:: deep breath ::
OK, I posted a foolish thread a while back – was it last summer? – saying I was done being fat and by God I was on the wagon now.
Not.
Fast forward to this past September.
I think the switch finally flipped in my brain. I don’t know what did it. Maybe Mr. S losing 30 pounds in 3 years (not that he needed to) just by virtue of losing his office job and having to work at more physical jobs. Maybe having to buy yet another few pairs of jeans in yet another size larger. Maybe finding out that yet a few more of my favorite clothes didn’t fit this year. Maybe my mother, who’s struggled with weight all her life and always loses the fight, telling me that “yes, well, I was healthy when I was your age too.” Maybe another trip through the import clothing shop where pretty much none of those beautiful garments would fit me. Maybe getting winded going up the stairs. Maybe all of those things.
First I quit drinking soda. I’ve never been a diet soda person. I love ice cold water, and fruit juice. So now those things are always in the fridge, the water in bottles so I can grab it easily. I’ve had two, maybe three sodas since September. I even ask for ice water in restaurants. I’m also drinking more milk (OK, with a little chocolate malt powder in it).
Mr. S makes us a lovely breakfast every morning: apple slices (1 apple shared between us), a few grapes, a few slices of hard cheese, toasted English muffin with cranberry jelly, yogurt, a shot of pomegranate juice, and OJ or cran juice. It gives me some fuel to get started right away, instead of my bad habit of eating nothing until I’m starving at midmorning, then eating something heavy. By lunchtime, all I want is a tuna sandwich (brown bread – whole wheat, or better yet, sprouted – instead of white) or something like that. For dinner I’ve been grilling a chicken breast and veggies: carrots, green beans, zucchini. A little butter spray or olive oil spray, maybe a little marinade, a sprinkle of tarragon. I refuse to “do Atkins,” but I do recognize that I love rice/pasta/potatoes and can easily fill up on them instead of on nice fruits and veggies. So I’m limiting my consumption of them.
I’ve converted to better snacks: chips and salsa (not my favorite, so I’m happy with only a few), baby carrots with salad dressing, yogurt, applesauce, the mini bags of microwave popcorn. If they’re there in the fridge/cupboard and easy to grab, I will eat them instead of something worse like a bowl of pasta loaded with butter and cheese. Oh, and for the sweet tooth, only the darkest dark chocolate (a bite is plenty).
Yes, I allow myself “regular” versions of foods, with the understanding that moderation is key. I find that most low/fat-free versions taste like ass, and if I limit myself to those, I’ll quickly lose interest in changing my diet. I figure La Creme yogurt is still better than chocolate pudding. If a sprinkle of chocolate in my milk gets some calcium in me instead of empty soda calories, great. If a few teaspoons of ranch dressing will get me to eat a handful of baby carrots instead of Cheesy Poofs, great!
I’ve not been tempted (much) at parties and restaurants. If Mr. S orders dessert, I have a small taste. I order better choices: fish instead of steak, skip the fried appetizers, etc. And water, water, water.
The other serendipitous thing is that Mr. S is working as a night janitor at a middle school this year. I started visiting on his 6:30 pm break at the picnic table, bringing him something to eat. Then I noticed people walking laps around the school, and thought what the hey, I could do the same thing. Then Mr. S found out that there was a “walker’s club” at the school – no signup, just write yourself in the log and walk the hallways. Cool – I can still walk in the winter and get out of the house. (I work at home and we live out in the sticks, so getting out of the house is good, as is finding a safe place to walk.) THEN he found out that employee spouses may use the fitness room at the school – the one with all the nice treadmills and weight equipment. Come to Mama!
I used to run a little in college and would love to get back to it. We have a cheap treadmill at home that I will use if I have to, but for now I have been using the school facilities. It’s been 7 weeks and I’m up to a regular routine:
MWF: 30 mins. on treadmill, 3.5 mph; weight routine (lat pull, chest press, shoulder press, leg press); fill extra time till 6:30 with more treadmill.
T, Th: 30-45 mins on treadmill
(There’s a leg curl machine there also, but I tried it and it doesn’t like me. I’m happy to work mostly on my weakling arms anyway.) I’m finally to where I feel pretty good on the treadmill, and the shin splints/calf soreness is almost gone.
Is it working? I think so. Our scale is temperamental (“I weighed myself ten times, and here are my ten answers”), but I get pretty good results, I think, from a few weighings by grabbing something nearby and “lowering” myself gradually onto the scale to eliminate bounce. I started around 210 (which was already about 5 pounds below my top weight last year, and am now a little below 205. Say six pounds in 7 weeks. Not a bad rate, and one that’s likely to stay off if I keep it up. My first goal is to get below 200. Maybe by the end of the year? I’m 37½ – it would be nice to get to 150 or 160 (I’m 5’7") by age 40.
I haven’t mentioned my quest to anyone except Mr. S and a few distant friends. Mostly because I don’t want people constantly asking me how it’s going. I’d like to surprise my mom when she returns next spring, and a good friend who just moved to Alaska for a few years. I told my OB-GYN at my appointment last week. She said she hopes to see less of me next year. 
And, of course, I’d like to fit into all those nice clothes I’ve had to give up over the years. What’s better than new clothes? Old clothes!
So anyway, there it is. I really do feel like I’m on the right track this time.
