It seemed like a good idea at the time.....
So, I told myself that if I lost 20 pounds I would begin to blog about my journey. Well, today I hit 24 pounds down and am making myself do what I promised. Weight loss, what a huge pain in the ass. We all want to be thinner but when you try to lose weight it is like your body becomes your worst enemy! I guess to start, it would be good to explain WHY I decided to go on this physical and emotional roller coaster. First, I had been topping the scale at 174 pounds on my 5′5 frame and felt like absolute crap. It was like being pregnant FOREVER! It was hard to breath, it was painful, and I HATED looking in the mirror. The woman staring back at me was not me, it was this old, dumpy, fat version of me and I hated her. Pictures of me made me cry and would be deleted immediately. Anyone posting pictures of me were immediate enemy’s. I realized the hard way that once you hit your 40′s, being overweight makes you look OLD. I agree that looks aren’t everything, but they sure help.
Okay, enough whining about how awful I looked. The point being, I was terribly unhappy with myself. However, I was also living in Denial-ville in what I was doing about this whole situation. You know, the usual crap of “But I exercise constantly and I don’t eat much!” was always coming out. I was SURE I was active! Then, I changed jobs and was super busy and sitting at my desk constantly and there went on another 10 pounds in one year! Finally, I got something that really changed my attitude about my exercise and general health. I got a FitBit. When I first put it on and saw that 10,000 was a daily goal, I scoffed and said to myself ‘oh hell, I KNOW I walk that much already!’. Well, I didn’t. Not even close! So, then I started walking more often to see if I could hit the 10,000 step goal. It took me DAYS to walk enough in one day to hit that goal. It was sad really, but a great wake-up call!
So, I started with walking. Walking seems so painless until you haven’t done it for awhile and you start going miles at a time. Ibuprofen was my best friend for weeks and I took it at night so I could sleep past the aches and pains. Okay, got that going, so I should start dropping weight like crazy, right? Wrong. I lost a few pounds after weeks, but no real progress so I had to take a serious look at what I was eating. My mom went on a diet and lost 10 pounds and she said she ate toast at breakfast, a shake for lunch and a normal dinner. I looked at her in horror and thought ‘I can’t eat nothing but toast for breakfast and a shake for lunch! I will starve to death!’ I immediately thought of Ursula in Little Mermaid and rethought that. So, I thought ‘Atkins Diet!’ I am sure you can the logical sense to that conclusion! Now, I went to Wal-Mart and picked up some Atkins shakes and some of the snacks bars. So, I started eating eggs and sausage for breakfast, and Atkins stuff throughout the day. Okay, the only positive thing I can say about this brilliant plan was that I cut out most of the sugar I had been eating. And, when they say sugar is addictive, they are not kidding! I am now terrified of sugar because it feels WONDERFUL to have that sweet bastard off my back! He was sucking the life out of me! Once I cut out sugar, I did start losing weight. Slowly, but steadily. I actually did manage to cut back breakfast to 2 pieces of whole wheat toast with butter and jam. I drink an Atkins shake around mid-morning and drink a protein shake for lunch with some fresh veggies around mid afternoon and then a normal dinner. I have had countless plateaus and realized that you just had to keep at it and eventually you would begin to lose again. I will say, I do take Slimquick but let me tell you why. First, it didn’t cut my food cravings. Second what it DOES do is make my jaw tight and the only way to loosen it up is to exercise. So, it makes me exercise because otherwise I can’t stand the jaw thing. Sounds horrible? Well, it is, but it works so I do it.
So, to wrap up this initial blog, what did I do to change my habits? I now walk 15 to 20 minutes mid morning, exercise during lunch EVERY day, walk 15 to 20 minutes in the afternoon and then again for 30 minutes when I get home at night. I have cut out all sugar from my daily diet except the jam on my toast. No candy, no cookies, no pie. Sound harsh? It really isn’t once you get used to NOT eating that shit. Best thing I ever did! Have toast for breakfast, mid morning shake, shake for lunch, veggies for PM snack and then sensible dinner that doesn’t allow for me to be a hog. One piece of meat, a 1/2 cup of some starch and veggies. And the Slimquick that physically abuses me daily. That is it. #weightloss