shock to me that I lost any weight much less 2.9lbs. It’s the most pounds I have lost since this challenge started, but I guess I would have to say that:

· I drank at least 64oz of water every day.
· I only exercised 1hr and 20 minutes last week but I was very active with other stuff.
· I ate between 1100 to 1600 calories. Some days I ate 1100 and others I ate 1600, I also made sure that I took my green tea extract. I do not know if it is a mental thing but I think it is helping me with my journey.
· I stayed positive. I did not let one day of eating from Macdonald’s ruin my day. I calculated my meal to be 800+ calories, which meant that I only had 400 calories left to eat for the rest of the day (since I was sure I wasn’t going to exercise) and that, was all I ate.
· I watch my salt/sodium intake. Tom was visitng last week and for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t as bloated as I normally am during the time of the month.

3. What is the best piece of advice you can give to challengers?
I would say stay focused, stay encouraged and stay POSITIVE! Sometimes we have a tendency to focus on the negative. We talk down to ourselves in the mirror, we only focus on the weight we have to lose and we rarely see how far we have come. Eventually, that down talking can lead to unhealthy choices (diet fads and quick fixes) and a negative self-perception and these are all things that can hinder our progress or cause us to digress or give up.

4. What keeps you motivated?
Writing on my blog keeps me motivated. I need accountability.
Reading the blog posts everyone else makes and seeing their progress
My Sir, He is so supportive he loves me no matter what I look like. I gained about 60lbs in the time we have been together (5years) and he still tells me how beautiful I am. (I have lost about 17 of those 60lbs)
My health, I feel so much better since I started this journey, I used to have swollen ankles and joint pains (associated with my weight and being hypothyroid) but now I feel so much better my ankles aren’t swollen anymore, I barely have any joint pains I have way more energy. Every day isn’t bright but I am happy about how far I have come.

5. Favorite healthy meal/snack?
I love oatmeal. I can eat oatmeal all day every day. The only reason why I try to avoid it is that for me to eat it it has to be salty. Recently I have dramatically cut down on the amount of salt I put in it though.

6. What are your weaknesses/downfalls and how do you deal with them?
My Biggest weakness is ice cream. I cannot say no to ice cream. I WILL NOT say no to ice cream. How do I deal with it? Firstly, if I am craving ice cream I will buy it but to make sure I don’t eat too much I get a pint and then I would share it with everyone in my house, so that’s a pint of ice cream between 4 persons. I only eat until I am satisfied the craving, so sometimes that means that I only eat 4 spoons of ice cream then I am good. I also buy my least favorite ice cream. This also helps me to avoid eating too much ice cream. I try to eat ice cream only on Sundays if I want it.

7. If you could describe yourself in one word (maybe two if you must) what would it be?
I am a procrastinator. I live by two the mottos” if I can’t do it tomorrow it is not worth doing at all” and the second is” I will make time for it later.”

8. What does being physically fit mean to you? Describe some characteristics both physical and mental.
Physically fit means being able to do my daily chores without complaining about joint pains and without being out of breathe if I walk a flight of stairs. It feeling good about the way I look and how I feel when I wear my clothes. I don’t want to be tugging and pulling. I don’t want rolls and bumps hanging where it shouldn’t be hanging. I do believe it is a state of mind though more than it is a physical thing. Because what I have noticed is that, my body can take a lot more than my mind can. 30mins into a work sometimes my mind tells me “you have done enough you can stop now”, but my body says “nah we can handle it a bit more.”

9. Is there one exercise that you always wanted to try but haven't? Will you?
I want to try the elliptical. However, the idea of joining a gym grosses me out. The thought of someone else sweating on the equipment that I am using is too much to bear with. When I think about a gym, I think about musty smells, high body odors, and yea only negative things so I cannot join a gym. Yes, I would try it but I will have to buy my own machine in order to try that out.

10. What is your favorite motivational quote?
As you aspire to be more successful in life, your attitude towards yourself and others will play a huge role. Positive people learn how to handle life's challenges differently and use these opportunities to grow. So can you!