Weighty Matters
Since my surgery, I am determined to EAT HEALTHY, and to use the weight I lost through my medical condition the last 6 months as a springboard toward losing more weight. I have lost 25 lb since October, and another 5 lb last week. I am ecstatic, to say the least! The last time I was at the weight I am at today was 25 years ago, before I was pregnant with our youngest. And, that weight, was NOT my ideal weight, but it was less than I had been after our second child.
I was a skinny girl all my life, I never really “filled out as a woman” until I hit the age of 19 and 20. I figure that I had about 6 – 7 years where I looked perfect, as far as my figure went. Those were the few short years where I was satisfied with myself. Since then I have not looked like a model, and for many years I have been very upset with my weight. The weight starting creeping up on me very gradually after I turned 25. I think it came on me faster, because I never had to worry about what I ate, with being thin all my life. Weight has a way of creeping up on you, and then all at once, wow, reality hits you and you have to realize that you are over-weight. That’s what happened to me. It was very hard for me to accept that I was a heavy woman, because of being so thin all my life, I kept looking at myself as being thin, so that made it even easier for the weight to come on, little by little. One day I had to accept it and do something about it. Then I started working on trying to lose and lost a good amount after our second child was born. But, something happened after the third child. The diets I used before, all at once, didn’t work anymore. Then, began the years of yo-yo dieting; up and down, trying to keep it off. The worst was hitting plateaus where I would reach a weight where I absolutely couldn't get under it. That’s what happened to me the last time I really lost weight, I think that was the year of 1998. Since then I’ve tried many times, and then couldn’t even reach the plateau weight that I was in ’98! It was down hill from there. I got frustrated and the scales went up from there! I’ve learned over the years though, that people love me, no matter what weight I’m at, and I’ve learned to accept myself. But what is bad now, about my weight is not how I look, but how it affects and can affect me in the future, my health as I get older. And, with the medical history I have in our family, I’m at great risk for diabetes and heart disease. Of course, I watched what my Mother and Uncle went through with diabetes, and I’ve been saying for years that I must get my weight under control so I don’t get diabetes. It is what put my Mother in the nursing home after losing both of her legs.
I have talked a lot about it in the last few years, now it's time to once again give it another try,
for health reasons. Do it for health. Also, I want to live to see my Grandchildren grown and my Great Grandchildren. The side benefit will be that I will feel good about myself when I look in the mirror!
I think this is my last really big chance to get this weight off, since I have a 25 pound head start! It’s the perfect time to keep going. So, I AM going to do it this time, I am determined to get BELOW that plateau weight and keep going DOWN, with a 10 lb - at a time goal.
I’m not thinking way ahead to 20 or 30 pounds, I’m going to think in terms of 5 or 10 at a time. (eat an elephant one bite at a time). They say the slower you lose, the better chance one has of keeping it off. They also say that the key is to change your lifestyle and change how you look at food. I must stop looking at food as a way to comfort me, but rather I must look at it as a way to keep my body healthy, and to (as the saying goes) eat to live, NOT live to eat! Moderation. Balance. Eating healthy.
When I was home on medical leave I got a lot of my “diet” books out and looked through them again. As with many overweight women, I have a ton of these books around our house. I gleaned the best from each book. I am not eating as much (recovering from surgery helped me with that) I am paying attention to my portions. I am only eating healthy stuff, no junk. Since my body had been cleansed of sugar, it’s been easier to stay away from them, and I’m continuing on with that. I went from 2 percent milk to skim, from any sugar to Splenda, and I haven’t had a drink of pop or sweetened drink since before surgery. From yogurt to the lowest fat yogurt, and all the other “tools” that help with weight control. For Easter dinner, I even made my favorite rice dish that my Mother always made, with splenda and skim milk instead of sugar and whole milk (and it was good!) I am also drinking lots and lots of WATER. I have always known all the tools, I just must use them!
I am also getting back to excerise, which is instrumental to weight loss. I have been walking every day since my 3rd day of recovery, and have kept it up, even with being back at work. There is a treadmill in an excerise room in our building. Its free for us to use, how silly we've been there for almost 10 years, and I have never used it. Well, I do now, every day at lunch time. I'm up to 25 minutes. When the weather gets nicer, I will walk on my lunch break.
When I get clearance from my Dr. at next week's appointment, I'm going back to water aerobics class at the fitness center.
So now that I’ve told all my readers, I have another reason to keep going, because those of you that know me will be watching to see how I do, and watching to keep me accountable. That’s alright, you can do that, I’m in the right frame of mind now to allow it. I’ve made up my mind. This time it’s going to work!
I was a skinny girl all my life, I never really “filled out as a woman” until I hit the age of 19 and 20. I figure that I had about 6 – 7 years where I looked perfect, as far as my figure went. Those were the few short years where I was satisfied with myself. Since then I have not looked like a model, and for many years I have been very upset with my weight. The weight starting creeping up on me very gradually after I turned 25. I think it came on me faster, because I never had to worry about what I ate, with being thin all my life. Weight has a way of creeping up on you, and then all at once, wow, reality hits you and you have to realize that you are over-weight. That’s what happened to me. It was very hard for me to accept that I was a heavy woman, because of being so thin all my life, I kept looking at myself as being thin, so that made it even easier for the weight to come on, little by little. One day I had to accept it and do something about it. Then I started working on trying to lose and lost a good amount after our second child was born. But, something happened after the third child. The diets I used before, all at once, didn’t work anymore. Then, began the years of yo-yo dieting; up and down, trying to keep it off. The worst was hitting plateaus where I would reach a weight where I absolutely couldn't get under it. That’s what happened to me the last time I really lost weight, I think that was the year of 1998. Since then I’ve tried many times, and then couldn’t even reach the plateau weight that I was in ’98! It was down hill from there. I got frustrated and the scales went up from there! I’ve learned over the years though, that people love me, no matter what weight I’m at, and I’ve learned to accept myself. But what is bad now, about my weight is not how I look, but how it affects and can affect me in the future, my health as I get older. And, with the medical history I have in our family, I’m at great risk for diabetes and heart disease. Of course, I watched what my Mother and Uncle went through with diabetes, and I’ve been saying for years that I must get my weight under control so I don’t get diabetes. It is what put my Mother in the nursing home after losing both of her legs.
I have talked a lot about it in the last few years, now it's time to once again give it another try,
for health reasons. Do it for health. Also, I want to live to see my Grandchildren grown and my Great Grandchildren. The side benefit will be that I will feel good about myself when I look in the mirror!
I think this is my last really big chance to get this weight off, since I have a 25 pound head start! It’s the perfect time to keep going. So, I AM going to do it this time, I am determined to get BELOW that plateau weight and keep going DOWN, with a 10 lb - at a time goal.
I’m not thinking way ahead to 20 or 30 pounds, I’m going to think in terms of 5 or 10 at a time. (eat an elephant one bite at a time). They say the slower you lose, the better chance one has of keeping it off. They also say that the key is to change your lifestyle and change how you look at food. I must stop looking at food as a way to comfort me, but rather I must look at it as a way to keep my body healthy, and to (as the saying goes) eat to live, NOT live to eat! Moderation. Balance. Eating healthy.
When I was home on medical leave I got a lot of my “diet” books out and looked through them again. As with many overweight women, I have a ton of these books around our house. I gleaned the best from each book. I am not eating as much (recovering from surgery helped me with that) I am paying attention to my portions. I am only eating healthy stuff, no junk. Since my body had been cleansed of sugar, it’s been easier to stay away from them, and I’m continuing on with that. I went from 2 percent milk to skim, from any sugar to Splenda, and I haven’t had a drink of pop or sweetened drink since before surgery. From yogurt to the lowest fat yogurt, and all the other “tools” that help with weight control. For Easter dinner, I even made my favorite rice dish that my Mother always made, with splenda and skim milk instead of sugar and whole milk (and it was good!) I am also drinking lots and lots of WATER. I have always known all the tools, I just must use them!
I am also getting back to excerise, which is instrumental to weight loss. I have been walking every day since my 3rd day of recovery, and have kept it up, even with being back at work. There is a treadmill in an excerise room in our building. Its free for us to use, how silly we've been there for almost 10 years, and I have never used it. Well, I do now, every day at lunch time. I'm up to 25 minutes. When the weather gets nicer, I will walk on my lunch break.
When I get clearance from my Dr. at next week's appointment, I'm going back to water aerobics class at the fitness center.
So now that I’ve told all my readers, I have another reason to keep going, because those of you that know me will be watching to see how I do, and watching to keep me accountable. That’s alright, you can do that, I’m in the right frame of mind now to allow it. I’ve made up my mind. This time it’s going to work!
PS the photo is my wedding engagement photo. Didn't know it would show up so big...gee...
posted by Linda at 9:29 PM
2 Comments:
You go girl!
Thank you Catharine!
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