Half-way......
The pre-amble - if there had been genetic testing back in the day when my great-great grandparents were hookin’ up they would have seriously reconsidered the plague they were about to unleash on their descendents to come. On my mom’s side - holy mother of genetic predispositions - runs heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes (1 & 2), breast cancer and let’s throw in some neurological stuff for fun - epilepsy, MS, etc. On my dad’s (healthier) side just some run o’ the mill Alzheimer’s, stroke, weird & rare facial bone cancers and a couple of random brain tumors. With all that said, 3 of my grandparents lived into their early 90’s. But last year when I went in for my annual check-up, I was a bit shocked to learn that my cholesterol had climbed to nearly 200. My doc shrugged it off, “genetic” based on my healthy lifestyle and all, time to consider (lifelong) meds. Hmmm… that didn’t sit so well with me.
So I thought, “what if I lose 20 lbs say?” I know it’s genetic, but what if I take a wee bit of extra responsibility reduce my animal product intake (even more), cut back on fats and lose a size or two. Well the year came and went and I had done nothing about it - hurumph. So all these years that I have wondered why people don’t make simple changes that could make them feel so much better. And here I am - accused, guilty as charged, but not yet sentenced.
Getting serious. I think about July I started getting serious about this little project. My lifelong way of getting my body back has always been to be more active and let the food & appetite follow in step, but the reality of my age, my stress levels and my time made that an unrealistic choice. So I decided to try something I have always dreaded - calorie counting. I nabbed some easy tools off the net and calculated a rough maintenance calorie intake level and then made up my mind to shave off 2-300 calories a day off that - and sometimes it’s as high 500. I’m using a counter off igoogle to keep track daily - I usually only count up to when I leave work and then have an idea in my head about how much I have to play with. And yes, I’m measuring - not everything but certainly any fats and sugars. Oh and finally, I weigh myself once a week.
What I’ve learned. I am in love with the awareness this has brought around food. I really know what I’m putting in my mouth. I now know what ‘real’ hunger is and what full feels like without being slightly uncomfortable. I love looking at something decadent and really making a decision - that doesn’t really taste *that* good, I’ll save the calories for something really fun. I also found out - thanks to Seth wanting to try reducing wheat (thanks honey) - that wheat really doesn’t agree with me. Eliminating wheat helped me drop the first 5 real quick and I noticed almost in passing that after about 3 weeks of wheat free I hadn’t even had so much as a gas bubble. This has also been a wonderful way to eat up all those healthy veggies from our CSA - this is the first year we’ve pretty much eaten everything.
The results. I’m halfway to goal having lost 10 lbs. I’ve lost a total of 15 inches off the ‘big’ parts (I had randomly put my measurements into a shopping site a couple years back, so had my baseline). My BMI has also dropped over 2 points, bringing me down from the highest healthy number. I had to buy a pair of emergency jeans and going tonight to buy an emergency bra (I’ve dropped 2.5 inches off my band size). Most of my business pants are falling off me, but all those fabulous stretchy dresses are just hugging me a little tighter. I’m having less headaches and my PMS symptoms are way less; overall I’m feeling way better & healthier. I’m giving myself a little pat on the back on this one. While overall it’s been easier than I thought it would be, I’m really proud of how I’ve approached it. The inspiration is easy - no drugs - but more importantly I’m thinking about the healthy years ahead of me loving up on my Mister….. *who* by the way makes me feel beautiful, sexy and desirable at any size. He’s let me do this on my own terms and has never pressured me to lose or not lose - just appreciates my curves big & small.
I’ll let y’all know when I hit my goal. I think my reward will be a nice facial, though I probably need to save up to replace most of my wardrobe. And now I’ll be making that annual doc appt and we’ll see what *those* numbers have to say. Even if I haven’t dented the cholesterol, I feel confident enough now to say, “I think I’m healthy enough without the meds. Let’s wait & see”.
So I thought, “what if I lose 20 lbs say?” I know it’s genetic, but what if I take a wee bit of extra responsibility reduce my animal product intake (even more), cut back on fats and lose a size or two. Well the year came and went and I had done nothing about it - hurumph. So all these years that I have wondered why people don’t make simple changes that could make them feel so much better. And here I am - accused, guilty as charged, but not yet sentenced.
Getting serious. I think about July I started getting serious about this little project. My lifelong way of getting my body back has always been to be more active and let the food & appetite follow in step, but the reality of my age, my stress levels and my time made that an unrealistic choice. So I decided to try something I have always dreaded - calorie counting. I nabbed some easy tools off the net and calculated a rough maintenance calorie intake level and then made up my mind to shave off 2-300 calories a day off that - and sometimes it’s as high 500. I’m using a counter off igoogle to keep track daily - I usually only count up to when I leave work and then have an idea in my head about how much I have to play with. And yes, I’m measuring - not everything but certainly any fats and sugars. Oh and finally, I weigh myself once a week.
What I’ve learned. I am in love with the awareness this has brought around food. I really know what I’m putting in my mouth. I now know what ‘real’ hunger is and what full feels like without being slightly uncomfortable. I love looking at something decadent and really making a decision - that doesn’t really taste *that* good, I’ll save the calories for something really fun. I also found out - thanks to Seth wanting to try reducing wheat (thanks honey) - that wheat really doesn’t agree with me. Eliminating wheat helped me drop the first 5 real quick and I noticed almost in passing that after about 3 weeks of wheat free I hadn’t even had so much as a gas bubble. This has also been a wonderful way to eat up all those healthy veggies from our CSA - this is the first year we’ve pretty much eaten everything.
The results. I’m halfway to goal having lost 10 lbs. I’ve lost a total of 15 inches off the ‘big’ parts (I had randomly put my measurements into a shopping site a couple years back, so had my baseline). My BMI has also dropped over 2 points, bringing me down from the highest healthy number. I had to buy a pair of emergency jeans and going tonight to buy an emergency bra (I’ve dropped 2.5 inches off my band size). Most of my business pants are falling off me, but all those fabulous stretchy dresses are just hugging me a little tighter. I’m having less headaches and my PMS symptoms are way less; overall I’m feeling way better & healthier. I’m giving myself a little pat on the back on this one. While overall it’s been easier than I thought it would be, I’m really proud of how I’ve approached it. The inspiration is easy - no drugs - but more importantly I’m thinking about the healthy years ahead of me loving up on my Mister….. *who* by the way makes me feel beautiful, sexy and desirable at any size. He’s let me do this on my own terms and has never pressured me to lose or not lose - just appreciates my curves big & small.
I’ll let y’all know when I hit my goal. I think my reward will be a nice facial, though I probably need to save up to replace most of my wardrobe. And now I’ll be making that annual doc appt and we’ll see what *those* numbers have to say. Even if I haven’t dented the cholesterol, I feel confident enough now to say, “I think I’m healthy enough without the meds. Let’s wait & see”.