Country Chatter

It really is embarrassing to admit the “unfit” shape I let myself get into. But I am going to be honest and tell you about it and also show some before and after pictures.  If this motivates someone else to make the choice to take control of their eating habits and health, it will be worth every word, every pound, and every mile on the treadmill.

These two pictures were my real wake-up call.

You can read my first post, My Fitness Pal, to see my motivation to get started and what I did. I started using My Fitness Pal the beginning of February and weighed 187 lbs.  It is now June 6th, four months since I started, and I am within a few pounds of my goal, 40 lbs of weight lost.  Set out ten 4 lb. bags of sugar or a 40 lb. bag of dog food.  Yes, that is the extra weight (oops, I was going to be honest…”fat”) I was toting around on these aching bones and knees. I can hardly believe it.

Me hugging my weight!!!  That is a 40 lb. bag. I can hardly believe how heavy it is-and it was on me.

I can honestly say my knees no longer hurt and they were on my mind 24/7.  The doctor said I had arthritis in my knees and put me on medicine which had some very bad side effects for me.  What she should have said was “you are too fat and need to lose weight”!  I no longer get out of breath walking up the hill from the chicken house.  I no longer feel I “have” to ride the golf cart every time I go to the garden. I can now get on my knees and wash up the kitchen floor. I can bend over and pick up sticks in the yard.  I can go get groceries and not feel like I can hardly put one foot in front of the other.  I am no longer tired and feel like I am an old woman. I am no longer ashamed at how I see myself in the mirror.

I wanted a diet plan that was not a “fad” plan and deprived me of eating food groups or starve myself half to death. I knew that would only set me up to fail-I’ve had experience with those. I wanted a plan that changed the way I thought and ate and helped me to continue on a healthy path after I reached my goal. I have lost weight several times in the past and I could never keep it off.  I am very optimistic that by continuing to record everything that goes into my mouth, I will maintain a healthy weight for the rest of my life.

I stumbled on to MyFitnessPal.com when I was trying to find the calorie count of a certain food.  I set what I thought was an attainable goal of 165.  I have changed it three more times; 160, 155 and now 147! You may wonder why the odd number. I wanted to be in the forty’s and 147 was 40 lbs. of weight lost.  It has been years and years and years since I was in the 40’s! This is truly the best weight management tool I have ever found as it allows me to manage what and how much I eat as long as I stay within my allotted calorie allowance. It is like my husband says, “calories in, calories out. It is as simple as that.” I have adjusted some cooking methods but we already used very little sugar, pasta, bread, corn or potatoes because Gene struggles with diabetes, however,  I will eat them in moderation. I have had to make some choices and sacrifices on what I eat.  There were times I really, really, really craved a bowl of ice-cream or a candy bar and knew I did not have the calories left for the day to eat it.  I have also found on this plan that if I really blow it one day, it is ok.  When eating at fellowship meals, restaurants, cook outs or special meals is almost impossible to stay within my calorie allowance.  I am learning to just relax and let be what is. One meal does not mess up a diet as long as you let that one meal be that one meal and then continue on the next day with your management plan.

It also helps to have an encourager or partner in crime.  My husband has been very supportive and I have a friend and her husband at church who have joined me on this quest. Ruth is going to be the “mother of the groom” in the fall and I am cheering her on every pound lost.

A little less of me is just fine. I have gone from a size 14 to size 10 (size 8 in jeans). Just think, I get to go buy some new clothes and I have the approval of my husband!!!!  What woman doesn’t like that!

The new “little less” of me!

(I am seriously considering going just a little further- I would be so happy to lose a few more pounds but I am watching that I don’t start looking haggard)

Note #1: If this challenges you to get with the program, please write me a note in the comment section. I want to cheer for you!

Note #2:  MyFitnessPal.com ask you to record your measurements. I did not do that and now I am sorry and really wish I had. I also wish I had gotten a good picture of the “before” me to compare with the “new” me.  But when you are overweight you tend to avoid the camera!