Weight loss as of September 25th-- 28.4 pounds!!
When I was talking to my mom last week . . . yes, my mom is still alive--almost 90 years old and still going strong! Well, she is slowing down a little, but she's doing pretty darn good for her age. Anyhoo, she mentioned how surprised she was when she saw me earlier in the summer in my swimsuit.
And it wasn't a pleasant surprise!
But I talked to her about what triggered my realization that I needed to lose weight. Many things triggered it, but one of them wasn't because I finally realized that I was fat.
Trust me, people, fat people already KNOW they need to lose weight. Telling them won't help matters. They have to be at a place in their life where they realize it's time to take control and do something about it.
If there is one thing y'all expect from me, it's honesty. And I have no problem admitting to my triggers, or my starting weight. And for the record, at the age of 50, the only daily pill that I take is a multi-vitamin, so I consider myself pretty darn healthy.
What triggered my decision:
--my blood pressure was 130/84. Now for over 40 years my BP never was above 120/78, and I didn't like the increase. High BP runs in the family, but if I can lower it without taking medication, then I'm all over that!
--my weight of 177.2 lbs. For a person who is only 5'1" that's a lot of weight. It wasn't the weight that triggered my decision, but the realization that I was heavier than I had been when I was ready to have my baby ten years ago. Not good. My goal weight is 130, which is barely inside my weight range for my height, but I might drop it when I get there. I'll listen to my body and see if it's stable at 130 or if I should lose some more.
--I had been feeling like crap for a long time. This scared me because diabetes runs in our family--juvenile and adult-onset. When I worked in the lab, I would test my blood yearly. After I stopped working, I had six years for things to go haywire.
--my daughter and husband. I'm the main cook of the family. What I cook or don't cook directly reflects back on their health. I must be a good example for them.
--we were going to Disney World in August, and I wasn't about to be huffin' and puffin' on that trip. If you've never been to WDW, then let me tell you there is a lot of walking, A LOT! A few years ago, I wore a pedometer. By 6 PM, we had walked 15 miles. I don't know how much further we walked because the silly thing popped off my belt when I used the restroom at the Japan pavilion in Epcot--it was an auto-flusher, so WHOOSH, it was gone!
This time, I was ready to join Weight Watchers.
Heck, it was my fourth time! I should be a pro at it, right?
Yes and no.
In fact, I've heard a rumor that Dr. Oz--yeah, that Dr. Oz from TV--is seriously excited to promote WW on his show. Think about it. This program offers a well-balanced diet, plus meetings, plus recipes, plus REAL FOOD and it teaches you to deal with REAL EATING.
So many other programs require you to buy their products to succeed. Though WW offers products, you don't have to purchase them. I don't.
This time around I decided to do things a little differently. Because I realized that if I totally change the way I buy and cook food, I will simply change BACK after I lose the weight. I'm not going to allow that to happen.
Which is why I won't buy WW products since I don't use them now. I refuse to buy reduced fat, reduced sugar cookies or other treats. I didn't buy them pre-weight loss, so why start now? Let me qualify that statement. I don't buy them for myself. I DO buy them for my daughter to take in her lunch.
Now, this doesn't mean that I won't try Fat Free cream cheese--I did and it totally bites. Never again. But I'll also try the 1/3 less fat Cream cheese next time. And if it stinks in this particular recipe, then I'll buy the full fat product and take the WW points plus hit.
Have you ever tried Fat Free Cheddar cheese? It's nasty. The stuff doesn't melt, and it tastes like plastic. Why waste your time and money on it. Just use less cheese.
Weight Watcher has an online program called e-tools. Love it!
I use e-tools to write down my daily tracking. Everything that goes in my mouth gets written down--yes, even the day I had cravings and ended up eating 2 Tbls. of ice cream sprinkles (3 points in case your interested).
There are also good health checks. If you get the minimum daily required amounts of water, dairy, fruits/vegetables, good oil, multi-vitamin, and exercise, you get a smiley face. I like the smiley faces.
But I rarely get one for the healthy oils or dairy. But I'm okay with that.
We are allowed 29 daily points and 49 weekly points, along with building up activity points.
I will NOT plan to use my weekly or activity points routinely.
Why?
Because I KNOW that I will UNDER estimate the true WW points values, which means I will go OVER my allotted points. I want the extra unused points as padding. Besides, if I used them up then I can't eat a piece baklava (10 pts) that had my name on it. OR if I'm feeling the urge, I can have some candy, or chips, or a nice Fat Tire beer (5 points), or a margarita (124 grams=9 pts). Oh, FYI, 124 grams is slightly over 4 ounces. The mongo margarita you get at most restaurants is about 15 ounces. So quadruple your points. Jus' sayin'. I allow myself a daily glass of wine. Sometimes I drink it, sometimes I don't. Red wine (118 grams = 4 points)
I weigh and measure almost everything. Yes, I weigh my wine. Grams are more accurate than ounces.
And there you have it. A little insight into my weight loss journey.
Later, Peeps
I'm changing my eating habits to eat healthier. The same with me about high blood pressure. Mine went up the last two years, and my doctor put me on high blood pressure medication, which didn't agree with me. I'm on the low end, so went off of it (with my doctor's agreement).
ReplyDeleteI'm the heaviest I've ever been, though I'm actually within the recommended weight for my height. But I'm not doing this for my weight (though that will be a bonus). I'm doing it for my health.
That said, today is my husband's birthday, and I'm making the cake he requested. German chocolate. It's not low calorie, I can tell you that. I will try to resist but it's yummy.
Happy birthday, Edie's hubby!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your slice of full-calorie cake, Edie. Don't deny yourself, as that is where we tend to go overboard. Deny until we go nuts with the overeating. Eat a smaller slice than you normally would and ENJOY each and every bite. You will find that you will be satisfied quicker than expected.
When I had my birthday in August, I had a wonderful Turtle Cake. Half of it was frozen (wrapped and vacuum sealed), and over 5 days we ate the other half--well, okay on my birthday we actually ate 1/4 of the cake. :-)
The key is not to continue eating the 'treats' daily. An occasional treat isn't going to do any long-term damage.
Margaret, you have a great plan and sound reasoning for wanting to make you weight goal. Amd we are at the age where "payback" begins if we don't manage our health.
ReplyDeleteI've always been a tiny thing - and the other day when I was carrying a 70-lb bag of feed from my car to the feed room, I was thinking "there are people who are 70 lbs overweight - this is what it feels like to bear that weight on your body". I could barely shuffle along, my knees hurt after ten steps and I was out of breath by the time I got the 25 feet to the feed room. It's no wonder obesity invites so many problems.
One thing I would advise you to do as you get closer to your goal weight is stop thinking in terms of pounds, and switch to thinking in terms of inches. If you exercise and put on muscle, you can actually GAIN weight but still LOSE inches. So it doesn't matter what the scale says if you pant size keeps dropping.
Go Margie!
Todd handed me some weights totaling 28lbs. It's really amazing. You never think about the weight you're carting around when you're heavier.
ReplyDeleteI had to buy a bra yesterday. All mine are too loose. :-) I just picked up one since I'll be losing so much more weight and I don't want to overbuy at this stage.
I did buy a couple pairs of jeans two sizes smaller than what I wore last winter. When I tried on my old jeans, I found 7 pairs of size 8's--my current size, depending on the style.
I should have checked BEFORE I went shopping.
Size 8 is pretty small! You should be really proud of yourself.
ReplyDeleteOh, and BTW, while it's commendable to be doing the weight loss thing for your health, there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing it for vanity as well. Who doesn't want to look their best and be happy when they look in to the mirror?
ReplyDeleteI'm still flabbier than I want to be--loose fatty flesh and all, but under that my muscles are getting toned.
ReplyDeleteAt my smallest--in college, I never went below a size 6 and 115 lbs, which makes me think that sizes are getting bigger to make people feel good about themselves!
Good job on the weight loss, Mags! I'm so proud of you!
ReplyDeleteYou're an inspiration. I can't wait to see you. When the contest is over, let's meet for lunch. (I would say a walk in the park, but that would have to wait until the first hard freeze since my allergies are killing me.)
Sounds great, Marilyn!
ReplyDeleteGive me a call when you are caught up with the contest stuff!
Margie, I know for a fact that some clothing lines have changed the sizes on the tags over the years. I used to shop at Ann Taylor Loft frequently. I started out wearing a size 4. Then I went to a 2. Now I'm a zero. BUT....I still have the size 2's and 4's, and they all fit exactly the same as the 0's. So I haven't changed, but the sizes have. I have from size 0 to size 8 in my closet, and they ALL fit me the same. That's why I urge people to not pay attention to tags and to go by how they look and feel.
ReplyDelete