Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Now for the hard part

First … thank you for your comments yesterday. I really appreciate you taking the time to do that.

Now … If I'd stuck with my Christmas-morning goal of losing 50 pounds by the end of 2013, I'd be done. And that's a pretty good feeling, lemmetellya.

Of course, I wouldn't be done. I'd be doing what I need to do to maintain a 50-pound loss for the rest of my life. That's something I've never been able to do before.

I'm guessing both of you have achieved a significant weight loss at one time or another. But that's just a guess, based on real-life friends and acquaintances and family members who also have repeatedly lost the same 10, 20, 30 or 50 pounds.

I've lost a significant amount of weight twice before: 38 pounds in the mid-70s and about 35 pounds 20 years ago. But I never figured out how to keep it off, and I fall into that vast majority of losers who regain their loss and then some.

Only a few weeks after beginning the paleo/primal/caveman plan, I realized I probably could lose more than 50 pounds. I'd been unsuccessful for months by simply creating a calorie deficit through the Standard American Diet + exercise. Learning what worked for me was eye-opening, empowering, amazing!

Expanding my weight-loss goal to one in which I would also have a normal BMI means … not much, really. It means I'm going to keep on doing what I've been doing, because what I've been doing – eliminating grains, legumes, dairy and sugar – has worked spectacularly well.

For me.

I don't miss grains, legumes, dairy or sugar most of the time. You know I'd be lying to you if I said I never missed it. What surprises me is that when I started, I thought I would long for cheese and Greek yogurt. What I find myself wanting, though, is pasta – not because pasta tastes so great, but because when there's little time to put dinner on the table, pasta is easy.

At any rate, I've found other quick-and-easy dinners and I've learned to plan ahead a little better and, well, the results speak for themselves.

True confession: Last night I was really, really, really wanting something sweet. So I ate a lump of brown sugar. That's all, one lump. If I'd had any dark chocolate in the house, I would have had a piece or two instead of a sorry lump of refined sugar.

As I was waking up this morning, I noticed a twinge of pain in my right hip. I haven't felt pain in my right hip – the hip I'd considering seeing an orthopedist about last spring – for several months now.

Hip pain following ingestion of sugar could be unrelated. But ingestion of sugar can't be a good thing, nor can it be a regular, normal, everyday thing. Cause and effect, Debbi, cause and effect. Something I need to pay attention to from here on out, if I have any hope of losing 15 more pounds and maintaining a 65-pound loss.

2 comments:

Vickie said...

congrats on your official 50.

you are right, just counting calories does not work for a lot of people (insulin resistant, belly fat people for example). Very glad you found an easy way to change up your intake. I agree, when one starts eating cleanly (for lack of a better term) everything gets a lot easier and we tend to feel a heck of a lot better. You are being very, very kind to yourself this year. the long term payout will be huge. And isn't nice to actually GET THERE? There is a lot to be said for doing it.

weight loss and maintenance are pretty much identical. I think the trick is NOT to think you are stepping off, but continue the same program. The amount of food one adds back to maintain and not lose any more, is VERY SMALL. Like a piece of fruit and a bit of nuts. That is surprising to most people.

Have you gone in for a bra fitting and replaced bras since you have lost? It is one area we often ignore, but very important for support and to help clothes look great.

Penney said...

Deb, Congratulations! I'm so proud of you. As I think I've told you before, I lost 150 lbs (half my weight) and have kept most of it off for 37 years (a little went on with pregnancy, but came off again, and 20 lbs went on with the meds I've been on the past 2 years, but that's coming off again slowly).

I kept it off by completely changing my attitude about food. My two basic rules are 1) only eat when I'm hungry - no eating just because I'm bored or sad. 2) never ever look at food as a reward - food is the fuel we need to live.

Hope that's helpful and keep it up, Kid!

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