Weight Loss Journey, The Continuing Story, 10-07-17

Those who know me know I've struggled with weight problems since I was 8 years old. I went from too skinny to too fat in one year (most likely over the summer). It changed from people telling me I needed to eat to people telling me I had to stop eating.

So, here I am, 50 years later, struggling once again to get to the perfect weight. In 7th grade, I was on my first official diet -- I had to take tenuate (sp?) 30 minutes before lunch. Lunch consisted of diet jello, soup, vegetables. Then over the next few years, I tried Ayds (a caramel-like candy that you chew before each meal). I ate sauerkraut once until I got sick, same with spinach. I drank my weight in grapefruit juice and ate nothing until I ended up in the hospital. I took Desoxyn (sp?), even tried speed.

Then I started weight reduction programs like Weight Reduction Medical Center where I got a weekly vitamin B shot and added protein powder to caffeine-free drinks along with 4 ozs of protein and a small salad. I had to keep my body in ketosis. I got really weak doing that. The next one was Nutrasystems. I did really well with that program. But it was very expensive and I quit. Then I gained all the weight back and then some.

I joined Weight Watchers hundreds of times it seems. I'd do well then I'd start "cheating" and losing interest. In 2006, my cardiologist suggested I try LA Weight Loss. LA was like Weight Watchers on steroids. We followed a very similar eating plan and weighed in 3 times a week. It was very expensive, and we had to pay for some LA Lite bars that were tasty (once you got used to the chemical taste). The bars were a great way to feel like I was indulging myself, and they helped fill in the gaps between meals. I did very well -- lost 40 lbs (of 110)! Then they changed the plan and the weight loss stopped immediately, and a year later, I was still struggling to lose more. I stuck with LA until 2008 when they closed their doors, owing me 40 boxes of bars! It happened right after I had my first knee surgery and wasn't able to drive. I was very disappointed.

Then for a new year's resolution, I decided to once again lose weight. But I started on my resolution early by joining Weight Watchers Dec. 22, 2009, so I'd be armed for the holidays. It helped a lot! I actually lost weight during the holidays! Then a friend started a Weight Loss group that works through "The Beck Diet Solution Weight Loss Workbook." By May 13, I'd lost 20 lbs! And, here it is July 17, and I'm still at that 20 lbs loss!

What's going on? Why do I sabotage myself? I'm certainly not happy at this weight! I don't like the way I look in clothes. I get tired of people not wanting to sit next to me at conferences or meetings. So what's going on?

I've been blessed with a mentor who is working through a personal development program with my son and me. Today we got down to the nitty gritty. Since we started this in April, I've mentioned that I want to weigh 135 by Christmas 2010. Well, here it is 3 months later, and I've lost a couple of pounds and 3 months. He finally asked today if that was truly something I wanted to do. I said it was. So, we discussed how I HAD to eat less and move more. Duh! But why don't I do that?

I have to forget the past. Put it behind me. Jim Rohn said something like You can't change your life overnight, but you can change the direction of your life overnight. I have to think about the future. I have to work through the times that I don't feel like doing anything. Three struggles I have are procrastination, laziness, and busyness, oh, and stinking thinking. I'm always telling myself that I can start again tomorrow and I give myself permission to eat something I shouldn't or to skip exercising. I'm basically a slug, so it doesn't take much to talk myself out of being active. Then I get busy and before I know it, it's late and I haven't had time to exercise.

So, I'm starting fresh today (not tomorrow). I'm going to use this blog as a way to track what I eat and my exercise. I still go to Weight Watchers and weigh in every Thursday, so on Thursdays, I'll post my weight and whatever we discussed at the meetings. I walk on Tuesdays and Thursdays with my friend and accountability partner.

Please have patience with me, encourage me, and help me through this journey. I was originally going to call it a struggle. But that sure puts a negative connotation on this. It is a journey, and I'm excited about the side trips and fun times we can have on this journey.

I don't remember exactly what my weight was Thursday -- I don't have my book with me. I think it was 222.8. I bought 2 boxes of 2-pt snacks (a first): I got cheese curls and original wheat crisps. I'm hoping these will help me through the "gotta have something" times.

I just went through 3 different cookbooks -- Weight Watchers favorite Homestyle Recipes, LA Weight Loss (no nutritional info; I'll have to plug the ingredients into the Weight Watchers website), and Better Homes and Gardens Low-Fat Meals (no fiber info) -- looking for food that my son and I can eat that's tasty, healthy, and low fat/cal. Then I made a grocery list.

The recipes I found are:
Salisbury Steak
Beef Stroganoff
Potato/Kale soup (like the Zuppa Toscana at Olive Garden)
Chicken Parmigiano
Swiss Steak
Black Beans with Rice
Vegetable Lasagna
Pasta Salad
Oatmeal Scones
Breakfast Pie
Black-Eyed Pea Salad
Macaroni Salad
Fettuccine Alfredo
Ricotta-Parmesan Pasta
Denise's Pasta Supreme
Easy Manicotti Florentine
Scallops with Green Pesto
Betty's Fried Rice
Itanlian-Style Swiss Steak

Weight: 222.8
Exercise: walked to and from library, 1:30, 95 deg., 1.1 mile (I'm pretty proud of myself)
Food: 2 servings of Oatmeal with 3 tsp of sugar (9 pts)
Bill Miller salad/ranch dressing (dipped fork in dressing)
fruit salad
1/2 chicken dark (no skin)
2 captain's wafer crackers
1 roll (Biller Miller)
1 pkg cheese curls (2 pts)
2 chalupa shells (2 pts)