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.
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Saturday, January 2, 2016
Harder Than I Made it Look
My daughter kept telling me that it looked so simple for me to lose the weight that I lost, but let me assure you, it is not an easy undertaking, but well worth the effort.
I may have looked easy from the outside, but inside it was a continual decision to stay with the program and the new eating style. I had to want this and want it very much, but it also had to be something that I knew I could live with. I could not take away the things I really enjoyed, and for me that really is chocolate and meat. Now, my intake of red meat has declined, but I have discovered that I do not really miss beef because I have a decided preference for chicken, turkey, pork (a definitely favorite), fish (but I check which ones are lower in calories), and occasionally ham (the spiral pre-cut ones that are easier to serve since they are pre-cut).
From my point of view, it has always been a matter of what I eat and do not eat, but it is now measured out in appropriate portions. At first, it was a pain to weigh everything out, but over the past year, it has become a habit. Last summer, when I was on vacation, I took my scale along, but seldom weighed out my portions because I did learn that over time you can determine some portion sizes by the look of them. Over the three weeks I was on vacation, I lost 7 pounds, so I did okay with not weighing out everything. Also, you will be surprised by what you find actually already recorded in the MyFitnessPal database. There were things there that I had not expected to encounter but found them anyway. It never hurts to do a search, you will be surprised at what you find.
The keys to any weight loss program are determination, perseverance, a true desire to change the way you eat, and making it a lifestyle change that you can live with. Did I ever think I could live on a weight management program that required I had to count calories? No, I never did because I tried it over thirty years ago and it was a pain to look everything up in a book, guess about things not in the book, and try to figure out how many calories in a portion of a favorite recipe. This app has made all of the possible, and I truly love having it as part of my life, and it really is now an integral part of my life.
So, the following pictures were done by my daughter to give and side-by-side view of both of our journeys over the past year, but the before picutres do date back to more than a year ago. It still shows what progress we have made.
I may have looked easy from the outside, but inside it was a continual decision to stay with the program and the new eating style. I had to want this and want it very much, but it also had to be something that I knew I could live with. I could not take away the things I really enjoyed, and for me that really is chocolate and meat. Now, my intake of red meat has declined, but I have discovered that I do not really miss beef because I have a decided preference for chicken, turkey, pork (a definitely favorite), fish (but I check which ones are lower in calories), and occasionally ham (the spiral pre-cut ones that are easier to serve since they are pre-cut).
From my point of view, it has always been a matter of what I eat and do not eat, but it is now measured out in appropriate portions. At first, it was a pain to weigh everything out, but over the past year, it has become a habit. Last summer, when I was on vacation, I took my scale along, but seldom weighed out my portions because I did learn that over time you can determine some portion sizes by the look of them. Over the three weeks I was on vacation, I lost 7 pounds, so I did okay with not weighing out everything. Also, you will be surprised by what you find actually already recorded in the MyFitnessPal database. There were things there that I had not expected to encounter but found them anyway. It never hurts to do a search, you will be surprised at what you find.
The keys to any weight loss program are determination, perseverance, a true desire to change the way you eat, and making it a lifestyle change that you can live with. Did I ever think I could live on a weight management program that required I had to count calories? No, I never did because I tried it over thirty years ago and it was a pain to look everything up in a book, guess about things not in the book, and try to figure out how many calories in a portion of a favorite recipe. This app has made all of the possible, and I truly love having it as part of my life, and it really is now an integral part of my life.
So, the following pictures were done by my daughter to give and side-by-side view of both of our journeys over the past year, but the before picutres do date back to more than a year ago. It still shows what progress we have made.
The before picture is from the summer of 2009, and the after is August of 2015.
Saturday, December 5, 2015
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?
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.
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
What changed?
Written late in August.
I have now been using Myfitnesspal for 9 months, and believe it or not, I have now lost a total of 95.8 pounds.
First, what does that look like?
Well, here is a picture of me before I determined that I had to do something to lose weight.
This is me in June of 2006. This is me in June of 2014
This is me in July. This is my sister and me in August.
Second, what has changed in my life as a result of the significant weight loss?
The first chance is the fact that I find it easier to climb the stairs, walk, and do other everyday chores. I also am able to go to the gym and workout more. In, addition, my blood sugar and my blood pressure have gone down, which means my health is improving. I also have been seeing a man who adjusts me on a regular basis. Before I started losing a significant amount of weight, my hip could be out anywhere from half an inch to two and a half inches. I know this to be true because my daughter has seen how my hip was hiked up further than the other one, and once, this guy took a picture of how bad it was and showed it to me. During that time, I generally had to see him every two weeks, and I could tell I was out because my back and hips hurt. Now I can wait three weeks between sessions, and I have him work one the muscles in my shoulders and legs that hurt from doing weights to help strengthen those muscles. The weights also help tone up the muscles.
In 2009 and in 2012, I had knee surgery, so I have two new knees. Losing weight has also helped with my knees because after the surgeries the muscles in both knees were weak; now I am able to finally build up the muscles in both knees by doing some of the weight machines at the gym.
I am enjoying my new energy and my stamina during workouts h as improved. I like my new life and am working to lose more weight. I do have a goal in mind but am working on that goal in small increments.
I need to mention the improvement in self-esteem that has also occurred. I now feel so much better about myself, and I feel like a winner. I even feel proud of myself knowing that I have been able to adapt and continue this life style, for that is exactly what this is; it is a life-style change, and I never call it a diet because diets cannot be lived on for the rest of your life.
I know this post is not very long, but it was written some time ago, and I want to publish it so I can start the next post. My sister gave me a number of ideas to write on, so the next one will be on what food choices have changed, but let me tell you, every change I made was liveable for me. I did not make any changes I could not live with, and the biggest one for me is chocolate. I did not cut chocolate out of my diet, for as I have said, I am the one in control of what I eat, and nobody tells me what I can and cannot have except me. I love being in control - it is what I can live with.
If you are interested in trying to follow the plan I set for myself, I would be willing to help in any way that I can, so if you need an accountability partner, please contact me. In addition, if you have questions, please contact me. I know that not everyone is comfortable with posting questions or replies on comments, so, if you choose, you can email me at the following address: 4031.isa@gmail.com
I am willing to help in any way that I can. I just want to be an encouragement to anyone and everyone who have been like me and wanted to do something to control their weight but felt it was an impossibility. Let me assure you, that for years, I felt exactly the same way. You cannot go through life being continually told by family and friends that you are 'fat' and then allow yourself to think that there is nothing you can do because that is just the way you are. I understand that overweight people can find a way to like themselves and believe that there is nothing they can do to change, because that is exactly how I felt, and by listening to all the negative things people close to me said about me, I believed what they, unfortunately and unknowingly, encouraged me to believe. This one step in my life has finally changed my life, and for the first time in a long time, I finally feel good about me.
If you want to be the person you truly want to be, the person you can see yourself becoming, then please consider trying the Myfitnesspal app or online site. My mother does all her recording online, but my daughter and I do it on our iPhones, and sometimes I record on my iPad. One word of advice, however, start with a calorie goal that does not make you suffer, give up too much at one time, or is too rigorous for you. I started with 2400 calories but went down from there. The program is designed to drop 50 to 100 calories every time you lose 10 pounds, but this is easy to ignore once and a while because you can choose to say yes or no to the drop, but don't do it too often because by dropping calories you also drop your pounds. When I finally was able to not exceed my calorie intake limit, I started slowing leaving calories each day, and when I began walking, I did not add those calories until the end of the day when I knew I would not eat anything else. This too has helped me to lose weight.
More than anything, I want to be an encouragement to anyone who wants to finally drop the excess pounds. Health should not be the only reason you want to do this, although it is a very good reason, but you should want to do it first and foremost for yourself.
God bless, encourage, and uplift anyone who decides to give this a fair and honest try. Please contact me if you need assistance, encouragement, moral support, and information.
I have now been using Myfitnesspal for 9 months, and believe it or not, I have now lost a total of 95.8 pounds.
First, what does that look like?
Well, here is a picture of me before I determined that I had to do something to lose weight.
This is me in June of 2006. This is me in June of 2014
And the following pictures are of me this year.
This is me in July. This is my sister and me in August.
Second, what has changed in my life as a result of the significant weight loss?
The first chance is the fact that I find it easier to climb the stairs, walk, and do other everyday chores. I also am able to go to the gym and workout more. In, addition, my blood sugar and my blood pressure have gone down, which means my health is improving. I also have been seeing a man who adjusts me on a regular basis. Before I started losing a significant amount of weight, my hip could be out anywhere from half an inch to two and a half inches. I know this to be true because my daughter has seen how my hip was hiked up further than the other one, and once, this guy took a picture of how bad it was and showed it to me. During that time, I generally had to see him every two weeks, and I could tell I was out because my back and hips hurt. Now I can wait three weeks between sessions, and I have him work one the muscles in my shoulders and legs that hurt from doing weights to help strengthen those muscles. The weights also help tone up the muscles.
In 2009 and in 2012, I had knee surgery, so I have two new knees. Losing weight has also helped with my knees because after the surgeries the muscles in both knees were weak; now I am able to finally build up the muscles in both knees by doing some of the weight machines at the gym.
I am enjoying my new energy and my stamina during workouts h as improved. I like my new life and am working to lose more weight. I do have a goal in mind but am working on that goal in small increments.
I need to mention the improvement in self-esteem that has also occurred. I now feel so much better about myself, and I feel like a winner. I even feel proud of myself knowing that I have been able to adapt and continue this life style, for that is exactly what this is; it is a life-style change, and I never call it a diet because diets cannot be lived on for the rest of your life.
I know this post is not very long, but it was written some time ago, and I want to publish it so I can start the next post. My sister gave me a number of ideas to write on, so the next one will be on what food choices have changed, but let me tell you, every change I made was liveable for me. I did not make any changes I could not live with, and the biggest one for me is chocolate. I did not cut chocolate out of my diet, for as I have said, I am the one in control of what I eat, and nobody tells me what I can and cannot have except me. I love being in control - it is what I can live with.
If you are interested in trying to follow the plan I set for myself, I would be willing to help in any way that I can, so if you need an accountability partner, please contact me. In addition, if you have questions, please contact me. I know that not everyone is comfortable with posting questions or replies on comments, so, if you choose, you can email me at the following address: 4031.isa@gmail.com
I am willing to help in any way that I can. I just want to be an encouragement to anyone and everyone who have been like me and wanted to do something to control their weight but felt it was an impossibility. Let me assure you, that for years, I felt exactly the same way. You cannot go through life being continually told by family and friends that you are 'fat' and then allow yourself to think that there is nothing you can do because that is just the way you are. I understand that overweight people can find a way to like themselves and believe that there is nothing they can do to change, because that is exactly how I felt, and by listening to all the negative things people close to me said about me, I believed what they, unfortunately and unknowingly, encouraged me to believe. This one step in my life has finally changed my life, and for the first time in a long time, I finally feel good about me.
If you want to be the person you truly want to be, the person you can see yourself becoming, then please consider trying the Myfitnesspal app or online site. My mother does all her recording online, but my daughter and I do it on our iPhones, and sometimes I record on my iPad. One word of advice, however, start with a calorie goal that does not make you suffer, give up too much at one time, or is too rigorous for you. I started with 2400 calories but went down from there. The program is designed to drop 50 to 100 calories every time you lose 10 pounds, but this is easy to ignore once and a while because you can choose to say yes or no to the drop, but don't do it too often because by dropping calories you also drop your pounds. When I finally was able to not exceed my calorie intake limit, I started slowing leaving calories each day, and when I began walking, I did not add those calories until the end of the day when I knew I would not eat anything else. This too has helped me to lose weight.
More than anything, I want to be an encouragement to anyone who wants to finally drop the excess pounds. Health should not be the only reason you want to do this, although it is a very good reason, but you should want to do it first and foremost for yourself.
God bless, encourage, and uplift anyone who decides to give this a fair and honest try. Please contact me if you need assistance, encouragement, moral support, and information.
Friday, September 4, 2015
I'm in Control
Now, I don't want anyone to think that weight loss is easy or that it will be the same for every person because it is not and will not be that way. What has made this method of weight loss effective for me is the fact that I am in control. I do not have anyone planning out my meals or telling me what I can and cannot eat, but me; this one important fact makes this even more effective for me.
Before, when I tried dieting, I was told by someone else what I could and could not eat. I was told what I would have to give up. I was expected, then, to not only give up things I liked and eat things I did not like, but I was also expected to never again eat the things I was supposed to give up. What kind of real like expectation is that? Well, it was one that I could never live with.
So, as I said, what makes this program, system, method, or vehicle of weight loss effective for me is that I - me, myself, and I - am in complete control of what I eat. The program does not make the calls as to what I can eat nor does anyone else. This is the one major point to remember if you should ever want to try this method - only you are in control, and you do not have to give up any of the foods you like. What you do have to give up are the calories.
A good example of this occurred in the middle of June. My cat, who was very special to me, and the only pet I had ever owned, became extremely sick with a major infection. Now the infection cleared up, but my cat did not recover. He gave up eating and drank very little, and hardly slept, and not sleeping for him was extremely unusual because he slept more than he was awake during the day. He became very weak, lost weight, and could only walk a short distance before he had to plop down and the floor and rest, and then it was hard for him to get up. I finally had to make the call to have him put to sleep. I was completely devastated, and afterwards, I needed something comforting, so my daughter and sister took me to Sonic where they purchased me a Triple Chocolate Master Blast; now it was only a small but it still had a total of 900 calories. I enjoyed every delicious bite, but as an exchange for indulging, I ate less for supper and made sure I did not go over my daily allotted calories. So, you see, you can eat what you want, you just have to make some changes to fit what you want into your calorie count.
Okay, so you are in control, but you do need something else. You need to be committed to seeing this through. On my last blog I said you need determination, which you do, but once your are determined, you then need to be committed. Remember, this is your life we are talking about and only you can make changes that matter in your life. If you are not really willing to make a change, if you cannot be committed to the change, then this nor nothing else will work for you. I wanted this, and I was determined to try to make this work. I am now committed to this, and I have not been discouraged in such as way as to give up, and I have not failed.
When I started this, I did determine one other thing. I was going to do this for me, and I was going to at least try to see if they platform could work for me. I was very pleasantly surprised at how success it had been; how successful I have been to stay the course; how proud I am of myself that I have finally found something that I could make work. I am completely in control of what I eat, and it has made some major changes in my life.
Those changes are what I will discuss in my next blog, but just to keep anyone who reads this update as to my progress, I will add that from April to June I lost another 18.4 pounds. With the 51.8 from the previous months, it means I lost a total of 70.2 pounds since I began in November.
Is this platform working for me? Heck yeah! Can it work for you? Only if you want it to because that is the only way any weight loss can work. You have to want it to work, but it really helps when you, and no one else is in complete control of what you are doing. Hey, it's your life, so who else better to be in control.
Before, when I tried dieting, I was told by someone else what I could and could not eat. I was told what I would have to give up. I was expected, then, to not only give up things I liked and eat things I did not like, but I was also expected to never again eat the things I was supposed to give up. What kind of real like expectation is that? Well, it was one that I could never live with.
So, as I said, what makes this program, system, method, or vehicle of weight loss effective for me is that I - me, myself, and I - am in complete control of what I eat. The program does not make the calls as to what I can eat nor does anyone else. This is the one major point to remember if you should ever want to try this method - only you are in control, and you do not have to give up any of the foods you like. What you do have to give up are the calories.
A good example of this occurred in the middle of June. My cat, who was very special to me, and the only pet I had ever owned, became extremely sick with a major infection. Now the infection cleared up, but my cat did not recover. He gave up eating and drank very little, and hardly slept, and not sleeping for him was extremely unusual because he slept more than he was awake during the day. He became very weak, lost weight, and could only walk a short distance before he had to plop down and the floor and rest, and then it was hard for him to get up. I finally had to make the call to have him put to sleep. I was completely devastated, and afterwards, I needed something comforting, so my daughter and sister took me to Sonic where they purchased me a Triple Chocolate Master Blast; now it was only a small but it still had a total of 900 calories. I enjoyed every delicious bite, but as an exchange for indulging, I ate less for supper and made sure I did not go over my daily allotted calories. So, you see, you can eat what you want, you just have to make some changes to fit what you want into your calorie count.
Okay, so you are in control, but you do need something else. You need to be committed to seeing this through. On my last blog I said you need determination, which you do, but once your are determined, you then need to be committed. Remember, this is your life we are talking about and only you can make changes that matter in your life. If you are not really willing to make a change, if you cannot be committed to the change, then this nor nothing else will work for you. I wanted this, and I was determined to try to make this work. I am now committed to this, and I have not been discouraged in such as way as to give up, and I have not failed.
When I started this, I did determine one other thing. I was going to do this for me, and I was going to at least try to see if they platform could work for me. I was very pleasantly surprised at how success it had been; how successful I have been to stay the course; how proud I am of myself that I have finally found something that I could make work. I am completely in control of what I eat, and it has made some major changes in my life.
Those changes are what I will discuss in my next blog, but just to keep anyone who reads this update as to my progress, I will add that from April to June I lost another 18.4 pounds. With the 51.8 from the previous months, it means I lost a total of 70.2 pounds since I began in November.
Is this platform working for me? Heck yeah! Can it work for you? Only if you want it to because that is the only way any weight loss can work. You have to want it to work, but it really helps when you, and no one else is in complete control of what you are doing. Hey, it's your life, so who else better to be in control.
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