The Weight Struggle

It was time to bite the bullet and face reality. I had to face the fact that I am now over forty and my metabolism has slowed to the point I can't eat whatever, whenever. I've been lazy and unwise with my food choices. I eat out of stress and boredom, and really, if I'm not stressed I'm bored, so I eat -- a lot. Stepping on the scale was beginning to make me cringe, as was the fact that I don't do tight clothing and my clothes were beginning to get tight. I also don't exercise remotely as often as I should. On a good week it might happen twice.

 First off, I went to my family doctor to rule out a thyroid issue. Nope, nothing there. I talked to my doctor about the scale that continued to creep up. He was very sympathetic as he patted his widening girth. He recommended I read the South Beach Diet by Dr. Agastaton. A couple days later, I bought the book at one of our local thrift stores and poured over it. It made sense to me. It wasn't gimicky like so many things, or so rigid that I knew I would only last a few days and give up. So I decided to completely cut out the sugar and the carbs for two weeks. Bam!! Fourteen pounds and 29 3/4" melted away. I didn't follow his program exactly, as his recipes usually serve at least two people -- if not more, and it was only me doing the program. Between his recipes and Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet recipes, I was quite enjoying myself. Truth of the matter is, I LOVE to eat. I'm always (or was) looking forward to the next time I can eat. Now I still enjoy eating, but I'm not subconciously looking forward to the next meal or snack.

If I can lose another 15 lbs I will hit a nice goal weight, but it means I need to start exercising again, and truthfully, I hate to sweat! I also can't stand an audience -- which is virtually impossible with seven children. I'm considering swimming -- even though I don't swim that well. I figure it's a good all over workout and even though I'll still be sweating, it will be in the water. If you never see another post about my losing weight, you know I wasn't very successful in the exercise department.

What have I learned so far?  Well, first off, my life does not have to revolve around food.  I find I think about it less these days. I have also been doing quite a bit of reading about weight gain after age forty, food intolerances, adrenal fatigue, etc.,  and have made some discoveries of my own about weight gain and loss, and how my body works.  I am learning to keep the refined carbs -- and sugar especially -- to a minimum as I have discovered that too much of either one wreaks havoc with my system -- not only causing me to gain weight rapidly, but in other ways as well. I end up with bloating, cramps, headaches, and lots of acne too. Sometimes when I'm really craving something sweet I pop a piece of gum or I have one very small piece of chocolate. Then I guzzle lots of water. My biggest vice these days is coffee. I learned to drink it black many months ago and could care less if it's caffeinated, decaf, or half caf. I wish I could get more excited about the herbal teas, but there is something about them that I don't like and I always feel the need to add sugar and or milk. Even then I don't really appreciate them. I do however enjoy them iced without any additional sugar or milk. Strange, I know

I also learned that it's okay to have off days. These are the days when we're out and about all day, or we're visiting with company either at home or out. I will allow myself the cake, a glass of pop, white pasta, etc. I know I won't exactly be comfortable the next day, but after a day or two of avoiding the glutens and refined sugars, I'm feeling pretty chipper again. By chipper, I mean that I'm not tired or head-achy and have lots of energy. I always thought that God just didn't create me to be a high energy person. I now realize that that isn't the case. It's what I had been eating that I shouldn't have and wasn't eating that I should have been eating. It's really been an eye opener!

My goal is to drop another ten pounds by the end of September (I'll work on the final five after that). If I can do it, I am going to buy myself a pair of cowboy boots -- hefty price or not! I have wanted a pair for half of forever and this seems a good enough reason for me to finally have a pair -- and they'll look fantastic with a pair of jeans (provided I have any pairs that still fit me by then) going into the cooler weather! So there you have it! Please tell me I'm not the only one doing battle ;o)!!