Still trying - not giving up - I WILL do this!
Well here's the deal. I am going to post my diet successes and failures so that I am forced to be accountable. I don't know how heavy I was last month - I refused to get on the scale. But I weighed myself seven days ago and I was 180.5. EEEEEEeeeeeeekkkkk!!! That means I was above that scary number for a month...only God knows how many pounds I had exceeded above the 180 mark
Well, in the past week, I have been extremely careful, and have lost five pounds. I am now 175.5 and looking to loose another twenty pounds. Actually, my BMI would be perfect if I were 150, but I would be happy at 155. At my age (42) and height (67.25") and build (big boned) - anywhere between 145 and 155 is healthy for me, and that is my aim. To be healthy. When I was in my 30s, I could enjoy the Atkins diet without reducing my portions, but now that I am in my 40s, my metabolism has slowed down a lot. I have reduced my portions recently, but am eating these small portions every two or three hours; and that is the only reason I was able to finally loose some weight...that and reducing the amount of fat I ingest. Also, if I do eat something that has more carbs than desirable on the Atkins diet (berries, a half cup of oatmeal, a couple carrots, a half cup of wild rice, or an apple), I make sure it is BEFORE 2 pm or 3 pm in the day. My portions are 1/2 cup or the size of the palm of my hand. I need to make sure not to eat ANYTHING after 6 or 7 pm so that I can go to bed a little hungry. When I do this, my metabolism isn't working hard on digesting food, but working hard at burning fat. My breakfasts are the largest meal of the day for me, a couple small snacks during the day to keep my metabolism working, a medium sized lunch, and a very small dinner before 7pm. Really, I am just making sure to eat right - delicious proteins, plenty of water (cold and hot), and low carb (mostly green) veggies are on the menue (celery, broccoli, green and hot peppers, cucumbers and kale are definitely included in my menue). I am also reducing the amount of sugar substitutes I ingest to two servings a day (no more than 4 packets of Truvia a day) so that my cravings for sweets have declined dramatically. The beverages (other than plenty of pure unadulterated water) I ingest are non sweetened flavored soda water, (decaf) mint green tea and (decaf) coffee. I am now serious about loosing this weight, and I WILL do this - I am getting on the scale every morning. That is helping me know exactly how well I am doing and what helps me loose the weight and what makes me gain. Drinking plenty of water and reducing salt is a great idea.
