Eating over the Thanksgiving Holiday

The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the worst holidays for people that are trying to lose weight. I was invited to a friend's house for Thanksgiving but I had a very bad cold and had to cancel. Clarence went out and bought what we needed for dinner and we ate at home. We had turkey breast, dressing, cranberry sauce, gravy and pumpkin pie with sugar free whipped cream on top. This was a real treat for me and as I said you need to treat yourself once in a while. I didn’t overeat. I watched my portion sizes and I actually lost weight over the holiday. I’m now 193.8 pounds which is the lowest that I have been so far. That’s 136.2 pounds that I have lost!

My Accident

I tripped and fell at the mall on Wednesday the 11th of November. I hit my head and was knocked out. I was taken to the hospital and after a CT scan and some blood tests they determined that I was ok. When we got home I had a lot of pain in my side when I took deep breathes. We figured that I had a cracked or badly bruised rib. We went to the doctor yesterday and she said that my rib wasn’t broken. The last time we seen the doctor was two months ago and I have lost 13 lbs since then, according to the doctor's scale. With the sore ribs I haven't been able to go to the Healthplex but I still lost 1 lb. I was afraid that I would gain weight. I stayed with my lifestyle eating habits. You notice I didn’t say my diet. It is a lifestyle. The doctor said I could start back to exercising so today we are going to start back in the pool.

A little Trick to share

Most people that have tried to quit smoking chew gum instead of smoking. The same thing works for eating. After I get done eating I put a stick of sugarless gum in my mouth. It keeps me from getting a second helping or deserts. I do the same thing during the day. I chew gum just about all of the time. It keeps me from snacking in between meals. I also try to keep busy and keep my mind on other things.

More Exciting News

Today I got on the scale and it read 199.2. I was very happy to finally get below 200 lbs. Now my goal is to get out of the 190s. I know that I will probably jump back up into the 200s again a time or two before I get out of the 190s. It’s just the way that the weight loss has been going. It’s slow but I’m determined. When I broke the 300 lb. mark I was very happy and I was hoping that I would be able to get below 200 lb. but I wasn’t sure if it would be possible.

I went shopping a couple of days ago looking for a size 12 jeans. I tried on a couple of pairs but they are a little to tight yet. I figure that I will have to lose five more pounds. That’s another goal to shoot for.

Oct. 11th Update

It’s getting harder and harder to lose weight. I got below 210 lbs in June of this year and I weigh 202 lbs now. It has been a roller coaster ride all the way. My main goal is to get below 200 lbs by the end of the year. My doctor said that for my height and age I should weigh 180 lbs. I would like to be between 170 lbs and 180 lbs.

I have been off of my blood sugar medicine for a month now and my blood sugar has been around 90 which is very good.

I have started walking the track as a new exercise. I used to only be able to walk 1/4 of a lap last year and I would have to sit down and let my pulse rate come down. (One lap is 1/6 th of a mile.) Now I can do three laps without stopping. I know that 1/2 mile isn’t very far but I just started last week.

Six Month Assessment

I went to see Cindy, my HealthPlex Wellness Coach, yesterday for my six month assessment. She was very pleased with the results and so was I. As you can see I lost more weight and all of the other numbers are down which is a good thing. I’m finding it harder to lose weight now that I don’t have as much to lose. But as Cindy said "It will be done."

Initial assessment March 2009:
weight=222
BMI = 36
Body Fat = 34.5%
BP = 129/59

6 Month assessment Sept. 2009:
weight= 208
BMI = 34
Body Fat = 31%
BP = 117/57

Six month assessment shows a 3.5% decrease in Body Fat, decrease in BMI of 2 points.

Cindy wrote me an email:

I recommend changing your program (back to more weight training) to surge toward your goal of weight under 200.
It will be done!!

Great job in your accomplishment of coming off meds!!

I'm here when you need me,

Cindy

Good News From The Doctor

I went to the doctor for a regular checkup Tuesday and had blood test done at that time. The doctor was very happy with the progress that I have made with the weight loss. After she examined me she said I could quit taking the acid reflux pills and I could take the alleve only as needed for pain. The best news came on wednesday. My blood test came back and the doctor said that I could stop taking the blood sugar medicine. She said that I should be able to control the blood sugar with diet and exercise. I go back to the doctor in two months and at that time she is going to see if she can reduce the dosage of my cholesterol medicine. I was taking a big handful of pills and they are slowly getting less and less.