A refreshing change.

 Full disclosure for those that may have just tuned in.  3 years ago this past August 27th, I had a mild heart attack ( didn't feel mild at the time).  No blockages, so that was good.  However, my cholesterol has been a concern since as far as my physicians were concerned.  It wasn't elevated and no blockages, but they wanted it even lower.  They also wanted my weight down more.  So did I.  That we agreed on.  We've just disagreed how to get there.  Funny thing was I was actually down 63 lbs from my highest weight and at the healthiest point in my entire life! 

The past three years have been stressful to say the least.  As a result My weight was up.  To be totally honest, it was up 26 pounds.  26 pounds!  YIKES.  But notice I said "was up".  It's now down 7 pounds from there.  I'm hopeful this is it and I have reclaimed things, but I'm not willing to claim that yet.  However, I will take the 7 pounds.  It's a daily journey.

So knowing my weight is up, and with now a history of heart disease; I headed to two doctor visits ( one day apart).  I'll tell you I was loaded forbear.  I was ready for a fight.  I was totally ready to deal with a vaccine push by my doctors; an Endocrinologist, and a Cardiologist!  

Know what?  Aside from a questionnaire about general health information that included a question of "  have you been vaccinated for Covid 19"( to which I answered "No"); nothing was mentioned.  Nothing.  Both visits were completely normal ( aside from having to wear a mask ((eye roll)). 

I have to say it was quite a nice change.  I still had bodily autonomy at my doctors office.  I really did appreciate it.  There are now at least two physicians I know that still respect the "Patient Bill of Rights".  Yes that is actually a thing.   To read the full version, you're welcome to click here

Here's a couple from the list I thought to highlight:

1)  The right to Refuse care

2)  The right to agree or refuse to take part in medical research studies without it affecting patient's care.

3) The right to give informed consent prior to the administration of any non emergent care by receiving  information on the benefits, risks, alternatives to a particular treatment, as well as benefits and risks of those alternatives.  

4) The right to have respect shown for the your( and my) values, beliefs and wishes.

It was nice to see that still in action in my neck of the woods.  If it isn't in your's, then fight for it!  You have rights as a patient.  Don't let them tell you otherwise.  

I will leave with this one little bit of new info I've discovered.  I was shocked to see that my cholesterol, which is usually really good, had shot up to 238!  It has never been over the 180's, even when I was very overweight and eating junk.  Guess what?  According to WebMD, stress over a long period of time can release large amounts of cortisol and can increase cholesterol levels!  That's news!  

It's not like we've all been under excessive amounts of stress lately have we?  NAH!

Needless to say I'm working to get those levels back where they need to be.  I'm moving, and getting my weight down.  It's a daily journey.  

 I'll update when I can. 

Neener Neener! Doctor visit

Doctor visit today!  I had my yearly check up with my Endocrinologist.  

Last year I was on Pravastatin, per my cardiologist and seconded by my Endo Dr, to lower my already normal cholesterol levels.  Cause since I had a heart attack they want it lower than normal (what?).  I didn't want to be on it, but hubby wanted me to be on it just until I had labs drawn to see if it would work.  Well those labs came back and my cholesterol went up!  So off that med I went.  

This past year I haven't been on any cholesterol lowering med.  Don't get me started on weather or not cholesterol is the culprit.  That's another story.  I do know a cholesterol med isn't anything I need or want.  I was on half the lowest dose and was still experiencing some pretty worrying side effects.  Chest pain being one.  Yea, not a good side effect for someone who's just had a heart attack.  

So no Pravastatin for me at all this past year.  In all honesty, I haven't been "On program" eating until very recently.  I was still eating healthy, but just too much of a good thing.  

So even with all that, I have to report that my cholesterol came down!!!!!  No med, no real weight loss, but my cholesterol came down.  The doctor even said I did better without the med.  She's totally on board with what I want to do.  I've made a believer out of her,  Yay!  

Oh, and just to share it all, A1C was 5.2; totally normal, no sign of diabetes or pre-diabetes.  All tests were in good range.  AND  according to their records, I'm down 2 pounds from when I saw her last.  That's really saying something since I went up and then down.  So yay!!!!

A Successful week all round!

Good morning world!  How's everyone!  I'm fit to be tied today.  I've successfully completed a full week of healthy eating and activity.  The scale has awarded my efforts with a 5.6 lb weight loss.  Now some of that may be water weight, but it's no longer there is my point.  I use a website to keep track of calories called www.sparkpeople.com.  Each week I record my weight (well I'm supposed too, but some weeks I haven't recently).  I looked back over the last 6 months of recordings, and have not weighed this weight in 4 months,  

I've worked out or been otherwise active every day this week, but it's my eating that sealed the deal.  That's been my main issue.  I'm an active person in general, and while I did avoid the treadmill like the plague (or I guess in our day and age "The Rona!"), I've been outside most days doing rather physical work.  My eating was the problem.  I couldn't seem to get that under control.  It was like I had an angel on one shoulder saying "You don't need to eat that", and a devil on the other saying "one time won't hurt".  One time won't hurt, but a string of ones times will.  

If anyone is wondering what plan I'm using, I've gone back to what I know and what worked for me, and is working for me now.  

1.  Real food, nothing diet, nothing artificially low or nonfat, no processed food.  While I can and do have an occasional form of bread, the vast majority of my carb intake comes from fruits, veggies.and dairy.  When I am having some type of bread item, it's limited, whole grain, and unprocessed.  

2. Portion control.  People turn off at this one usually.  I've found the vast majority of folk want something where they can eat as much as they want with no calories to worry about.  Well I do too!  I want a Million dollars as well!  Our bodies work very specifically.  It is calories in, calories out.  Doesn't matter what diet plan you're on, trust me, it's still calories in calories out.  It's even more important for me because I have an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto Thyroiditis.  Basically my immune system attacked my thyroid, so mine doesn't work anymore.  I've been on meds for this for 30 years.  Due to this, my metabolism is slower, and I need to keep my protein high normal and my carb level low normal.  Spark people helps me do this because they break everything down so I can see what I ate in each category.  So to be accurate, I have to weigh or otherwise measure what I eat.  I guess it can be a bother, but I'm just used to it now.  

3.  Counting calories.  Naturally this goes with portion control.  This is my boundary line.  I can choose to eat whatever I want, but I can't go past my boundary line.  By the same token, I need to make sure I'm eating the minimum calories for my body to function.  Too few calories and my body will hold onto weight to protect me from the famine we are obviously in.  Nice body to protect me so.

4.  Quality-  I get more food, and am more satisfied when I choose quality foods; whole foods, fruits veggies, good fats ( and yes butter is a good fat), and unprocessed foods.  1200 calories of highly processed foods is void of the nutrients the body needs.  It doesn't stay with you very long.  It has a lot of filler, chemicals, etc that the body doesn't recognize.  1200 calories of quality foods has all your body needs,  When the body has what it needs, it won't trigger you to eat.  Yes, your body can do that.  Weird cool!  As a result, you're more satisfied.  Whole fat dairy is way better than low or nonfat dairy.  Great thing with whole fat dairy is I can eat less of it and fill in with a fruit or veggie.  

5.  Move.  Gotta be active.  I did get back on the treadmill.  I will be on it this week too, but I will also be outside taking care of animals, the garden, digging, etc.  I will be active, and I will do something structured.  I will say, pick something you can live with.  

Other tips I would give is to get a decent nights sleep, make sure your drinking water, and relish ( no pun intended) the victories no matter how small.  Keep your eye on the prize.  There are times when I won't lose, or will have a bad day.  I will get up dust myself off and keep moving forward.  Over a two year time span I put on 15 pounds.  My old self would have added all 63 pounds back plus some, but this time I never totally gave up.  I kept trying at least.  I would much rather lose 15 pounds instead of 63.  

So last week is a victory.  Yay!  Now to start on this week.and we'll see what happens!  I would love to hear other success stories!  Won't you share yours!?

Mama's got her groove back.

I know it's been more than a week since last I posted.  I weighed in initially last week March 18th and was down .4 pounds.  Not too shabby after 3 great days only after 4 really bad days.  Those bad days were literally out of control days.  Crazy.  But once I went back to basics; things settled... a lot.  I would get to the end of the day; have had plenty to eat, and have calories left over!

I could've posted this then, but I wanted to get another weigh in under my belt before I declared victory.  So that's where I am now.  Funny thing is, I started this post last week.  This point in my post is being (or I should say was?) written on 3/18.  I did have my confidence back at that weigh in on 3/18, and knew I was on the right track.  But like I said, I wanted to be sure.

So today's (3/24)weigh in was a loss as well of another pound!

So what caused my dilemma of the past, oh, 3.5 months?  Breads, rice, and pasta..yes, but not in and of themselves.  Like I've said before, I have no problem with those things, and will still eat them on occasion.  The problem came because those things,which have more calories, and stayed with me for a shorter time, had increased in my diet over the last 3.5 months.  Then I was hungry and had no calories left to manage the hunger.  So I would throw the day away.

 Once I took those breads, etc. out of my diet again (for now), I regained control.

 I still get plenty of carbs from fruits, sugar sweetened coffee or tea, sugar sweetened whole milk dairy, or just dairy, etc.  In addition, because I'm now getting on average 7 fruits and veggies a day, my fiber intake is going way up.  I'm now meeting my fiber requirements for each day.  Sometimes I even surpass the fiber requirements.  Plus, my protein levels are way up.  Which is good because I have hypothyroidism, and so need a higher protein intake relative to my carb intake.  But I always, always, always meet strongly my carb requirements for the day.  They just don't come from breads, rice, or pasta most of the time.  Carbs are your friend.  Your brain actually needs them to function so..keep the carbs please.

Toward the end of this past week I did start adding a treat in the evening.  Not always, but some nights; if I have the calories, and have met my fiber requirements (25 gms a day), then I have allowed myself cookies (2 for 120 calories), or a smore ( Not for any reason except that's what I have on hand.  In summer, it'll probably be milkshakes or ice cream).  It's the end of the day, so no chance of foraging.  Plus since I haven't eaten a crazy amount of breads etc, I have plenty of calories and am very satisfied over all.  Know what else?  Even after the cookies, I still have calories left over.  It's crazy.

This upcoming week marks our 25th wedding anniversary.  Can't believe it, but here it is!  Happy Anniversary Babe!  Love you!

We've been planning and saving to take a trip to celebrate.  I was a little concerned, now that I'm back on track, that I would blow it all on vacation.  I think I'm going to be fine though.  The hotel we're staying at has a free hot breakfast so I can get eggs and fruit easy for a good start to the day.  And coffee.  We can't forget coffee.  Any other restaurants, I'll just make sure the bread etc isn't included on what I order.  We'll be near some national and state parks and so there will be plenty of trails to try.  We also plan on walking to our destinations most of the time.  I'm thinking I'll be active enough.  Next week will see how I did.

So while I've got you.  Here's a little something really good to try especially if you like chocolate covered cherries.

Partially defrost 5 oz of frozen cherries (I buy mine at Costco).  Top them with 1/2 TBS of chocolate syrup.  I've used as little as 6 gm of syrup and as much as a full TBS.  It depends on how bad I'm needing chocolate.  This is beyond good!

Okay, all kidding aside

UGH!  up .4 lbs for the month.  That doesn't sound too bad except since before the holidays I've put on about 4 pounds over all.  When you combine the holidays with cookies, power outages, and lack of grocery money, it all adds up to a long time jump off the band wagon.  I think the only thing that saved me over the past few months has been the fact that I've continued to be active.  So full disclosure; here I go.

I now have received my grocery money for the month!  Yay!  I have been able to restock some stuff and got a great deal on the Chicken breast and pork loin.  During my Costco trip I bought 4- 6 lb bags of frozen Normandy Blend veggies.  The cashier asked if I had enough (tongue in cheek).  I made no apologies.  I told her these vegetables roasted are my favorite vegetable.  So I'm buying plenty for the month.  Seriously, I could eat these as a snack!  In addition, I also discovered that 4% (which is the full fat version) cottage cheese has more protein in it than eggs.  That's good news since my chickens aren't laying so much right now.  I actually had to buy eggs!  Another good thing about the cottage cheese is I get a lot of it to equal the same calories as the 2 eggs I would have had.  So this mornings breakfast was

Coffee with 1 tsp of sugar and 1 oz whole milk (of course)
130 grams green grapes
140 grams strawberries
3/4 cup of 4% cottage cheese.

300 calories total for this breakfast.  That's about what I shoot for; 300-350 calories.  Plus I get a whopping 20 gms of protein in this breakfast.  Best yet, I love cottage cheese.  May need to buy more (smile)..

So anyhoo, taking it one day at a time.  Today was a good day.  I stayed in range, got plenty of good for you stuff, did a workout (step tape+ housework), had cookies for dessert.  I was pretty impressed with myself since it was a cloudy dreary day.  Those days tend to be days where I want to munch.  But I stayed the course.  It's always a good thing to let the upward mobility of the scale be a good motivator.  It did, and I have.  Can't complain.  Now we see what tomorrow holds.

"SNORT"

Seriously, that was the sound I made when I got on the scale this morning.  I could not believe what I saw.  NO GAIN!  No loss either, but no gain.  I was incredulous.  Mainly because since Thursday I've had access to many more dozen of my mom's cookies.  Like me, she was having a hard time staying out of them.  Actually a harder time because she's by herself.  I can at least spread the love.  My mom's cookies are one of the things I can't have in the house.  So DH is taking the rest (Which are in the freezer) to work with him tomorrow.  So all of you co-workers of my hubby be forewarned.

I think what helped me this week up until the cookies, was the fact that I was on track every day up until Thursday.  What's been a help and a hindrance this week is the fact that I was re-painting/ repairing my youngest sons former room, moving my other son into it, and beginning the process of repainting his room.  I need to get that done before the handyman comes to repair the floor in his room.  Hence the reason he had to move rooms.  Once the room is finished, I'll move him back to his old room and my other sons former room will become my new sewing room.  I do all this while everyone is at work.  So anyway, this activity has helped in that I'm moving all day, but hurt in the fact that I'm grabbing stuff for meals instead of stopping to sit down to eat.  Note to self, stop to eat please.

I can tell you this.  While I am extremely grateful that I didn't gain, I have to say I'm kinda bored with dancing around in the 160's.  It's time to make that middle number drop to a 5 at least.  It's gonna take me a while.  I was messing around on the spark people page adjusting my calories and such.  It didn't matter weather I put I wanted to lose 1 lb a week or 2.  The calories stayed the same 1200-1550.  Apparently  you can't go below that.  That means I need to either up a workout, or accept a s-l-o-w weight loss.  I'll opt for the slower loss.  I don't want to do anything to jeopardize my journey.  If I switch to longer or higher intensity workouts (which I hate), I'll stop doing them and regress.  Don't get me wrong, I'll still be doing a treadmill, step tape, and strength training, but it will be 45 minutes, and will still be mixed with other things like yard work, house cleaning, bike riding, etc.  In other words; status quo.  I'll increase what I need to in order to make it challenging, but that's about it.  I don't care if it takes me another 2  years to lose these last 20 lbs.  At least it will stay off.  The less disruption this journey makes in my life, the easier it will be for me to continue it long term.

So there it is.  No great epiphanies, but ya know..something.  Hope everyone's having a great day!

The Apology Tour

MERRY CHRISTMAS!  I hope this post finds everyone well.  I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas festivities. I know I did!

Ohhh boy.  I ate sooo much food!  I have eaten so badly the past week.  I knew I would.  We had our daughter and her family over for dinner.  I had the party at my mom's house which was an over night affair with lots of chocolate and cookies, and my mom knows her way around an oven.  Plus my sister is a teacher and she brought goodies her student brought her for gifts.  Then we had our Christmas eve and Christmas day.  UGH!  But it was good!  Ironically I'm only up one pound.  That's great compared to last year.

But now starts the apology tour.  This is when I start to say "I'm sorry" to my poor digestive system that has held the reigns this past year, but got thrown over for taste buds.

So, starting tomorrow, for the next little bit, and maybe longer, I will post here everyday with stats.  Some days I'll have something to say aside from that, but my daily posts will consist of what I've eaten, how many calories intake, and my workout info.  This is an accountability of sorts.  To lie to any readers of my blog is to lie to myself and it's not worth it.  This will work for me to get be back on the straight and narrow.  Accountability is important, especially first starting off.  For one it makes it real.  By telling someone your plans and goals, it plants it firmly in your mind.  Someone else is now aware of your intentions and that means you can't pretend it didn't happen. 

I promise I will be totally honest about my weigh ins, my intake, and workouts.  If I have a bad day, I'll be honest about that as well.

As a result of this declaration, some daily posts may be dry reading, but I promise to post interesting things too.

This is not a New Years resolution.  It is just returning to normalcy.  Christmas is over for this year.  It was fun while it lasted, but now it's back to everyday.

Now on a fun note, I got something for Christmas that will help me in my fitness endeavors and it makes me feel young!  Can't you see me zipping around town, or taking it camping?  I can.  WEEEE!

The awaited weigh in

I have looked on today with, I'll admit, a little trepidation, but the reality wasn't so bad.  So after, not my most stellar month; with the three day festival and Thanksgiving to round it out, I was still down .2 pounds.  I said it was like chiseling granite.  That's .2 from last weeks weigh in.  I'll take it.  Well, I would have accepted anything good or bad.  I made those choices, but did my best to minimize the damage.  Now I have three uninterrupted weeks before the Christmas week.  Three weeks to keep to my calorie range and move.  Last year I put on 5 lbs and most of that was during the Christmas week.  So I want to have 3 really good weeks before hand and just do my best that week.  Once I get past Christmas, things should settle down into normalcy.

Speaking of Christmas!  Aside from baking bread this morning, I spent the day putting up decorations.  I am almost done with just a few tweaks here and there.  The tree was put up by all of us Saturday night.  I told them then to give me a few days and I would have it looking like Santa threw up in here.  To which my youngest son replied " so there's gonna be cookies and milk all over the floor?"  Wise guy.

I have other rooms decorated, but these are the main ones.  Almost have my shopping done.  Yay!  I don't know what to do with myself.  Not a normal thing for me.  But anyway, spent the day putting up decorations with Celtic Christmas music playing on Pandora in the back ground.  I still have it playing.  Very relaxing.  So anyway, that's my day for the most part.  How's yours?  When do you decorate?

I'll take that!

Just spent a great weekend at the 29th annual dulcimer music festival in Unicoi Lodge Helen, Ga this weekend, and yes, I tentatively jumped the wagon.  By that I mean I ate things I probably shouldn't, but I did pace myself and didn't go hog wild.  Still, I know I was over calories.  You can't eat a chocolate peanut butter pie (as well as other desserts offered) and not be over.  Just sayin.  What I didn't say was "It's an all you can eat bar and so I'll start with the cheesecake".  So...ya know...I did well all things considered.  AND considering those 3 days, I was dreading getting on the scale, but knew I needed to face the music (pardon the pun). You're not gonna believe this, but I'm down 1.4 pounds.  Now in all seriousness, I know I probably would have been down more had it not been for the past three days, but I'll take it

Regardless of how I ate those 3 days, I knew this festival was coming and planned ahead to minimize the damage.  I had a scheduled workout every day from Sunday before thru Wednesday when we left to go.  Also we were fortunate in that you had to walk up and down stairs to get where you were going at the festival so that was a plus.  We came home Saturday at Midnight and woke up Sunday with the determination that the festival was over it was back on track time til Thanksgiving (Our next jump off).  So since yesterday and thru Wednesday, I will be eating like I should and moving like I should.  Thursday is vacation and Friday is back on track.  I hope when I get back to you guys on Monday, I can say I'm down again despite a holiday.

Baa! Okay...full accountability

Ever forgotten to record a check and the account ends up over drawn?  Anyone?  I know I'm not the only one.  Anyhoo.  I missed a weigh in.  Like 2 weeks ago missed a weigh in.  So I weighed today and, well.  I'm up 2.2 lbs.  I told yall I was having a multi jump off kind of month.  Now in my defense this shouldn't be my official weigh in because that should be in 2 weeks, but another problem I'm having is my body is getting a mind of it's own.  But, disregarding that, I am treating this as a sure fire gain cause there is no other way to do it.

This week is also the week Dh and I go on our festival trip.  Three days.  There's food.  Yikes.  Then next week is Thanksgiving.  One day.  There's food.  Yikes.  So that's 4 out of 14 days where jumping off is a distinct possibility (or fact). Can someone say DAMAGE CONTROL!!!!

So here is where I follow my own advice.  My official weigh in is the 27th of this month.  That follows the next crazy two weeks.  So to offset those 4 days( yes I more than likely won't stay on plan or get a workout...much) my other 10 days have to be exemplary.  No other days off, no missed workouts.   Already done a workout for today.  It had to be treadmill cause there isn't much left to do outside.  I'll do the treadmill for the next 2 days as well.  Not much I can do about festival day, but if I get a chance to walk around the park a bit, I will.

Eating will be right on target the next three days, plus I figure if I can stay out of the lodge restaurant a good bit I should be okay.  Breakfast is provided those days, and at breakfast they don't have the pies and cakes and such out.  I plan to grocery shop prior to going and make sure we take lots of high protein items like Greek yogurts, fruits, and such to have for snacks or meals.  There will more than likely be a dinner in the restaurant, but if I'm not starving like last year, I should be able to muddle through without too much damage (I hope).

Once I'm through the festival, All I need to worry about is Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is Thanksgiving and I will enjoy myself, but make sure all the other days are right on track.  We'll see in two weeks how I do, but weather I get through this unscathed or not, I'm still plugging along taking things as they come and ever moving forward (and hopefully downward).

Oh Happy Day!

So day started off with my weigh in.  No loss, but no gain so I can deal with net neutral.  Beats being behind.  I did get some motivations this weekend and this morning.

Dh and I went thrift store shopping for new clothes.  No need to spend a lot because we are still in transition, at least I am.  He needs permanent new clothes cause he's just maintaining now.  I need some that can see me through the last 20 pounds.  I got some crazy good deals.  I found 3 sweaters sz large; surreal since I used to be in a 3X.  I also found a set of black moccasin slip on shoes and a pair of black suede ankle boots; both of which looked new.  My motivator was a risk I took to buy a pair of sz 12 jeans, no stretch for $2.  I figured for $2 if I couldn't wear them yet, I would eventually.  I came home and tried them on.  THEY FIT!  Not as comfortable as I would like,  but I got them on without any fuss.  Guys, I have never worn a sz 12.  Ever.  Maybe 12 months when I was little.  lol.  The lowest I ever got was in high school and that was a 14.  Many years have passed since then.  We won't go into how many.  So motivator #1  Do I want to get into these jeans comfortably?  You bet your bippy!

Motivator 2.  While thrift store shopping, Dh wanted a new zip up hoodie in a men's small.  We found a very nice one for a couple of bucks.  He had a pullover hoodie in sz medium that had a graphic on it that said "Property of" and a friend had written my name in permanent marker below it.  Dh said he guessed we could retire that pullover hoodie.  So today as I was hanging up the "new" hoodie and taking out the one to retire I thought hmmmm.  I wonder if.....So I tried it on.  IT FITS!  WOOHOO!  I never thought I would see the day when I would be able to borrow my Dh clothes!  I know some women can, but I never could nor thought I would ever be able to.  Big motivator for today.

I could care less what the scale said.  I care more about my two new motivators.

Full disclosure here...

I went for my yearly check up today at my endocrinologist office.  Just wanted to share a few specs with ya.

2015-  BEFORE I STARTED ALL THIS

WEIGHT-  230 LBS
           A1C-  5.5 (5.7 IS PREDIABETIC RANGE)
           CHOLESTEROL- 186  NOT TOO BAD, STILL LESS THAN 200 WORRY RANGE
           GLUCOSE- 93- BIT HIGH, BUT IN RANGE

2016- 9 MONTHS INTO THIS

WEIGHT- 190 LBS
           A1C- 5.10 ( NO LONGER PREDIABETIC)
           CHOLESTEROL- 169 (COMING DOWN)
           GLUCOSE- 87 (COMING DOWN)

TODAY 9/27/17

           WEIGHT- 168.6
            A1C- 4.8 (COMING DOWN)
           CHOLESTEROL- 178-  A LITTLE UP, BUT STILL GOOD
           GLUCOSE-  59 (WOW WAY DOWN!)

My doctor was over the moon.  She said whatever I was doing to keep it up.  We discussed my diet thoughts and she said "All diets work, it's basically calorie in calories out" and she's right, but here's the thing.  All diets work if you can stay on them.  We did agree on this and that is that 1200 calories of real food keeps you filling fuller longer than 1200 of diet food.  She also told me that protein can help suppress appetite.  Good to know.  Also she stated (so my thoughts on artificial sweetener are no longer anecdotal)that artificial sweeteners can trigger your brain to crave sugar!

Then to top off the day, I went with my mom to Costco to get some groceries and while there bought a pair of jeans without trying them on and took them home.  The surreal part of this is the fact that they are a sz 14.  WOOHOO!

Welcome to One-derland!

All my life I've fought with my weight.  Well at least the vast majority of it.  I went on my first diet around age 9.  That was almost fo..... ah er never mind.  It was the Weight Watcher program my mom was on.  Over the years I've dieted and gained back more weight than before.  So much so that I was loathe to diet ever again.  Statistics say that only 5% of the people that lose weight manage to maintain the loss.  How hopeful is that?  Over the last 4-5 years I've managed to maintain about half of the weight lost last time I dieted (which wasn't a lot), but have watched some creep back on this past holiday season. Yet I dug my heals in and would do nothing because I was not willing to face another loss then gain.  My frustration with weight loss comes from supposedly all this "help" in the form of special made foods, gyms, weight loss programs, etc and still I have the extra weight.  We're surrounded by low fat, fat free, sugar free everything,weight loss programs,weight loss pills, bariatric surgery, etc and yet, according to Bloomberg Business, obesity rates are up 90% since 1995 in 17 states..  Just 20 years. Why?  Well I think I now know.

 We are being trained to stay habitually dieting. 

 Take a look at the weight loss industry, and it is an industry, a  multi million dollar industry.  Photo shopped actresses and models show us what we should look like.  So in seeking that "normalcy"we turn to yet another diet, supplement, or workout program.  Eat bread, don't eat bread.  Carbs are good.  Carbs are bad... Low fat, No fat, good fat, etc.  Every year sees a multitude of new diet books on the shelf and  those same books are later found on the book shelves of thrift stores.  However, America as a whole gets bigger.  We're in a cycle that benefits the weight loss industry immensely, but us...not so much.  I understand the health benefits of a healthy weight.  I also know not all skinny people are healthy and not all fat people are sick.  I was considered obese by government standards, yet my blood pressure, cholesterol, pulse rate, A1C, etc were all normal.  I wanted to lose weight, but whatever changes needed to be permanent, healthy, and doable without adding to the weight loss industries coffers.

 I think I'm finding my way.  What am I saying?  I did find a way!  For the first time in 24 years I'm in "One-derland"!  In other words my weight now starts with a 1.  Now a lot of people can tout a weight loss, but will it last?  I believe this will for me and I'll tell you why.  There are no gimmicks.  It really is calories in, calories out, but it's real food.  It's portion control.  It's living my life.  For the first time in my life I'm losing weight without feeling like I'm holding on by my finger tips.  I've lost since Jan 30th 2016, 31 lbs.  It's been seemingly effortless!  I wanted to share these findings with you.  There's a way to lose weight without tasteless food, deprivation, boredom, feeling left out, etc.  While you might think my tips are anecdotal; I've found,for me,they work.  In fact this post has been a work in progress over the past few months.  I didn't want to say anything about tips or success until I knew this was working.  You may not want to use all of these tips.  That's okay. Take what you want, leave the rest.  Whatever tips I may pass on, the greatest one is to do what works best for you.  This is best for me.  Originally this was going to be in one post, but I know you have a life and don't need to be spending it in front of a computer reading all of this.  So I broke it up into separate posts.

 Welcome to part 1.

1) Choose your battles wisely - First of all, a Disclaimer*** I don't care how much they say you can lose weight without counting and measuring.  You will fail if you don't teach yourself portion control.  Weighing and measuring is the only way to teach yourself.  Accept that.  Now, that being said....

I LOVE COFFEE!  This is a weird statement for me because up until about 5-6 years ago, I never touched the stuff.  I loved the smell, but hated the taste.  Once I started drinking it I was hooked.  You know it's bad when you go to bed at night and the last thing you think of before sleep is "tomorrow I get coffee!".  I have to have cream and sugar in my coffee.  I've tried to learn to drink it black, but that ain't happening.  Artificial sweeteners and Stevia make it taste bitter.  I've had multiple false starts mainly due to the fact that, in order to have coffee, I had to count those calories.  This time around I asked myself " what foods did I want more? What foods can I live without.".  I knew, because of my Thyroid issues, I needed to keep my protein levels high normal and my carbs low normal.  Because of that I knew I needed to make sure I was getting protein at each meal and snack.  I also knew fruits and veggies are paramount for nutrients, fiber, etc.  I needed to make sure carbs came from those things first.  What food was last on my priority list?  The answer was bread, pasta, and/or rice.  Now don't get me wrong.  I haven't said "never" to those foods, but it is last on my list of important foods.  It's too many calories for the amount of enjoyment I get from it.  There are other foods that give way more enjoyment and or nutrition.  I still have plenty of carbs.  This is not a low carb diet.  I meet my range all the time according to Sparkpeople.  The Carbs come in the way of Fruits, Veggies, Coffee with cream and sugar, Homemade whole wheat chocolate chip cookies (2 are 120 calories), whole milk vanilla yogurt, etc.  I find if I have a high amount of protein at breakfast I will stay satisfied much longer.   I have also noticed that if I eliminate bread, rice, etc during one meal, I may can save it for another where it would be more enjoyable.  Here is an example of one day of eating for me right now:

Breakfast

2 eggs, scrambled in a little(4 grams) butter, 2 oz of whole milk vanilla yogurt on a cup of whole strawberries with a tsp of sure nuff chocolate syrup drizzled on top.  PLUS COFFEE!  Yum!

Mid Morning Snack (around 10:30 ish.  I don't always have this, but when I do)

3/4 oz Mozzarella Cheese and an apple

Lunch

5 oz Chicken breast
4 oz roasted carrots (new favorite thing)
Maybe a baked potato with a little (4gms) butter if I am really hungry, but I'm usually not.

Snack

3 TBS microwaved popcorn made in one of those microwave popcorn poppers (again if I had a late lunch this might be skipped)

Dinner 

Taco Salad with ground beef or turkey, 1/2  ( that's half yall) oz real cheddar cheese, salsa, lettuce, tomato, and If I want to use the calories, on tortilla chips.  If I want to save calories for dessert I will forgo the chips and just have it on lettuce.

Dessert

Smores- 1 graham cracker, 1 large marshmallow, and 15 choc chips melted.

This is just an example of an average 1200-1500 calorie day, but I've had Papa Johns, Little Caesars (2 slices cheese pizza) Pizza, or Chic Fila (3 piece chicken tenders).  My husband and I went out to Texas Roadhouse for our anniversary and we had steak, house salad, and FRIES (we split his serving)!. I counted it!  We did make sure to tell the waitress we did not need the bread basket on the table.  Anyway, no food is off limits to me.  I had Dairy Queen ice cream cake for my birthday!  Well and the day after...cause...uh there were enough servings for each of us to have 2!  Knowing nothing is withheld from me is very freeing.  I just accept I have to have reasonable portions.  Know what?  I'm not hungry!  I don't feel left out!  There is a draw back.  You have to take the time to measure,count and record what you're eating. I use sparkpeople.com , but you can use whatever site works for you.  There are plenty to choose from.  You also have to make sure you are using plenty of fruits, veggies, and lean meats as your base.  The fun stuff is supposed to be ancillary. This is my and your responsibility.


 This is a marathon and not a sprint- Whatever method you use for your success needs to be something you can do for the long haul.  There will be days where you eat and don't count it, especially during the holidays.  Do it.  Give yourself that vacation from the plan with full knowledge and no guilt.  You are choosing to enjoy a family get together or party.  This doesn't mean you are derailed.  It means you control even then what you put in your mouth.  This also doesn't give you free reign to throw caution to the wind for the whole holiday season.  Pace yourself.  Resolve to get right back on track the following day.  Accept the consequences of your actions.  It's better to accept the small consequences of one day of vacation, than to allow that one day to derail everything you have worked on for months on end before you finally get control again.  This also works in emergencies.  Funny thing is that knowing I can have what I really want when I want it, has taken the power over me away from the food I eat and has put it into my hands.  I find most of the time a bite of something satisfies my desire to taste it and I can move on.

My next posts are ready to go and I will post them quickly so be on the look out.  I just wish I knew 20 years ago what I now know.