Weight Loss Update

I decided to see how far I’ve come.

I have a belt that I wore when I first started and Clarence would just keep drilling new holes in it as I lost the weight. I measured from the first hole to the one that I am using now. I have lost a total of 14 1/2" around my waist. Yea!!

When I first started I was losing inches and not pounds because I was exercising and losing fat but gaining muscle. Not looking at the scale but measuring and feeling the looseness of your pants are other good indicators of how you’re doing if you’re doing everything right and not losing the weight right away.

Meet with the Dietitian

Clarence talked with the dietitian and made an appointment to meet with him about a week later. He gave us a Food Diary to list everything that we had to eat and drink (each meal) that week. We learned that the diary keeps you honest with the food you choose to eat.

When we returned for our meeting the dietitian, Aaron, told me that what I was doing was ok but I needed to add more protein and drink more water. He also told me that I needed to have a snack closer to bedtime. Aaron said that the snack close to bedtime would keep the systems working overnight and would burn more calories. He also gave us a list of healthy foods to get when we go shopping and some sample menus. His advice was personalized just for me.

I would recommend that anyone that wants to lose weight and keep it off see a dietitian. I didn’t think that a dietitian could tell me anything that I didn’t already know. (I was wrong.) I do know that the fad diets don’t work and if you want to keep the weight off you have to eat right and exercise. Reading about diet information is ok, but they aren’t personalized for you. Spend the money at least once to talk to the experts: a dietitian, a personal trainer, a wellness coach. We are lucky to have all of these right here at the Mercy HealthPlex.

Exercise & Nutrition

I have learned that exercise and nutrition go hand in hand. First of all I don’t know anything about nutrition. I just know what works for me. I do know that exercise alone doesn’t work, if you want to lose weight. I have been a member of the HealthPlex for over six years and have been exercising on a regular basis, but I was gaining weight. I didn’t start losing until I changed my eating habits. In Chris Johnson’s book there is a target and the foods that are in the center of the target are the ones that are the most nutritious for you and the further you get away from center the worse the foods are for you. I try to stay as close to the center as I can. I also watch my portion sizes and that would be different for each person. If you are taking in more calories than you burn you gain weight.

I don’t have a bad relationship with food. When I was recovering from all of the surgeries I wasn’t able to do anything and I think that I ate to make me feel better. I was really down in the dumps. Now I eat because I know that I need it to keep my energy up and to keep my blood sugar regulated.

Later this week Clarence and I are meeting with a dietitian to get some more suggestions on what we need to be eating. We will let you know what we find out.

Also, we saw friends we hadn’t seen for awhile this weekend and some of them didn’t even recognize me. They all told me how great and healthy I looked. That really helps keep me going.

And, I am now in a size 16 jean!

Baby Steps

I started my weight loss (lifestyle change) after reading Chris Johnson’s book "On Target Living." In the book it tells you to take baby steps and that is what I do. That means give up one thing at a time. I gave up deserts first and started watching my portion sizes. Then I gave up breads and the list goes on and on. But the main thing is not to try giving up everything at once.  It took me a whole year to get where I’m at now so don’t expect to lose all of your weight overnight. I also do baby steps as far as the weight loss is concerned. I lose ten pounds and then go for the next ten . When you reach the ten pound goal treat yourself with something that you like. I usually go shopping for a new outfit or two because my clothes are getting too big. It really makes me feel good to go down one or two sizes.

I'm still working on my 10lb goal. I've got about 3lbs still to go. I blame the weather for making this baby step take longer than I had hoped. But I won't be sidetracked. I think I have to go out and buy another new pair of jeans. My size 18's, that I bought just over a month ago are getting loose.

Don't Go It Alone

Clarence is my workout partner. He gets me up at 5 O’clock in the morning.We always have a good breakfast before we leave. It is probably the most important meal of the day. We have to take care of our animals (two dogs and seven cats ) before we leave. So by the time everything is done we leave the house at 7 O’clock and get to the healthplex at a little before eight. We live about forty five minutes away from the healthplex so we have to get up early to get everything done.

The reason I’m telling you this is I don’t like getting up early. This is where your workout partner comes in. It doesn’t have to be your husband it can be a friend or even a personal trainer. Someone who is depending on you to be there. When we get to the healthplex we sit down and have a cup of coffee and talk to a lot of friends that we have met there. This is where I really get a lot of support. A lot of people that I didn’t even know would come up to me and compliment me on how well I was doing and they remembered me when I first came to the healthplex in a wheelchair. With all of the people that are watching me and depending on me I can’t afford to gain weight.

After coffee we workout on the machines for about an hour or so and then go to the pool. We really enjoy the workout in the pool. We do the aqua power class in the lap pool for one hour and then do the fit class in the therapy pool. Sharon Whitaker teaches both classes and she makes it so much fun that you don’t even realize that you are exercising. We do this three days a week.

Clarence also helps me to chose what foods to eat. Before we go out to eat. We look up the menu on the internet and choose what we want before we get there.

I'm Down 9 More Pounds!

I was getting a little discouraged. Usually, I set my goal at just losing 10lbs at a time. I don't really set a time limit, but I do keep track. Well, this last 10lb goal was stuck at about 2-3 pounds for weeks. I was doing everything the same so I don't know why I wasn't losing. Well, I went to the doctor last week again and I lost 9lbs. I was so relieved! I am now at about 224. I'm still shooting for under 200lbs, but I'll just take it 10lbs at a time.

I guess it goes to show that if you just stick with it and keep exercising and eating right, it does work.