Not words that I can often be found uttering. I was never a slim child nor adult but I would rarely have described myself as grossly overweight. Big boned , my Mother would have said; broad shouldered - that was obviously a disappointment in her life. My Mother was tiny, just about 5 feet tall and, at 21 when she married she weighed 7 st 10 lb. I don't recall the time when I last weighed such a little amount but I do recall, as a teenager, probably about 15, that a friend suggested that I should lose weight. I was possibly just over 8 st at the time but embarked on a diet for a summer. No breakfast, obviously, cottage cheese on ryvitas for lunch and half a tin of salmon and 2 slices of tomato for dinner. The diet didn't last long and I don't recall losing weight. I do remember feeling awful and I am not surprised at that.
At university my weight went up, no doubt due to eating in hall and puddings. A fellow student introduced me to the previously unknown delight of golden syrup on toast - quite easy for the times no hall meals available. I don't think I made a conscious effort to lose the weight but by my early 20s I was comfortably at about 9 st and stayed that way.
3 pregnancies in 5 years made me aware of my weight - getting weighed regularly does that to you but running around after 3 little ones meant that I stayed more or less the same for many years.
Then came middle age and the spread that comes with eating more and exercising less. I made a few efforts to keep the weight down but always in extreme ways. White wine and diet coke as main staples was how I joked about one diet. I tried the Atkins diet, felt dreadful, lost a lot and immediately put it all back on again. I then tried a variation of the Atkins adding some carbohydrates and lost more weight than I had ever done before. This coincided with my 50th birthday - a birthday I had been dreading. For a few months I felt wonderful, bought loads of new clothes and rediscovered the mini skirt. An extended holiday with lots of driving pushed the weight back on a little then, coming home, it all went back on - and more.
Diets didn't work for me. I felt deprived and wanted the quick fix. I could do the exercise but never
really enjoyed it. I restricted what I ate and never looked at what I really wanted.
The incentive of a daughter getting married seemed to be a good point to restart. A New Year's resolution did not seem a good starting point. I didn't a only want to lose weight, I wanted to be fitter and I wanted to feel good. Earlier last year I had started to go to Zumba classes and really enjoyed the, I had also started dancing again. I made the decision to make changes to my diet at the end of December. I would not attempt a "diet" I would take it one day at a time and I would eat less and move more. In doing so I would keep track of food and exercise on a daily basis and see how it went.
Today is March 1st. It is my birthday, again, and so a good time to review progress.
I have kept a daily diary of food and exercise since the end of December.
I have been eating a sensible diet of things that I like to eat.
I have been measuring portions and sticking to smaller sizes.
I have been going to Zumba but not beating myself up if I haven't made every class.
I always have breakfast.
I have been out for meals on numerous occasions and eaten well but sensibly.
I did have ice cream and noted that it took me over my usual daily calorie limit but the ne t day I got back to the standard amount.
I eat 3 meals a day and have snacks in between.
I have lost 20lb.
Yesterday I went out shopping and bought a designer dress. This morning I went to Zumba. I have a fridge and pantry with the right kinds of foods - lots of fruit, vegetables, fish and lean chicken. I have yoghurt s for snacks and cereal bars. I have some instants meals in the fridge for when I don't want to cook - I note the calories. My digital scales weigh out my breakfast muesli. Frozen berries are great to add and don't add too many calories. I haven't been buying cakes and biscuits and big bars of chocolate. I eat eggs from the hens but I haven't been using gluts of eggs - like we have now - to bake cakes. If I do bake I freeze the cake.
I know very well that it is not the losing of the weight that is the issue but the keeping it off. Will this time be any different? I hope so. I want to lose more than the 29 lb but I am happy with the 1 or 2 lbs that I have been losing each week. This seems healthy. My whole body feels lighter. I really do feel as if a weight has been lifted from me. I am wearing the clothes I bought when I was last this size and it is great to have
No comments:
Post a Comment