Day 5
After losing five pounds in three days, I was preparing myself for no loss this morning. But my total loss is now 5.8 pounds after four strict days and no cheating. I lost almost another pound. I am now under my normal weight. I am 5' 4" and am usually 130-131 pounds and wear a size 6. It's normal for me to fluctuate. If I hit 133, I know I need to get a grip on my eating and/or ramp up my work outs. If I drop below 130, I feel svelte. I weigh every day because it keeps me aware and not in a comfortable state of denial. I would rather deal with five pounds than ten, and so on.
Tuesday morning I weighed 135.6. That is the most I have weighed in more than five years. Actually, I can't remember weighing more than 134 in probably ten years. And I have not gone above 133 in more than five. I weighed 127 when I met John in 2003. And when we moved into our new home in February, I got back down to 127 for 2-3 months because I was burning so many calories trying to get unpacked and settled in. But as soon as I started to come out of the work frenzy, a few pounds came back (which I expected). And then I picked up a few more over the summer. Today I saw 129.8 for the first time since spring and I'm so happy! It feels like the whole weight loss is in my stomach, even though I know that's not possible. But that is how much thinner I feel.
Some people are surprised I weigh that much. My weight is pretty evenly distributed and I've been working out faithfully for seventeen years with no hiatus other than illness. I try not to stay in hotels that don't offer a workout room and, fortunately for me, John is just as dedicated to exercise. So we work out together no matter where we are. Because of all that exercise, I think I can weigh a little more and still wear the 6 because I have developed muscle and muscle weighs more than fat. I've often wished my stomach and arms were as toned as my legs, but I haven't worked them like I have my legs (with all the cardio). At 48, I can easily do an hour on the Stairmaster because I've developed those muscles. But the first time I ever tried it, my legs were burning within seconds. It just shows how well your muscles will respond. The hardest part is getting started.
Here's what yesterday was like mentally. I started the day with an omelette. I'm getting a little tired of eggs. I tried to switch it up a bit. I had been having spinach, green onion and mozzarella (part skim) omelettes. Yesterday I had mushroom, onion and mozzarella topped with some diced avocado and salsa. It was good. But I still didn't really want eggs. Since it did not satisfy my taste buds, I had one of those small containers of fat free vanilla yogurt. Activia Light is really good. It's become a dessert to me. I'm not kidding. Once I had a good taste in my mouth, I was okay. I couldn't face breakfast until 10:00 and I was so full I did not want lunch. So I didn't make myself eat lunch. I just grabbed a handful of nuts and got on the treadmill for an hour. (Another factor in my weight loss, obviously, is that I am exercising every day.) I still wasn't hungry, even after working out.
I went to the grocery store in the late afternoon and I started to realize why they tell you to eat every time you're supposed to eat, whether you are hungry or not. Your desire for bad things is much greater the hungrier you are. I was looking at things at Publix and salivating. I bought a loaf of sourdough bread for John, even though I can't have it. And I started thinking about how good a piece of sourdough bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar would taste. That is something I normally eat when I walk in the door famished from having skipped lunch. I tell myself it's a healthy snack because olive oil is good for my cholesterol.
I saw the rotisserie chicken breasts in the deli and they looked so good. But what I really wanted was the skin and not the chicken. I'm so glad I bought that chicken because the minute I walked in the door, I was ready to start putting something in my mouth. And the chicken was allowed. I tore into that thing immediately and started carving off chunks. It was SO hard to peel back the skin and not eat it. There was no way I was going to cheat with chicken skin, but I did put some in my mouth just to have the flavor and then spit it out. That was enough to make me feel as though I had some. And after snacking on the chicken, I ate a small bowl of the soup I made yesterday. Once I was filled up, I didn't have any desire to eat something I shouldn't. And I proudly proclaimed to John, "I made it through one more day!" He thinks I'm hilarious.
I'll let you know how I make it through the weekend. We will go to dinner after church tonight and that will probably be my toughest challenge all week. Everywhere we normally go, I love the bread. Dessert doesn't tempt me. Baked potatoes won't tempt me. But I love bread. I know, however, that if I go back to eating the same way, the pounds will quickly return. And I'm thinking I could have a new normal weight of 125 by continuing to avoid bad carbs. That would never be a possibility for me eating the way I normally eat. Tomorrow we're going to the Titans game. I love corn dogs. And I almost always have one. To stay on the strict phase of this diet, I can only have some peanuts and diet coke at the game. Obviously, there are not an abundance of healthy choices in that environment. Right now I don't feel like that will be hard. I'll make myself eat breakfast so I am not hungry. But I'm expecting to feel tempted at dinner tonight. I could suggest not going out, but I enjoy our routine of going out after church. And I enjoy the social aspect of having a nice dinner with my husband. I don't want to have to avoid eating out. I want to learn how to make better choices in restaurants!
I am thinking more and more about the possibility of moving to Phase 2 after 7 days instead of 14 because I don't have a lot of weight to lose. I've already lost what I needed to lose. I would be fine with losing a few more at a slower pace. I just needed a jump start to get me going. Phase 2 would mean adding a piece of fruit, a slice of whole grain bread and some whole grain cereal to my current allowable foods. Believe it or not, having those additional foods sounds amazing to me. I have no desire to eat bad stuff. I just need a little bit more variety. And I much prefer a bowl of cereal with frozen blueberries to omelettes. I can eat cereal every day and not get tired of it.
A friend of mine who is a personal trainer emailed me to congratulate me on my success with the South Beach diet. She said South Beach and Weight Watchers are the only two diets she feels comfortable to recommend to her clients.
Tuesday morning I weighed 135.6. That is the most I have weighed in more than five years. Actually, I can't remember weighing more than 134 in probably ten years. And I have not gone above 133 in more than five. I weighed 127 when I met John in 2003. And when we moved into our new home in February, I got back down to 127 for 2-3 months because I was burning so many calories trying to get unpacked and settled in. But as soon as I started to come out of the work frenzy, a few pounds came back (which I expected). And then I picked up a few more over the summer. Today I saw 129.8 for the first time since spring and I'm so happy! It feels like the whole weight loss is in my stomach, even though I know that's not possible. But that is how much thinner I feel.
Some people are surprised I weigh that much. My weight is pretty evenly distributed and I've been working out faithfully for seventeen years with no hiatus other than illness. I try not to stay in hotels that don't offer a workout room and, fortunately for me, John is just as dedicated to exercise. So we work out together no matter where we are. Because of all that exercise, I think I can weigh a little more and still wear the 6 because I have developed muscle and muscle weighs more than fat. I've often wished my stomach and arms were as toned as my legs, but I haven't worked them like I have my legs (with all the cardio). At 48, I can easily do an hour on the Stairmaster because I've developed those muscles. But the first time I ever tried it, my legs were burning within seconds. It just shows how well your muscles will respond. The hardest part is getting started.
Here's what yesterday was like mentally. I started the day with an omelette. I'm getting a little tired of eggs. I tried to switch it up a bit. I had been having spinach, green onion and mozzarella (part skim) omelettes. Yesterday I had mushroom, onion and mozzarella topped with some diced avocado and salsa. It was good. But I still didn't really want eggs. Since it did not satisfy my taste buds, I had one of those small containers of fat free vanilla yogurt. Activia Light is really good. It's become a dessert to me. I'm not kidding. Once I had a good taste in my mouth, I was okay. I couldn't face breakfast until 10:00 and I was so full I did not want lunch. So I didn't make myself eat lunch. I just grabbed a handful of nuts and got on the treadmill for an hour. (Another factor in my weight loss, obviously, is that I am exercising every day.) I still wasn't hungry, even after working out.
I went to the grocery store in the late afternoon and I started to realize why they tell you to eat every time you're supposed to eat, whether you are hungry or not. Your desire for bad things is much greater the hungrier you are. I was looking at things at Publix and salivating. I bought a loaf of sourdough bread for John, even though I can't have it. And I started thinking about how good a piece of sourdough bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar would taste. That is something I normally eat when I walk in the door famished from having skipped lunch. I tell myself it's a healthy snack because olive oil is good for my cholesterol.
I saw the rotisserie chicken breasts in the deli and they looked so good. But what I really wanted was the skin and not the chicken. I'm so glad I bought that chicken because the minute I walked in the door, I was ready to start putting something in my mouth. And the chicken was allowed. I tore into that thing immediately and started carving off chunks. It was SO hard to peel back the skin and not eat it. There was no way I was going to cheat with chicken skin, but I did put some in my mouth just to have the flavor and then spit it out. That was enough to make me feel as though I had some. And after snacking on the chicken, I ate a small bowl of the soup I made yesterday. Once I was filled up, I didn't have any desire to eat something I shouldn't. And I proudly proclaimed to John, "I made it through one more day!" He thinks I'm hilarious.
I'll let you know how I make it through the weekend. We will go to dinner after church tonight and that will probably be my toughest challenge all week. Everywhere we normally go, I love the bread. Dessert doesn't tempt me. Baked potatoes won't tempt me. But I love bread. I know, however, that if I go back to eating the same way, the pounds will quickly return. And I'm thinking I could have a new normal weight of 125 by continuing to avoid bad carbs. That would never be a possibility for me eating the way I normally eat. Tomorrow we're going to the Titans game. I love corn dogs. And I almost always have one. To stay on the strict phase of this diet, I can only have some peanuts and diet coke at the game. Obviously, there are not an abundance of healthy choices in that environment. Right now I don't feel like that will be hard. I'll make myself eat breakfast so I am not hungry. But I'm expecting to feel tempted at dinner tonight. I could suggest not going out, but I enjoy our routine of going out after church. And I enjoy the social aspect of having a nice dinner with my husband. I don't want to have to avoid eating out. I want to learn how to make better choices in restaurants!
I am thinking more and more about the possibility of moving to Phase 2 after 7 days instead of 14 because I don't have a lot of weight to lose. I've already lost what I needed to lose. I would be fine with losing a few more at a slower pace. I just needed a jump start to get me going. Phase 2 would mean adding a piece of fruit, a slice of whole grain bread and some whole grain cereal to my current allowable foods. Believe it or not, having those additional foods sounds amazing to me. I have no desire to eat bad stuff. I just need a little bit more variety. And I much prefer a bowl of cereal with frozen blueberries to omelettes. I can eat cereal every day and not get tired of it.
A friend of mine who is a personal trainer emailed me to congratulate me on my success with the South Beach diet. She said South Beach and Weight Watchers are the only two diets she feels comfortable to recommend to her clients.
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