Weight Loss Journal:
Day 1:
Well let me start off by saying I hate keeping journals and logs but this time I think is going to be different so I thought I better give it a try.
A little background about myself, I am a 5’4” woman in her early 40s. Two weeks ago I weighed 230 pounds or 229.5 if I had no clothes on. I love to play the scale for that half pound. I have not been a big girl my whole life. In my younger days before children (B.C.) I was a nice 127 pounds. Back then I thought I was getting fat. Man was I wrong! I was very athletic and playing indoor soccer in the evenings. I use to love getting the attention from the guys and I had a figure to back the claim in those days. Let’s fast forward a little bit. Over 16 years ago I gained 80 pounds during my pregnancy with my first kid. During that time I managed to get down to 187 which was tough. Then the second kid came around 11 years ago. I gained 58 pounds with the second to top out at 245. A year after the second I managed to get down to 205. Now bear with me to one more fast forward jump to a few years ago. We just moved back to Southern California from East Tennessee. We lived in the South for 11 years. Prior to that we lived in CA. That was a different adventure and story on its own. I was feeling hopeful that my weight problems would subside. Well I could hope anyways..
Truth is I’m not the stereotypical fat chick. I am very active and have eaten relatively healthy. I have tried Medifast and Metabolife with short term results. I would drop weight like the dickens and then plateau. Metabolife made my heart flutter like crazy. Not a good feeling and not worth it. I went to a personal trainer with dietary tracking in Fitness Pal logs for 4 months with zero results. In fact I gained 5 pounds. The trainer was very confused and had no answer for me. I thought it was my thyroid. Maybe a medical ailment. Nope! Slow metabolism. Nope! In fact the weight loss facility had a test for it and guess what, it was in the normal/high range. WTF!! What gives! I went to an allergist and found out I had some good old fashion food allergies. So in a weird way that was good news. I am allergic to Paprika, Dill, Cinnamon, Thyme, Tuna, and Beef. That’s good since Paprika is in practically every processed food in the US. Plus my husband is allergic to wheat so I was good in giving that up too. I was diagnosed 1 ½ years ago with the food allergies. Readjusted my diet… Nope! I took up lap swimming last summer. I swim laps three times a week to this day. While I still hadn’t lost a pound I am still in good shape for my size. Ah yes for my size. I love hearing it, “You hide it well for your size.”, “You are in good shape for your size.”, “Your vital signs and bloodwork are great for your size.” Aarrrgghhh!!
My family tells me I inherited my dad’s fat gene. I’ve seen how he eats and does not exercise. His dietary habits are so terrible it makes me look like I am an extreme health nut. Whenever I see him I pray I don’t get any bigger. I don’t want to be my dad’s size. My brother is very thin and in great shape. My mom is still very active and at least 50 pounds lighter than me. My dad and I are the “well-rounded” bunch.
So now to two weeks ago. I was sitting around bawling my head off about my lack of weight loss. You know frustration goes in spurts. My husband says he’s fine with my weight but would rather me to be happy since that’s important. That’s sweet dear but it doesn’t help. Well it was time to surf the web again for the umpteenth time to see what recommendations for an allergic, chubby gal like me are hanging out there. While in my search for a cure, my left index finger started to remind me of how much it hurts. I must be getting arthritis.. Hmm… Don’t arthritic people have dietary restrictions? So I went to the website for Arthritis Foundation. For those who don’t know. They sure do. I decided to give it a go. I didn’t want to be overweight and arthritic to boot. To be honest that’s the exact direction I am heading. Years ago when I worked in worker’s compensation we use to take bets on a people who got knee injuries. The majority of them were severely overweight. The Arthritic diet calls for plenty of fruits and veggies. Okay the usual stuff. No white rice, white potatoes, additional sugar, or Trans fats. Wait?? What?? I been eating white rice or red potatoes with my veggies and chicken. The sugar part well I think I’m okay… I’ll have to knock off the occasional coffee in the morning. Since I tend to drown it in sugar. Trans fats okay but no cheese. I have cheese like once every couple of days but now this is bad news. Okay I can do it. Whimper.
The first day of the diet was good. The second day wasn’t pretty.. I had this low humming headache from hell that no Tylenol could stop. This headache lasted four days. It was brutal. There was nothing I could do to kill the pain. Recommendation. If for some reason you decided to do without sugar. For God’s sake please start on a Thursday or Friday so your coworkers will not have to endure any wrath or outburst from you. Plus your bed is your best friend on the worst days. After my withdrawals had subsided I decided to put in place a food plan that is now starting work.
This morning I got on the scale and I weighed 224 pounds. I had to check it a few times and moved the scale around to three different places in the bathroom to confirm it. A little OCD?? Yeah probably. Been burned by a scale before? Royally.. Those little bastards are mean. The last time I weighed 224 was three years ago while I was doing Medifast. Before that I cannot remember when I was under 225 naturally. So here’s what I do now.
In the morning I have two eggs with avocado and mushrooms. I add salt, pepper, and lemon juice. I have a small glass of non-fat milk for health purposes. I then make a travel mug of green tea to take to work. Got to have my caffeine stimulant somehow. I also keep bottles of water with me throughout the day. My mid-morning snack is paprika free hummus and celery sticks. Lunch is a Five Star Foods protein pack. I don’t eat the cheese in the pack. I just turn my head, throw it away, and pause for a moment of silence. I try to pretend it never came with the pack. The hardest part is the after lunch to dinnertime. I chow down on oranges and applesauce to give me the energy to make it home and cook dinner. Without eating the countryside in between. Dinner I cook baked chicken, brown rice, veggies. I make extra brown rice for my snack attack moments and yes I put butter in it. I can’t deprive myself of all little pleasures. Then of course there is dessert! I use raw trail mix with raisins and nuts, plain yogurt, and berries (strawberries and blueberries are my weapons of choice), and agave nectar for my sweetness. I have to make sure the mix is raw since a lot of trail mixes have sugar added to it and yogurt has to be plain. You get used to the plain yogurt after awhile. I also pack some of the trail mix with me on swim nights so I don’t claw the walls of the car riding home.
What I plan to accomplish writing this blog? I don’t know for sure yet. Right now I am going to try to hold myself accountable to write on a daily if not weekly basis of my weight loss/weight gain adventure. Oh! And maybe down the road I can take a picture of myself that isn’t cropped to show only my head and neck or hiding behind my kids. I got dreams you know….
cutefatchick 