2017 begins the second year in my low carb journey. Actually, Feb. 2 will mark the end of my first full year of this way of eating (WOE, as they say). To me, it's now a way of LIVING. Looking back, I wish I would have started blogging a year ago. But the reality at that time was, I didn't know if I could ever get back to a healthy weight. At 62, I found it tough to even lose 5 lbs., let alone the 40 or more that the docs would say I needed to lose. My cholesterol was way too high, and I am on medication for hypothyroidism. I found reasons not to exercise. I liked baking cookies "for the grand-kids." Yeah, you know I ate them, too. I guess I just had come to accept the achy joints, the extra weight, as all just part of the aging process. I was in DENIAL, friends.
Then a day in late January of 2016 my youngest daughter called me on the phone in tears after feeling humiliated during a visit to the chiropractor for nutritional testing. During the course of the conversation I said, "you know, we should join a support group or something...no, we should form our OWN support group!" My oldest daughter also lives in our town. The three of us were all struggling with the same diet issues. We all had weight to lose. That moment our journey began - and it began together.
We met regularly each week to share ideas, struggles, suggestions, recipes. We never weighed in, we didn't disclose our "starting" weight. We all knew we were overweight and we all knew how much we needed to lose. We didn't need or want the embarrassment of "weighing in" required by many weight loss groups. We were meeting to encourage and support and share ideas. We each decided on our own plan to tackle the weight and we shared our plans for each week. I decided to go "low carb" and the girls eventually took that direction also.
I did not approach the low carb plan as some do, following Atkins 2 weeks of induction, then adding back this or that carb, etc. I began slowly, knowing I was making a change for the long term. I didn't care if it took me a year to lose the weight. From the beginning, I told the girls this was not going to be just another diet for me, it was going to be a new lifestyle!
What I found was that eliminating a couple obvious culprits in my eating routine is what jump started the weight loss. We each know - if we'll admit it to ourselves - what the culprits are in our personal diets that prevent us from successful weight loss. For me it was SUGAR - yes, sugar in all it's evil forms held me in it's addictive trap. OK, and WINE...I liked my evening glass/cup/goblet/carafe of wine...too, much! There, I said it - true confessions! But let me add, losing that one bad habit jump started the journey in a big way!
The next change I made was logging into www.myfitnesspal.com daily to record my meals and exercise. The more I logged the meals the more I realized how many carbs I was consuming per day. I began keeping my carb intake as low as I comfortably could - usually between 20-50 per day. Logging my daily exercise encouraged me by showing me how many calories I was burning. I also kept a hand written journal where I tracked my daily weight and meals. This way I could easily look back to see where I may have slipped up at one point and/or what was working well. Some people choose not to weigh themselves each day, but for me it is a motivator to stay on track and a reality check. Personal preference...
Long story short - I lost 20 lbs. in 3 months and became convinced that I could eat this way for the rest of my life. After that initial 20, the weight came off more slowly, and as of today, I have lost another 10 lbs. - so 30 total over the course of the year. My goal is ultimately to lose another 10-15 lbs. this year which will be my goal weight. In the meantime, I feel so much better - and happier - and my cholesterol dropped roughly 45 points! Oh, and I might add that "Grandpa" is pretty complimentary these days - bonus! This is what I got for Christmas:
www.hsn.com/products/victoria-wieck-14ctw-absolute-bypass-band-ring/8139432
I call it my "celebration" ring. After all, successful weight loss is a reason to celebrate!
Congratulations! I am so proud of you! You are very inspirational! And why haven't I seen that ring?! It's beautiful!
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