So, since I started working on weight loss and feeling
better on February 29, I have lost 22 pounds and kept it off. I am now in the
next active losing phase and I want to share what I have learned.
- I eat more than I think I do. Duh. I wouldn’t be overweight if I consumed only for fueling. I binge and make excuses to myself and I bargain with my future self for calories ingested today. It’s like Wimpy offering to gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today. It doesn’t work that way.
- Tracking food consumption is critical to success. One night I was having a hunger meltdown about 10 p.m. I was starving. But I had not logged my food (on the Lose It! App), so I got to it. Sure enough, I had eaten a sufficient amount of food for the day so I drank water and made a pot of tea. I did not die of starvation in the night. Shocking.
- I feel so much better. My back seems to have recovered. My hips are still sore at the joint if I sit to long and I am fearful of quick movements, but 22 pounds has made a profound difference. There was a time when I thought I might never walk correctly again. I didn’t think I would ever run or hike…it was depressing. The longer the weight controlled my health, the more depressing my prospects were. The saddest thought was never riding my bike again. I was fortunate to be born with a strong body and I was ruining it out of total loss of self-control.
- Minimizing the use of extra added sugar is not even a little difficult. I eliminated sugar from coffee, tea, fruit (yeah, I sugared fruit), and cereal and I don’t even miss it. Occasionally I put raw sugar in iced tea as a treat. Wahoo! Unfortunately, this makes sweet treats almost unbearably sweet now.
- Losing weight does not mean the end of enjoying food. I still eat everything I love. I still have cocktails and beer. Occasionally I will eat some junk food or a sweet treat. The difference is the amount and frequency of it. If you have it daily it isn’t, by definition, a treat. So treats happen infrequently and are truly savored.
- This is the best part of all. I have a slow thyroid. Hypothyroidism runs in my family and can cause oodles of problems. I caught my decline early and it is controlled with a simple tablet each morning. It requires an annual blood test which shows the level of function. My most recent test shows a high functioning thyroid! OMG! So awesome. But that also means I cannot blame hypothyroidism for my weight. It is all on me to control my food intake and get some exercise.
- Exercise. It’s difficult to do when you are in pain. Pain is alleviated with movement. See it? That Catch 22? Sure you do. Up until about a month ago I could barely walk my dog. Then one day something fell into place in my spine and suddenly that no longer hurt. So I tried a short bike ride. Whee! Now I have ridden my bike many miles and I am very happy about it. I am not ready to take classes again – partially fear of re-injury and partially because I can’t trust my body completely yet. That day is coming, though. I will have to yoga-Pilates my way back to full strength, I think.
- Sleep. I need a full 8 hours and I am finally getting them. In a row. Every night! Hallelujah!
