On the fast track

I promised to post on the 12 pound weight loss in January. It was the result of dogged determination to lose 20 pound in one month. What can I say, I'm just like everyone else: I want to lose it fast. My most successful strategy is to incorporate huge amounts of vegetables into my diet in order to overcome hunger. Vegetables aren't as tasty as most carbs, particularly the ones incorporating sugar and liberal amounts of chocolate (unfortunately, I am an addict). However, vegetables are more likely to give you a lasting sense of fullness with the fewest amount of calories. Water is good for that too, but I have a difficult time drinking enough water, and I do love to add things to water for flavor. My answer to this problem is to use K2o, which has protein and fiber and helps reduce hunger. I make sure to bring 2 bottles with me where ever I go, although I usually am only able to barely finish one. It was a challenge to find enough bathrooms along my bus route, but the schools are familiar with me now and I can just run in quick without lengthy security checks, and Walmart, Home Depot, McDonalds and Wendys are all good for quick stops.

One other strategy which has helped me in breaking bad habits and forming good ones is substitution. I have to have chocolate in substantial quantities at least once a month, so I use diet pudding, diet hot cocoa mix and Skinny Cow products. I've also found substituting melba toast for crackers and bread is helpful when you want something crunchy. Four rounds is 50 calories and there are a lot of good flavor varieties. My favorite are the 3 pepper, and the sesame. I ate quite a few carrot and celery sticks in January before that got old. I made quite a good dip using 1/2 part low calorie Cains Mayonaise and 1/2 part fat free sour cream and 1 pkg of ranch dressing mix. It was really good with raw broccoli and cauliflower too. My meats were mostly boiled boneless chicken breasts, lean packaged ham, and solid white tuna in water. When I did have bread it was the high fiber type. The last really helpful strategy was to have lots of low calorie soup, preferably home made chicken with as few noodles as possible, and diet vegetable soup from the Weight Watcher getting started book. I would publish it here if I thought it might not cause a problem for copyright infringement. I honestly don't think they can copyright that recipe, I'm sure my aunt lost weight with the same recipe at least a decade before Weight Watchers started using it. My advice: ask a friend who has been to Weight watchers if they'll give you the recipe.

I am experienced enough at weight loss to know that you can't get far on diet alone, so I began walking at the park early in the morning before my bus run. It was quite cold and I had to really bundle up with two shirts and a fleece, a scarf and gloves and sometimes nylon pants under my jeans. If I got to the park early enough, I could fit almost 2 miles in before I had to get on the bus. Of course that meant watching the sunrise while it was just a glow below the horizon, and sometimes walking wasn't practical if there was a lot of snow or ice. I have a history of knee problems and plantar fasciitis (if you don't know what this is, be thankful) so walking was literally a pain. I was careful to stretch though so that my tight calf muscles wouldn't tear the facia again.

By the end of January, I realized that even though I was down 12 pounds, I wasn't meeting my goal and I expected that the first month would have resulted in a more dramatic loss. I realize that first week or two is mostly water weight, and that was the cause of my high expectations. My weight loss at this point began to slow down dramatically. It's not unusual as you approach menopause to find losing weight more difficult. By mid February I was having difficulty reaching the 15 pound mark. I knew it was time to take things up a level, so at the beginning of February school vacation I went to a health club and got a free one week trial membership. I went almost every day and spent more than 1/2 an hour in the cardio theater and did at least 12 laps in the pool before soaking my joints in the hot tub. It was a good way to spend vacation. At the end of the week I joined the club. It was expensive (about twice as expensive as going to Weight Watchers when you include the 16 sessions with the personal trainer), but I used my savings to pay up front and got the lowest price and 3 free months, so now I have a 15 month membership and a new more realistic goal: 10 pounds per month until I can wear a size 12 comfortably. Then I can reassess my goal, based on how I look and feel. Some people may think a size 12 is large, but I'm 5'8" and I've never been less than a size 12 since childhood. Sizes have changed since then too, so I really have to wait and see if that's the right goal for me. It's good for now. Today I am 19 pounds lighter than when I started. Pants that I could barely fit into before are quite loose on me now, and I expect I'll be giving away some of my old clothes soon.

Some of you probably think I was harshing on my mom in my last post, but I did let it slip finally, that I've been dieting and have lost a chunk of poundage. She got all concerned that she would not be able to keep up with my weight loss. Mind you, she weighs at least 60 pounds less than I do, and exercises daily, but she does have a much more difficult time losing weight than I do, at least until now. I reluctantly challenged her to a contest to see who could lose the most weight, because I knew that was what she wanted. That's how she gets motivated. Today as I told her how I spent 1/2 an hour on the Pre Cor and 15 minutes on the bike, and did my weight lifting before swimming 18 laps in the pool, she got motivated to get off the phone and get on her tread mill. She and dad had gone to their gym this morning, but mom doesn't want to be left behind. I know how she feels. She is very happy for me and proud of my effort.

Next Post: Danny, my personal trainer, has plans for me.