130 and Still Working On It

I left off discussing the benefits I have received from losing weight, and I stopped with number 3, which was working out at the gym.

3.  I consider this a benefit because it has helped improve my health as well as helping my back, legs, and hips.  For the past ten or more years, I have been undergoing spinal manipulations as well adjustments to my hips because they have been going out of place.  There had been times when my hips were 2 1/2 inches out of place, and it caused a variety of back aches and pains.  Since losing weight, I have had fewer problems with back pains, and my hips are less out of place than ever before.  I now only need maintenance adjustments and those less often than before.  Before, I had to be adjusted at least every two weeks, and now I can go once a month.  Being at the gym has also allowed me to improve the strength in the muscles in my legs, especially around my knees, both of which were replaced during the past 7 years.  The first knee I had done did not recover as well as the second one, and the result was that the knee never recovered its 100-degree bend.  That has been something I have been working on at the gym, and the bend is improving, but I still have trouble on the one machine that required me to lift the leg at the knee resulting in a bend behind me.  It is also at the gym that I do a lot of my walking on the treadmill, and that walking has helped me to walk more without the use of my cane.  At one point in time, I needed a walker to take walks outside, and I needed the cane to walk around the house and from my car to places I needed to visit.  Know, I walk around my house without the use of my cane, and at times, I can walk to and from my car without the use of the cane.  If I talk a walk outside, I still use the cane because of the uneven ground and pavement.

4. I have received many great compliments.

I think the best compliment that I have received from a number of friends and family is that they did not realize it was me because of how different I look because of the weight loss.  I also enjoy being told that there is less of me to love, I'm a loser - referring to the weight loss, and how I am now the smallest looking person in our home.  I have also received nice compliments about how proud people are of what I have done in my life, and that I am an encouragement to them to work on their own goals.

Even though I started losing weight for myself, it has been nice to have friends and family say nice things about me.  It was very hard for me growing up because I was never that extremely thin child who looked like they were walking on sticks.  My bone structure has been, and always will be, on the larger side, but know I am aware of that fact, and I do not plan on making myself look anorexic but be a nice acceptable weight, which my doctor finds an acceptable weight for my build and age.  I am getting much closer to my goal, and wondering if I might consider losing another ten pounds.  I do not ever expect to become as thin as I was when I was seventeen years old because in my mind that is an unrealistic expectation.  If I try to set a goal that is unreasonable, then it will become disappointed, depressed, and unhappy with what I have already achieved.

All good goals must be set with success possible.

This is what people are now seeing, and I am finally believing the results are true:

                            

Taken on February 22, 2016.

And here is what people used to see:

Taken in the early summer of 2014.

I really like the difference, and I am finally proud of myself for being able to make a major change in my life.

5.  I am eating a much healthier diet.

I take more notice now of what is in the food I eat.  I do not just the calories, but I do look at the amount of sugar, carbs, and protein in the food.  I also look at the amount of fiber available.  I have not, at this time worried about the sodium content because some better food choices have much more sodium than the high-calorie food it is replacing.  One food that is making an appearance in our diet much more often is fish.  Fish is high in protein and low in calories, depending on which one you choose.  Chicken and pork are also served more often than beef because beef is high in calories. I did find a chart on Pinterest that lists the different types and cuts of meat along with their nutritional values.  This chart is going to play a role in choosing what meats we eat in the future.

What are the drawbacks to changing my lifestyle and losing weight?  I will deal with that next time.

What Are the Benefits?

When it comes right down to it, the one question you must ask yourself is - What are the benefits of what I am doing?  I.E. What are the benefits of losing weight?

In my opinion, here are some of the benefits for me.

1. I feel much better about myself.

Since I am doing this for me - first and foremost - then I am reaping all the rewards, and since I am in control, I am the one telling myself what to do.  In essence, I am the one who can look at myself and say - you are doing great, and then pat myself on the back, and this makes me feel good about ME.

Do I really believe I am not getting outside help?  Yes and no; there is no real help coming from my friends and family, per say, but there is God in my life who I know is also encouraging, strengthening, and supporting me, but it had to start with me.  God can assist but not unless I do it; without me doing it, He cannot help.  With that thought in mind, I do feel much better about myself because I started this process, and I am the one who decided I could stay with it and succeed.

2. My overall health is better.

Of course, my overall health would get better because I am carrying around a lot less weight.  In addition, I am using my cane a lot less for walking.  After my first knee surgery, I had a lot of problems with the new knee, and the foot on that leg also created a number of problems, the least of which was when it developed drop-foot; in case you don't know what that is, it is when the toes turn under causing you to basically trip over them or catch them on anything that gets in the way.  After my second knee surgery, which went much better and the knee healed better, I was using a walker because of weakness in both knees.  I did eventually do away with the walker in the house, but if I took a longer walk outside, I still needed it.  Now I walk without the cane in the house, and sometimes outside of the house for short distances, and when I take longer walks outside, I can do it with just my cane.  You see, sometimes my toes still turn under especially if I have not been doing my exercises with my foot.

Besides the walking, my blood pressure has gone down as a result of the weight loss, and that is always a good thing. 

The last health issue is 'metabolic syndrome,' which means I was borderline diabetic.  I was on insulin once a day and a pill for to regulate blood sugar twice a day.  As the weight came off, my sugar levels went down and my doctor stopped the insulin, and later reduced to pill to once a day and then lowered the dosage of the pill.  He is hopeful that at my next check up, I will not even need that pill.

I love being healthier.  It also means I do not tire as easily because I have more energy.

3. I work out more at the gym, which I am truly enjoying.

More about that and other benefits next time.

So, What Do You Eat?

So, what can you eat, and how have I changed what I eat?  This is a very good question to consider when deciding you really want to lose weight and that you want to make a lifestyle change.  At first, I did not think about the foods I regularly ate, but as I began losing weight, I started looking at packaging information and especially the number of calories in what I was eating.  That change in itself was eye opening for I was surprised at how many calories were in some of the food I generally ate.

Take bread, for instance; we generally bought Iron Kids white bread, and for two pieces of bread it is 140 calories.  Okay, so I decided to make open face sandwiches for lunch and that cut the calories in half.  Then, Oscar Meyer Turkey Bologna was 50 calories per slice, but who uses only 1 slice, and Miracle Whip was 40 calories for 1 tablespoon.  Lettuce was a minimal 8 calories for one cup, but who puts a whole cup of lettuce on a sandwich.  Finally, we have the cheese, and depending on what cheese you use makes a huge difference.  Kraft regular slices of cheese are 70 calories a slice, Sargento Provolone is also 70 calories.  Now, if you add chips to your lunch, you are now adding anywhere from 140 to 160 calories for 11 to 13 chips or a 1-ounce serving.  If you also add a pop, 12 oz. size, you are now adding another 140 to 160 calories depending on which one you choose.  Altogether, your lunch 658 calories if you use two pieces of bread or 588 if you make an open faced sandwich (I averaged the chips and pop to 150 calories each).  I forgot to add a small dessert, but depending on what you like, you could add anywhere from 120 to 320 more calories, and if you add fruit or cottage cheese to your lunch, then you are adding 60 to 120 calories more.  That could bring you up to 773 calories if you stay on the low side of the fruit/cottage cheese and dessert.  Even yogurt can run you up to 100 to 150 calories.

Now, I found some changes to make in what I included in my lunch.  First, I found that Sara Lee makes a delicious bread that runs only 45 calories per slice.  It is called Sara Lee Delight, they also have hot dog and hamburger buns that run 80 calories per each.  In addition, Kraft, Bordens, and Sargento make cheeses using 2% milk which reduces the number of calories in them; each slice is about 40 to 50 calories, and Kraft also makes a Sharp Cheddar cheese using skim milk, which reduces a slice of cheese to 25 calories (allowing you two slices if you really want them).  Also, Miracle Whip light has only 20 calories per tbsp.  Then, I found Great Value 97% Fat-Free Smoked Ham at Walmart that has 30 calories per slice.  Once I make an open-faced sandwich using those ingredients plus lettuce (and yes, I use 2 slices of meat but only 1 slice of cheese), my sandwich is now only 158 calories compared to the 288 of the previous sandwich.  I do not drink pop, I have never liked the taste since I quit smoking umpteen years ago, so I drink mostly water; once in a while I'll have 2 to 4 ounces of cream soda, about the only pop I like anymore.  I avoid the chips as much as possible - I can live without them most of the time, but if I really want a chip type of food, I have found Special K Cheddar Cracker Chips a good substitute, and I can have 25 chips for 120 calories; sometimes I will have only half that number depending on what I decide to have later in the day.  So, even if I add the total number of chips and the cream soda at 4 ounces, I would still only have 335 calories compared to the 588 or 773 of the above lunch.  I save fruits for a middle day snack, and I don't like the taste of cottage cheese so I never eat that.  Now cucumbers I have found make an enjoyable snack or alternative to having chips with my lunch.  A good sized cucumber can have up to 38 or 40 calories - what a difference compared to the 120 of some types of chips.

Now, my greatest weakness is chocolate, and that is one food I have not deleted from my diet.  I choose my chocolate carefully, however, and have looked at numerous alternatives.  During the summer, one of my choices is Arctic Fudge Bars from Dillons - Kroger - they only have 100 calories per bar.  The low-calorie one has only 80 but I think the taste is rather flat, so I choose the higher calorie ones.  In addition, York makes a mini unwrapped Peppermint Patty that is only 15 calories per piece, and the Unwrapped Mint Three Musketeers is only 16 calories.  In addition, if you can find the correct ones, the Tootsie Roll Mini-Midgees are only 11 calories per pieces.  It all depends on what you choose and how much you choose to eat of it.

So here is a list of some of the things we have chosen to add to our food list, or have altered to fit our food calories better.

Kraft Skim Milk Sharp Cheddar slices = 25 calories per slice
Borden Fat-Free Sharl Cheddar slices = 30 calories per slice
Laughing Cow Wedges = 35 calories per wedge
Sargento Reduced Fat Provolone slices = 50 calories per slice
Crystal Farms Light String Cheese = 50 calories per piece
Special K Cracker Chips = 1 oz. 120 calories
Ballpark Smoked White Turkey Franks = 45 calories per link
Great Value 97% Fat-Free Smoked Ham = 30 calorie per slice
Sara Lee Delightful Healthy Multi-grain Bread = 45 calories per slice
Sara Lee Delightful Wheat Hamburger Buns = 80 calories per bun
Rhonda's Swai Fillets (fish) = 4 oz. is 70 calories
Cod (Kroger Frozen Pacific) = 6 oz. is 120 calories
Pollock Fillets Wild Caught (Walmart) = 6 oz. is 90 calories (raw)
   When it say raw, it means you weigh it before you cook it.
Pork Loin Boneless = 1 oz. 40 calories (4 oz. is 160 calories)

We also choose chicken and turkey over beef because beef has more calories, and when we want hamburger meat, we buy 90/10 ground sirloin instead of regular ground beef.

Again, chocolate is a favorite of mine, so I check the package for calories, and I choose bags with smaller pieces so I can eat fewer of them.  Cookies are the same, I look at the package if I really want cookies.  I also look at the size per piece so I can choose smaller amounts.  With the Special K Cracker Chips and other chip or cracker choices, I will usually on have half of a serving.

Following this lifestyle (notice that I do not call it a diet or a plan) does take perseverance, determination, and desire.  You have to want to do this, and you should focus on doing it for yourself.  If you do not do it for you, you will find it harder to remain with it.

So, here is a picture of me two, maybe three, weeks ago, and since then I have lost at least 2 more pounds.

So, has my effort been worth the time I have put into this new lifestyle?

Retirement

I have finally taken the leap and retired, so what do I do with my life now?

Well, I have become my mom's chauffeur since we had to take away her driving privileges.  Imagine this, she is giving away her sewing machine because she can no longer work the pedal because she has no feeling in her toes.  So how, you might ask, does she drive a car and work the pedals?  She claims she uses her heel, and then she wonders why we took away her driving rights.  It came down to her safety and the safety of those around her while she was driving, that helped us make the final decision.  Do I dislike driving her around? No! I feel much safer knowing she is not behind the wheel of the car.

What else am I doing?  Twice a week, when my schedule allows, I volunteer at the Santa Fe Trail Center.  I have two projects I am working on, and one deals with the digitalization of records, which is what I would really like to do as a part-time job.

Speaking of part-time jobs, I really need one, so I am looking.

I am also spending my time on the computer: writing, reading emails, taking Lumosity tests to improve my mind, playing games, working on genealogy off and on, and other tasks that I perform on the computer.  Too bad I cannot find a job working at home online using my computer; now that would be a great job.

Anyway, retirement has allowed me time to think, reflect, and get some needed rest and relaxation.