Losing Weight . . . Again

The never ending cycle of gaining and losing weight. 

Gah! I'm so tired of it. And last week, I hit the wall. I'm done. This is total BS. I can't continue like this any longer!

I'm pretty much at the weight I was at when I first started my Weighty Wednesday blog about 14 years ago. 

Just a couple of weeks before I hit my 60th birthday, and I'm feeling older than I should. My waist has barreled out and no matter how little I eat, I gain weight. Even walking 5 miles a day for 5 days in a week didn't help me lose even an ounce. The last four months exacerbated my issue. 

May of 2021, I stepped on a rock (my cuboid bone, if you're interested). I kept walking until it became impossible to walk and I was torqueing my foot to keep off the sore area. I stopped walking 5 miles, but continued my normal life. I did use the stretchy medical tape to give it support. I was pretty sure I had a 'greenstick' fracture as it felt like my finger when I broke it. It hurt for 6 weeks then it stopped hurting and had a lump at the offending location. 

Early June, went to my primary doc. Had an x-ray. Nothing visible. Recommended seeing podiatrist--didn't get an appointment with podiatrist for four weeks. My mom passed away on the 12th of June. Funeral on the 19th (Yes, I wore my new stilettoes with black support tape on my foot). One week later, my local siblings and I started cleaning out the house. 

July 7, finally see podiatrist. Again the evasive non-answer. Recommended a boot and an MRI. I agreed with the MRI, but refused the boot until it could be proved that I actually broke my foot. Remember, by this time, I had injured my foot TWO MONTHS AGO. 

Ten days later, I get the MRI. 

Hey! I broke my foot! This is a screen grab from my MRI. Remember MRI's take individual slices. Focus on the middle metatarsal. Black line= bad.  No, I'm not missing toes...

I suspected in May that I broke my foot, but it wasn't until August 4 that I had the 'official' diagnosis. 

So I'm wearing a stupid boot until mid-September.

Segue to August 10 and the topic of this blog:

I'm sick and tired of gaining weight. I know I have to do something drastic to make a change. 

I decide to try Keto. No, I don't buy in to all the Keto crap, but I do need a focus. I joined a couple of Facebook groups (I've since deleted them, because they are all about, "Hey, follow me. Buy my shit, blah, blah, blah.") The best part of the quick venture into the Keto world is the person who recommended the Carb Manager app. 

The key, in my mind, is to document everything you put in your piehole. Yes, this means the stupid stuff like gummy Calcium supplements...HOLY CRAP! THAT'S 4 GRAMS OF CARBOHYDRATES! and yes, I stopped my gummy supplements replacing them with regular pills. 

While I LOVE documenting my food intake, I have to admit that I have yet to hit my net proteins, fats or daily calories. Yes, my friends, I haven't managed to hit my 1500 calorie a day mark. Also, I've managed to go over the recommended 20 grams of carbohydrates every single day, but never over 30 grams. 

So where does that leave me?

Down 5.1 pounds in a week. 

No, I'm not hungry. No, I haven't been boredom eating. And for the most part, I haven't had any cravings, nor suffer any intestinal discomfort.  

Yes, I'm at the beginning of this process. And there will  be ups and downs. One down was the day I added just a touch of Crystal light squirt sweetener in my water. The next day, the cravings started. It was a tough day, but I learned again that ONE'S BODY REACTS TO ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS THE SAME WAY AS REGULAR SUGAR. I have to go cold turkey with the sweet stuff. 

I've also started walking again--in my boot--about 3 miles for two days and one day off, repeat. 

I'm not really doing hard-core Keto, I think of myself doing a Keto/paleo/old Weight Watcher points (pre Oprah) type of eating. The biggest change I made was to stop eating all sorts of grain-based products (no pasta, bread or pizza), no sugar (not even honey) or artificial sweeteners, and I try to stay away from any premade anything. I made quiche for the family last week and simply scraped the crust away. We went to the Brook, a local eating joint, and ordered a Reuben with steamed veg on the side, I ate the insides of the Reuben. 

Along with the weight loss, I also noticed my thumb joint arthritis wasn't as bad as normal. A side-effect? Fluke? Who knows. Maybe the refined carbs were causing some sort of inflammatory response in my system. 

I'll keep you updated, but probably not on a regular basis.

Later!