A friend of mine asked me for info about my weight loss. I don't really tend to talk about it much since I am convinced most people would find it boring. But that conversation inspired me to update my "goals" and my "weights and measures" pages (see links, above). And to make an actual post.
I was doing well on foods until the 11-day staycation hit this last week. I was at 2k calories a day, pretty much every day, the whole time. I am too scared to get on the scale. But it's all good. I'll get on on Sunday and see what is what. That will give me a week to be on track so I won't feel so bad when I see I am up a pound or two - I'll know that I am in the process of being sorted. Oh the mind fuckery I do to myself...
I never make New Years Resolutions. I think they are stupid and a really good way to set yourself up for failure. Instead, I took some time this morning to reevaluate where I am and where I want to be. As it turns out, I really just want to maintain. Maintenance so far has proven hard. Yes, I lost like 2 pounds in the last 3 months, but I am considering that maintenance since I have not been exercising due to knee and being too damn cold all the time to go outside. And my calories have been more lax than I strictly should be if I was trying to aggressively lose weight. At least I know my maintenance range is 16-1800 a day.
Now, all that said, I did set some weight loss goals for myself and I WOULD like to meet them. Let's just say, my minimal goal is to maintain, my ultimate goal is to lose a bit more (12-17 pounds) over the course of 2012. With all that said. I figure a 1.4 pound loss a month will get me to my low low low goal by years end and I think a healthy thing to shoot for. I won't be overdoing it, I can relax a little, but still have my control points (calorie and food restrictions) to keep me in line.
1.4 pounds = 4900 calorie deficit over the course of the month
=1225 deficit each week
=164 deficit a day
Which puts my daily intake at 1436 max a day. I can do that.
My trouble is later at night. I want dessert SO BAD. Sure my desert is frozen fruit with various nut and nut butter toppings, but I desire it like crazy. My brain just goes into stupid FEED ME MODE as soon as I eat dinner. I am not sure what is up with that. I am sure I don't like it. I have very little control over it. It is the strangest thing. I can talk to myself (and I do) say things like "this puts you over calories you know" and then I answer myself "fuck it". I hope resetting my goals and doing this eval this morning puts my head back in order.
I am also starting my walks up again today. I am starting back into my exercise regime slow and steady, just like I started it a year ago. I am not going to get back into running until after my knee gets looked at (getting my regular doc to look at it on Thursday next week, then hopefully onto a specialist ASAP). So at least the doggies are in for a treat. I miss my time hanging with them too, anyway. I just wish it didn't get dark so fast, and that I had more hills to climb near my new house.
On a final note, tomorrow is the 2-year anniversary of my living healthfully. I feel freaking fantastic. I love love love clothes shopping now and I get the cutest stuff off the rack at little boutiques (my husband, however, is NOT thrilled with this turn of events. HA!) I love sitting in curious positions with my legs pulled up. I love how clear my skin is and how soft my hair is (even though it is thinning). I love that I can walk for miles and not mind it. I love that I am lost in airplane seats now with multiple inches to either side of my hips. I love what I eat and how I have learned to cook magnificently and healthfully. I love that I can walk between closely parked cars in the parking lot, closely sat tables in busy restaurants, and down crowded aisles between carts at the grocery store.
I do NOT love the feel of my bones poking into the back of my chair from my spine, or the bruises on my elbows from lack of padding when I lean, or the look of my bony chest and droopy-boobs, or the discomfort of my knees knocking together when I lay on my side, or the look of my veins being 3D in various places due to lack of padding. What wonderful problems to have =) Except being COLD TO THE BONE ALL THE TIME uuuuhhhggggg That sucks in a way I can't quite describe.
Until next time...
tracker
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Monday, November 28, 2011
Even the Mighty Shall Fall
That is a bit of an overstatement, but the guilt makes me feel this way! (So say we all!) Guilt is bad! Bad, bad bad! But I have a Jewish mother so it is not to be helped.
This post is coming from a headspace where I have been thinking of myself as this unstoppable health machine. I didn't "get" how people could fail so hard, so fast (I read lots of weight loss stories on 3fc). It has never occurred to me that I would have a set back, or struggle with moving forward and maintaining my journey. Or even come to a place where I would feel any amount of guilt for any reason because I am awesome (and totally not at all full of myself LOL)
Anyway...
I gave myself permission to eat what I wanted over the Thanksgiving holiday. My father was in town, and is eating similar to the way I eat (he is on the Paleo diet these days). This means that I got to cook food that I eat and show off my cooking skills, which are pretty terrific if I do not say so myself. The following were my dinner menus for the 2 nights he was in town:
Thanksgiving Dinner:
Friday Dinner:
For the whole weekend I did not count calories, and I did not tell myself "no" even when what I wanted was a big ol' spoonful of coconut butter. My portions during meals were normal for me, but I snacked long and hard. I even had some butter on my popcorn! And slices of sheep's milk Parmesan from the farmers market!
So, while I did not break down entirely and eat off my personal list of allowable (ie, no sugar, no bread, no alcohol, nothing terrible for me... except those couple of bites of crispy chicken skin which I normally would stay WELL away from) I am quite positive that I went over my calorie allottment. Probably 5-fold. I honestly don't even really want to know how far I set myself back just from this one weekend of gluttony. I never ate 'til I felt sick, which is a personal triumph (I think I have only done that 2-3 times since starting my journey). But, I also ate when not hungry. It was like this little devil on my tongue and in my brain that was saying eat! eat!eat!
So now I am in damage-control mode. Since September, I have been in maintenance calorie range (for me, that is 1800 calories when I am not exercising). I have no idea how many calories I need to make up for from this weekend, but my plan is to stay in the 1200-1300 range until my weight drops 1 pound from where I started, and maintain that pound loss for a week, before I go back into the 1800 maintenance mode. In this way, I know I will have "fixed" what I did this weekend. I predict that I can drop that pound in 2-3 weeks and then another week to see if it "takes".
That, in a nutshell, is my next mini-goal. Stay on this track for 1 month. 1200 is loooow and hard for me. I have been having dizzy / tired / sicky spells almost every day if I do not get the appropriate amount of protein in me. Balancing the need to eat protein every couple of hours against staying this low is a challenge. I managed it yesterday. I can only hope for as good of results for the next month.
One weird thing that has come up in the last 48 hours for me, mentally, is that this strict control on what I am putting in my mouth makes me feel better. In maintenance mode, I have felt like little nibbles were OK. Now I am not feeling that that is the case. And I just feel more in control in general. I guess I am an all or nothing person. I will have to think on that further...
This post is coming from a headspace where I have been thinking of myself as this unstoppable health machine. I didn't "get" how people could fail so hard, so fast (I read lots of weight loss stories on 3fc). It has never occurred to me that I would have a set back, or struggle with moving forward and maintaining my journey. Or even come to a place where I would feel any amount of guilt for any reason because I am awesome (and totally not at all full of myself LOL)
Anyway...
I gave myself permission to eat what I wanted over the Thanksgiving holiday. My father was in town, and is eating similar to the way I eat (he is on the Paleo diet these days). This means that I got to cook food that I eat and show off my cooking skills, which are pretty terrific if I do not say so myself. The following were my dinner menus for the 2 nights he was in town:
Thanksgiving Dinner:
- Roasted Chicken with Onion and Fennel gravy (made from the drippings and the veggies it was cooked with; no flour or additional fats)
- Simple Roasted Root Veggies (Rutabaga, Beets, and Sweet Potato)
- Mashed Cauliflower with Roasted Garlic
- Pan Seared Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
- Apple-Spice Cranberry Sauce
- Mandarin-Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce
- Punkin Pice Cream (my personal recipe, made with Butternut Squash this time)
Friday Dinner:
- Bouillabaisse (with clams, mussels, cod, squid, and shrimp we picked up fresh from the Half Moon Bay Fish Market)
- Roasted Turnip Rounds
- Black-Bean Brownies with Cocoa Nibs
For the whole weekend I did not count calories, and I did not tell myself "no" even when what I wanted was a big ol' spoonful of coconut butter. My portions during meals were normal for me, but I snacked long and hard. I even had some butter on my popcorn! And slices of sheep's milk Parmesan from the farmers market!
So, while I did not break down entirely and eat off my personal list of allowable (ie, no sugar, no bread, no alcohol, nothing terrible for me... except those couple of bites of crispy chicken skin which I normally would stay WELL away from) I am quite positive that I went over my calorie allottment. Probably 5-fold. I honestly don't even really want to know how far I set myself back just from this one weekend of gluttony. I never ate 'til I felt sick, which is a personal triumph (I think I have only done that 2-3 times since starting my journey). But, I also ate when not hungry. It was like this little devil on my tongue and in my brain that was saying eat! eat!eat!
So now I am in damage-control mode. Since September, I have been in maintenance calorie range (for me, that is 1800 calories when I am not exercising). I have no idea how many calories I need to make up for from this weekend, but my plan is to stay in the 1200-1300 range until my weight drops 1 pound from where I started, and maintain that pound loss for a week, before I go back into the 1800 maintenance mode. In this way, I know I will have "fixed" what I did this weekend. I predict that I can drop that pound in 2-3 weeks and then another week to see if it "takes".
That, in a nutshell, is my next mini-goal. Stay on this track for 1 month. 1200 is loooow and hard for me. I have been having dizzy / tired / sicky spells almost every day if I do not get the appropriate amount of protein in me. Balancing the need to eat protein every couple of hours against staying this low is a challenge. I managed it yesterday. I can only hope for as good of results for the next month.
One weird thing that has come up in the last 48 hours for me, mentally, is that this strict control on what I am putting in my mouth makes me feel better. In maintenance mode, I have felt like little nibbles were OK. Now I am not feeling that that is the case. And I just feel more in control in general. I guess I am an all or nothing person. I will have to think on that further...
Monday, September 19, 2011
The Final Push?
They aren't kidding about the last few pounds being the hardest. This journey has not been truly difficult until the last few months, and even then, I know it is because I am not a patient person. I accepted the slow down and pushed myself harder. I've tried different calories, and have been keeping up with exercise.
Last time I wrote, I was cutting down my calories to around 1200 - the lowest you are supposed to go. I found I was getting very tired, and I was cold a LOT more. But, I did lose like 6 pounds that month. Regardless of the success, I just don't have it in me to have that low of energy in my body. So then I upped it to 14-1600, but the reality is I was doing more like 1800 because I get great satisfaction from having a dessert at night (a hot cup [or 3] of almond milk with Torani's sugar free flavored syrup, or a bowl of my NiceCream - frozen fruit blended with Stevia and almond milk, then topped with a tablespoon or 2 of coconut butter). The result of that is that I have been stuck at the same weight for about a month now. It seems that 1600-1800 is going to be my maintenance calorie number.
Now, I know I am gaining muscle. My arms and shoulders have definition and my thighs are pretty solid (under the remaining loose skin and fat) so there is a good chance that I am replacing some fat with muscle, but I am just not satisfied. The intellectual in me KNOWS this is stupid. Numbers on the scale are just numbers and don't really mean much in the grand scheme of things when you are talking overall fitness. But, I really want the satisfaction of seeing that I am in the "normal" BMI category which means I need to lose 10 pounds somehow.
I can see the excess fat anyway - so I won't be truly satisfied until the fat is gone. If it is all replaced with muscle I would be quite happy - I would love to end up ripped :) But, that is an aspect of my journey I am just starting to ponder and won't peruse it further until the fat is off.
I need to do a final push that I can really focus on so I am switching up my meals to have a less caloric breakfast (I got it down to 276 which includes my almond-mik in my coffee and my flax seed supplements, from 401). In this way, I think I can stick to 1400 for reals, and still have a dessert drink at night (probably not my NiceCream, but that's OK). I have to admit that I am hungry now because of this change, but it is almost lunch time.
Another thing I want to do is start running more, but the only way to do that on my schedule is to get a treadmill so I can run in the am - so this is a semi long-term goal as I need to save $$ before that can happen. Those freaking things are EXPENSIVE but I think it will be worth it in the long run. Pun intended.
So here a very cool thing: I put on a size 4 skirt this weekend and I was able to zip it all the way up (it was tight, adn there was overhang, but that sipper was all the way up!). CRAZY TALK. I am in a 6 jeans now. I hope I can get this excess flab under the loose skin off so I can actually get into a 4. 8 was my dream size, 6 was my wishful thinking size. I never thought about 4 until now...
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Doin' Great and Feelin' Fine!
It seems that the reduction of calories and increasing my activity has kick started my weight loss again. HORAY!
Since I last posted, I have started jogging a FULL 5k (3.1+ miles) 3 times a week. How cool is that!? When I started, it was taking me roughly 42 minutes. Now I am doing 38-39 minutes. I am not pushing myself, it is jut sort of naturally speeding up on it's own, which is super cool. I have also been good about my toning DVD and hilly walk on my non-run days. And even about letting myself have a rest day when it is needed, usually just 1 day a week, but it is sometimes 2 days.
My hair is feeling and looking so much better. It is not an tangled mass of thin straw anymore. It is very silky. I am not really seeing an increase in thickness of it yet; if there is going to be thick increase, I won't see that for MONTHS as it starts growing back in. But, I have noticed that my nails are growing at a phenomenal rate. I hope that means the same is happening on my head.
It is REALLY hard for me to stick to 1200 calories a day, but I am trying hard. I am letting myself have a bigger day on one weekend day (1500-1600) just to keep my body guessing. I am far from perfect on this though. My last week as been like this, calorie-wise:
Thur 1128
Fri 1181
Sat 1623
Sun 1259
Mon 1306
Tues 1364
So I have definite room for improvement since the average there is 1310. It is just so hard since my breakfast is roughly 550 calories, I only have 700ish to spread across 2 more meals, and I usually want a snack - but I have been trying not to have one since that is always the reason my days go over 1200. Oh well.. there is always room for improvement and this is where mine is right now.
Not much else is happening weight journey wise. In non-related news, we are moving along with the house. Contractors have been coming out and I am expecting the bids to come pouring in soon. We move in less than 2 months. Exciting stuff! This is my first home that is MINE - not rented, and not my parents. So weird.
Until next time...
Since I last posted, I have started jogging a FULL 5k (3.1+ miles) 3 times a week. How cool is that!? When I started, it was taking me roughly 42 minutes. Now I am doing 38-39 minutes. I am not pushing myself, it is jut sort of naturally speeding up on it's own, which is super cool. I have also been good about my toning DVD and hilly walk on my non-run days. And even about letting myself have a rest day when it is needed, usually just 1 day a week, but it is sometimes 2 days.
My hair is feeling and looking so much better. It is not an tangled mass of thin straw anymore. It is very silky. I am not really seeing an increase in thickness of it yet; if there is going to be thick increase, I won't see that for MONTHS as it starts growing back in. But, I have noticed that my nails are growing at a phenomenal rate. I hope that means the same is happening on my head.
It is REALLY hard for me to stick to 1200 calories a day, but I am trying hard. I am letting myself have a bigger day on one weekend day (1500-1600) just to keep my body guessing. I am far from perfect on this though. My last week as been like this, calorie-wise:
Thur 1128
Fri 1181
Sat 1623
Sun 1259
Mon 1306
Tues 1364
So I have definite room for improvement since the average there is 1310. It is just so hard since my breakfast is roughly 550 calories, I only have 700ish to spread across 2 more meals, and I usually want a snack - but I have been trying not to have one since that is always the reason my days go over 1200. Oh well.. there is always room for improvement and this is where mine is right now.
Not much else is happening weight journey wise. In non-related news, we are moving along with the house. Contractors have been coming out and I am expecting the bids to come pouring in soon. We move in less than 2 months. Exciting stuff! This is my first home that is MINE - not rented, and not my parents. So weird.
Until next time...
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Wishy-Washy, Determined, or Re-evaluation Savvy?
I can't do it - I can't stop my weight-loss journey when I am 24 pounds from high-maintenance weight. My friend told me I have mental issues and should seek help because I felt guilty about eating 1600-1800 calories. I think she may be jealous (I think this is the case for other reasons than that one statement - she said a couple of nasties to me yesterday, but I am OK with it. I know I have done something amazing here and it is bound to cause an issue with the person who was used to being the "thin" one in the relationship.)
So, knowing that I am not ready to stop regulating my calorie intake, but also have more than a little concern about my hair thinning due to mal-nutrition issues, I have done some re-working of current plans and short term goals.
I am being diligent bout taking my Healthy Skin & Hair-Nails supplements twice a day (never read that I was supposed to have it twice a day on the label before. Duh) and my multivitamin and calcium at night. I have also added Flax Seed oil supplements to my routine (30 extra calories a day - worth it if it helps my hair). I am committed to having salmon twice a week - which is no skin off my back. I love me some salmon. And I am committed to protein in every meal. I am having a harder time adding fat to every meal, but I think my flax seed supplements will take care of that need. Also, I went out and spent a LOT (to me) of money on some special shampoo and conditioner that is made for thin hair, Nioxin.
My calorie commitment is 1200 a day. Yup, I knocked it way the hell down. I hope the last month of 16-1800 is going to break the plateau I was in, and now this deficit will get the ball rolling. So far, day 1 of my new commitment (July 5) I managed 1380 - whoops. Day 2 I did 1169 - much better! Of course, I am going out to lunch today with a co-worker, so who knows what today will be, but I will try to keep it light (side salad and ceviche should be under 400 leaving my dinner free to be 400).
My exercise routine is going along well. Every other day I am jogging 32:30 which is about 2.5 miles, then a 3minute break, then another 6.5 mins / .5 miles to finish up. On off days, I have been following a Jackie somethingorother DVD with the free weights on abs and upper body for 30 minutes, then a 40 minute hill climb (an elevation change of + 400 feet in 1 mile of road) in my neighborhood with the mutts. That said, I am listening to my body, and if I am feeling worn down, I take a break day. So far it has seemed like I do 3-4 workouts in a row, and then my body wants a rest day. I am good with that.
New short term goal: I am visiting the hubs family the first weekend of November. It would be great to lose 4 pounds a month until then. So my wishful goal is to be 152 by the first weekend of November. I am still firmly in size 10, but can't wait for my jeans to start loosening up a bit so I can be in single digit clothing. That's gonna be a weird day ;)
Until next time (and who knows what changes I will have made by then LOL)
So, knowing that I am not ready to stop regulating my calorie intake, but also have more than a little concern about my hair thinning due to mal-nutrition issues, I have done some re-working of current plans and short term goals.
I am being diligent bout taking my Healthy Skin & Hair-Nails supplements twice a day (never read that I was supposed to have it twice a day on the label before. Duh) and my multivitamin and calcium at night. I have also added Flax Seed oil supplements to my routine (30 extra calories a day - worth it if it helps my hair). I am committed to having salmon twice a week - which is no skin off my back. I love me some salmon. And I am committed to protein in every meal. I am having a harder time adding fat to every meal, but I think my flax seed supplements will take care of that need. Also, I went out and spent a LOT (to me) of money on some special shampoo and conditioner that is made for thin hair, Nioxin.
My calorie commitment is 1200 a day. Yup, I knocked it way the hell down. I hope the last month of 16-1800 is going to break the plateau I was in, and now this deficit will get the ball rolling. So far, day 1 of my new commitment (July 5) I managed 1380 - whoops. Day 2 I did 1169 - much better! Of course, I am going out to lunch today with a co-worker, so who knows what today will be, but I will try to keep it light (side salad and ceviche should be under 400 leaving my dinner free to be 400).
My exercise routine is going along well. Every other day I am jogging 32:30 which is about 2.5 miles, then a 3minute break, then another 6.5 mins / .5 miles to finish up. On off days, I have been following a Jackie somethingorother DVD with the free weights on abs and upper body for 30 minutes, then a 40 minute hill climb (an elevation change of + 400 feet in 1 mile of road) in my neighborhood with the mutts. That said, I am listening to my body, and if I am feeling worn down, I take a break day. So far it has seemed like I do 3-4 workouts in a row, and then my body wants a rest day. I am good with that.
New short term goal: I am visiting the hubs family the first weekend of November. It would be great to lose 4 pounds a month until then. So my wishful goal is to be 152 by the first weekend of November. I am still firmly in size 10, but can't wait for my jeans to start loosening up a bit so I can be in single digit clothing. That's gonna be a weird day ;)
Until next time (and who knows what changes I will have made by then LOL)
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Some scary decisions
My experimental higher calorie two weeks went really well. I did feel like I was over indulging and went up to 1900 calories on some days (heh - that makes me feel wicked just saying it LOL). I noticed that I did start having regular BMs almost immediately. The next fortnight I am supposed to be dropping down to 1200 calories a day to make up for the higher calories weeks. My plateau also broke, and I dropped down to 164.6 by the end of the 2 weeks
But, here is the decision I made. I am not going to drop down that far. In fact, I am upping my calories to 1600. I think I am have been "hurting" myself for being so low, and so strict, for 18 months. Between my hair thinning tremendously (I read this is from too low of fat), the BM issue, and the fact that I freezing cold all the time (not enough calories to spare to heat myself from my best guess) I am not doing something right. My nutrition or something is all screwy.
So, with a heavy sigh, I am going to put the breaks on the weight loss aspects of my healthy journey. I am going into a weight maintenance mode for a while. My concentration for the next while is going to be on 1) getting the nutrients (fat and protein mostly) that I need 2) changing up the exercise plan so I can start toning up some of this flab and 3) figuring out how to eat smaller, but more caloric, foods (that is, learning to STOP being a bulk eater). I will still weigh myself of course, but I don't expect to see the number going down very much anymore. I was hoping to be 140 by the end of this year, but that is no longer my goal. My goal will be to get down to a size 8. If that happens reasonably soon, I'll start working towards a size 6.
In a nutshell, the healthy goals for now are:
But, here is the decision I made. I am not going to drop down that far. In fact, I am upping my calories to 1600. I think I am have been "hurting" myself for being so low, and so strict, for 18 months. Between my hair thinning tremendously (I read this is from too low of fat), the BM issue, and the fact that I freezing cold all the time (not enough calories to spare to heat myself from my best guess) I am not doing something right. My nutrition or something is all screwy.
So, with a heavy sigh, I am going to put the breaks on the weight loss aspects of my healthy journey. I am going into a weight maintenance mode for a while. My concentration for the next while is going to be on 1) getting the nutrients (fat and protein mostly) that I need 2) changing up the exercise plan so I can start toning up some of this flab and 3) figuring out how to eat smaller, but more caloric, foods (that is, learning to STOP being a bulk eater). I will still weigh myself of course, but I don't expect to see the number going down very much anymore. I was hoping to be 140 by the end of this year, but that is no longer my goal. My goal will be to get down to a size 8. If that happens reasonably soon, I'll start working towards a size 6.
In a nutshell, the healthy goals for now are:
- Daily Calories 1600-1800 (current RMR is around 2100)
- Daily (good) fat intake: 53-60g
- Protein: 50g -60g
- Be better about taking my nighttime vitamins, and add cod liver oil
- Jogging - keep up what I am doing now (3.5 miles every other day, jog/walking)
- Free weight toning, plus hill climb with dogs on non-jogging days
Until next time :)
Half the woman I used to be. Literally.
I am reposting this here for posterity. I posted this over at 3FC in the mini-goals photo sections. the response over there has been so heartwarming, it makes me want to cry!
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I had a deal with myself that when I reached this mini-goal, I would post my pictures. I have been bouncing between 166.4 and 170 for 6 weeks now (trying to kick my first plateau while I was straddling this HUGE goal has been really discouraging, but I sallied forth!) This morning, I hopped on the scale and finally saw my magic number: 166 pounds which is also the amount of weight I have lost thus far. I weigh exactly half of what I weighed 18 months ago.
I still have 26 pounds to lose before I reach the "normal" BMI category. I am calling 140 lbs my 'high maintenance' weight. I am not sure how low I want to go weight-wise. I do know that I would like to get down to a size 6 (currently a size 10, down from a 26/28W), although I am pretty muscular so that may not be possible.
The pics are posted in the pictures area (see tabs above):
________
In January 2010 I had had enough. I weighed 332 lbs, was diagnosed as diabetic (just barely over the line for that diagnosis), had fatty liver disease, and had trouble walking a block. I lived with aches and pains day in and day out (I realized this later - at the time, I just thought pain and discomfort were part of everyone's life). I was also scared that my husband, who is 12 years younger than me, would be left wifeless at an early age if I didn’t straighten up and get healthy. I toyed with the idea of surgery but after a couple of days of investigating, I realized that that was not a healthy option for me. Although I had never attempted to "diet" before, I knew I could make healthy life changes that would result in weight loss. I have called what I am doing my "sheer strength of will plan" from day one.
I started clean eating and calorie counting (about 1400 a day, but that number has varied over time). I stopped consuming sugars, white flour products, and 95% of processed foods in general. I limited meat to 4oz or less a day. The reason I went the clean eating route was pretty simple: with only 1400 calories allotted, I had to be able to fit in all the nutritional requirements our bodies need in a compact way. I used Superfoods RX and In Defense of Food as my manuals for proper eating. Additionally, I am a bulk eater - I love the feeling of being full (which is actually a habit I am trying to break now, but that is a subject for a different post). The easiest way to get full on fewer calories is to eat loads of veggies, which I do to the tune of 9-12 servings a day. It helps that I LOVE to cook, and I am really good at it. I have been able to make really great meals using mostly veggies, very little oil, and healthy alternatives to higher calorie ingredients.
Within a month of making these changes, I was down 27 pounds and was no longer diabetic. I lost 137 pounds in the first year on eating habits alone. Three months ago I had an MRI done and my fatty liver striations and tumors have cleared up, so I am no longer considered having fatty liver disease. I could list a lot of negative things here that I no longer have; my list of "things I didn't know I couldn't do but now that I can I am amazed" would be twice as long.
In January 2011 I started to exercise. I started just by taking 20 minute walks. Then I added some distance. Soon, I added small bursts of light jogging. I started out at 15 seconds of jogging followed by 8 minutes of walking for 4 cycles. I thought I was going to die
Over time, I added to the jogging by 30 seconds, while taking away from the walking and have continued this pattern. Today, I jog for 32 minutes, walk for 3 minutes and then finish with another 6.5 minute jog (about 3.5 miles total). I do this every other day. My goal is to be able jog the whole distance and once that is reached, I will start working on speed. I am trying to work up the motivation to add free weight toning on my off-running days, but I am having a really hard time starting.
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I had a deal with myself that when I reached this mini-goal, I would post my pictures. I have been bouncing between 166.4 and 170 for 6 weeks now (trying to kick my first plateau while I was straddling this HUGE goal has been really discouraging, but I sallied forth!) This morning, I hopped on the scale and finally saw my magic number: 166 pounds which is also the amount of weight I have lost thus far. I weigh exactly half of what I weighed 18 months ago.
I still have 26 pounds to lose before I reach the "normal" BMI category. I am calling 140 lbs my 'high maintenance' weight. I am not sure how low I want to go weight-wise. I do know that I would like to get down to a size 6 (currently a size 10, down from a 26/28W), although I am pretty muscular so that may not be possible.
The pics are posted in the pictures area (see tabs above):
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In January 2010 I had had enough. I weighed 332 lbs, was diagnosed as diabetic (just barely over the line for that diagnosis), had fatty liver disease, and had trouble walking a block. I lived with aches and pains day in and day out (I realized this later - at the time, I just thought pain and discomfort were part of everyone's life). I was also scared that my husband, who is 12 years younger than me, would be left wifeless at an early age if I didn’t straighten up and get healthy. I toyed with the idea of surgery but after a couple of days of investigating, I realized that that was not a healthy option for me. Although I had never attempted to "diet" before, I knew I could make healthy life changes that would result in weight loss. I have called what I am doing my "sheer strength of will plan" from day one.
I started clean eating and calorie counting (about 1400 a day, but that number has varied over time). I stopped consuming sugars, white flour products, and 95% of processed foods in general. I limited meat to 4oz or less a day. The reason I went the clean eating route was pretty simple: with only 1400 calories allotted, I had to be able to fit in all the nutritional requirements our bodies need in a compact way. I used Superfoods RX and In Defense of Food as my manuals for proper eating. Additionally, I am a bulk eater - I love the feeling of being full (which is actually a habit I am trying to break now, but that is a subject for a different post). The easiest way to get full on fewer calories is to eat loads of veggies, which I do to the tune of 9-12 servings a day. It helps that I LOVE to cook, and I am really good at it. I have been able to make really great meals using mostly veggies, very little oil, and healthy alternatives to higher calorie ingredients.
Within a month of making these changes, I was down 27 pounds and was no longer diabetic. I lost 137 pounds in the first year on eating habits alone. Three months ago I had an MRI done and my fatty liver striations and tumors have cleared up, so I am no longer considered having fatty liver disease. I could list a lot of negative things here that I no longer have; my list of "things I didn't know I couldn't do but now that I can I am amazed" would be twice as long.
In January 2011 I started to exercise. I started just by taking 20 minute walks. Then I added some distance. Soon, I added small bursts of light jogging. I started out at 15 seconds of jogging followed by 8 minutes of walking for 4 cycles. I thought I was going to die
Over time, I added to the jogging by 30 seconds, while taking away from the walking and have continued this pattern. Today, I jog for 32 minutes, walk for 3 minutes and then finish with another 6.5 minute jog (about 3.5 miles total). I do this every other day. My goal is to be able jog the whole distance and once that is reached, I will start working on speed. I am trying to work up the motivation to add free weight toning on my off-running days, but I am having a really hard time starting.
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