Slow but sure
April 14, 2009 (Tuesday)
As my belt and breath kept getting shorter, I decided in mid-January that the time had come to pay closer attention to what I was eating. So, I began writing down every calorie (sometimes my best estimate) I consumed. With no hard and fast rule other than awareness of what I was eating, I have lost 20 pounds in 90 days. I am still woefully overweight, according to the health charts, so I’m continuing to follow a diet of sorts, trying to remain aware of what food groups are on my plate, but especially the number of calories I am consuming daily. I’m following the example of Ruth and Troy Conner in this. When I saw they were maintaining their weight well, I asked them how they did it, and they suggested I keep a record of what I eat and how many calories are in the food. So that’s what I’ve been doing.
A few years ago, when I saw that my waistline was growing, I discovered a wonderful idea being used by the manufacturers of trousers: the expandable waist. Those are the pants I wear every day. They create the illusion of a decent waistline. When I found the pants had expanded as far as they would go, a little light went on in my head and I could hear my own voice, saying “Maybe you’re getting fat.” I was probably 30 pounds over the weight I was carrying at the end of my cardiac rehab experience in 2002, when I was taught the importance of exercise and diet. I have since learned that one must continue to practice good habits and pay attention to diet and exercise. Duh.
I’m not sure what my weight loss goal is, but my belt now buckles at the comfort zone it found briefly in the summer of 2005, when I discovered that I could cook lots of really good things to eat, and started to enjoy preparing and consuming them, evidently not noticing or caring that I was gaining weight. Having lost some weight, I don’t know which chart to use as a guide. The one I have seen published the most, calls for losing 44 more pounds, but that does not seem realistic. If I return to the weight I had for many decades, I will lose another 30 pounds, but if I get back to where I was later in life, I’ll take off another ten pounds, maybe 20. I don’t know. I’ll just try to stay aware, which is something I didn’t do for a while. Hope I can keep it off long enough to weigh in my Cardiologist’s office around the end of May.