The Tortise

Patience is something that never came easy to me. I suppose it's something that you grow into as you grow up. I've never heard anyone make that a new year's eve goal or actively pursue patience. You just wake up one day and realize, you have it. For me, I've woken up to realize not only do I have it: but I probably have too much of it. I've got excess, to the extent that I may even forget that I am waiting on something. Or, perhaps, it's not patience that I've achieved, but plain old forgetfulness and a full fledge case of scatter brain.

I've been actively trying to lose weight since November 27, 2010. When I put that date out there, I realize what a long time ago that was. Half a year has nearly come and gone through this effort to lose pounds, and my success has been gradual. One might even refer to it as a failure, if one was not me. My glass is half full, and probably with some type of diet coke, skim milk or v8.

I've been up some weeks and down others. To the people who see me everyday of my life, they probably think I am lying about even losing weight because it has been this gradual seesaw.

I'm now officially under the "210" mark. Which excites me. I can see those numbers 2 - 0 - X staring out at me and I know I will never see another 2 - 1 - X. I vow to never go over the 209 threshold again. It is comforting. It is what keeps me going. Because I know when I can see a 2 - 0 - X, that someday the 2 will permanently be erased on my scale at the front end of my weight and that thrills me. No more going to the doctor and having them look at me and have to clunk that little brick to the 200 slot. Not that they really use those anymore, but somehow my brain got stuck in 1990 and that's the only scale I envision at a doctor's office. Really, they should come up with some digital version of the antique instead of those big digital numbers at the office. Makes it feel like a more genuine experience.....

I began this journey at 224 and now sit at a solid 208.5 which is really only a mere 15 pounds in 25 weeks, or 0.6 pounds per week.

What absolutely thrills me, though? 46.5 total inches off of my body with that 0.6 pounds per week! I am losing a little over 1.5 inches per week. I have nearly lost FIFTY INCHES since I began this journey. What is MOST exciting about that, though...is that most of it is in my tummy area. I no longer measure over "50 inches" in ANY area of my body. My tummy area used to measure at 50 inches. I now have lost 9 inches and only measure at 41. 

Even more exciting? Anyone whose got "tummy weight" can understand that belly fat doesn't just..sit there...as you sit down. No, it moves as you move.....so a shirt might look fabulous standing up...but the moment you sit down...you've got more rolls than the pillsbury dough boy. You think...if I can just stand up ALL DAY..nobody will notice. ha!

So now...as I sit..I still have my inevitable "belly fat spread" but I am now SMALLER sitting down than I was standing up when I started in November. I never measured what my "sitting down" tummy measurement was in November, but now it is 48 inches, two inches LESS than what it was standing up in November. So I am pleased to say I am now smaller sitting down than I was standing up....and let's face it....that's progress!!!

Where to from here? My goal is to get to 160. At this rate, it will take me 81 weeks to lose the last 48.5 pounds or December 21, 2013. I guess I need to step up my game a little bit!

I know that I look GOOD at 180, so that's my "little goal" point! 28.5 more pounds. I can do that.

How I'm doing it

To say that I've been working "hard" on my weight loss is an overstatement. In my opinion, I have been working moderately on my weight loss. It's cliche, I know, to say that it is not a "diet" but a lifestyle and I think that this really is true. I'm not putting all my resources into losing weight or dieting. I'm just incorporating it in the background as a part of a new way of life.

I have lost my weight slow and inconsistently and I know that I am still very much at the beginning of this journey. I got on the scale one day and saw 224 staring at me. It was the most I had ever seen on the scale. I was now officially bigger than I was at 8 months pregnant merely days before having my child. I was swollen and retaining water and highly affected by pre-ecalmpsia carrying a child, and yet now I still weighed more. Enough was enough. I am now halfway to the 200 mark. Once I can hit "199", I will feel like a "real person" again. Which, I know sounds bad. But when you are staring at a number with a 2 in front of it and you are only 5'3", it is pretty depressing! My ultimate goal is 160, which charts consider to be overweight but I feel it is a good weight for me. We'll see once I get closer :)

I don't really like the idea of following a particular "diet". I just like to have a "good idea". I suppose you could call this my "Dogma Diet". I compiled bits of information that I have heard over the years and coupled it with common sense and this has been the springboard to my moderate success.

It is my goal to loose this weight very slowly. In 11 weeks, I have lost a total of 12 pounds and 38.25 inches. Overall, it has been my intention to loose 64 pounds, so I know that I have a very very long way to go. I am okay with that. Patience is a virtue and I consider myself to be quite virtuous ;) Most of the inches I have lost are right around my midsection, where it's needed and where it can seriously have some health benefits. Seven and a half of those inches have been from around my belly and five from around my waist. It's very exciting.

So what have I done in order to lose my 12 pounds and 38.25 inches? I've set myself up to succeed.

First of all, I took the advice of many of you on my facebook page and decided to actually require myself to count calories. I found a great little application on my smartphone called simply "calorie counter". It isn't a very complex application, and many of them are much more complicated and detailed. I don't want the detail and couldnt' be bothered with the specifics. This counter simply allows me to put in any food I eat and any calories I burn and includes calories you burn for just "resting" and "sleeping". You add your weight into the application and note how you plan to lose your weight. I set mine for "slow weight loss" and "minimal activity". This way I am not setting the bar too high. If my activity exceeds "minimal", my calculations will be "off" in my favor. The application came up with a total of 2,300 calories a day. Not bad, eh? Most days, I fall far below it..but somedays I will play jump rope with that number :)

My plan includes speeding up my sluggish metabolism. I decided the best way to speed up a metabolism is to put something into my digestive system on a much more consistent basis. I began with healthy, low calorie snacking all the time. I am ALWAYS eating. I pack snacks and take them to work...I snack at home..wherever I am. I always have something on me: granola bars or cuties..whatever is handy. A few of my favorite snacks are small cans of tuna, cherry tomatoes, granola bars, sugar free jell-o, celery, carrots, cheese sticks, yogurt, strawberries, apples etc. I don't eat much: just enough to tide me over. Nothing over 200 calories, but generally closer to 100 - 150 per snack. This keeps me fuller, so when I do eat a meal I notice that I eat less..I just cut the sizes of my meals down and opt to snack instead.

I also cut myself off of regular soda, most days anyway. I added water and diet soda and forced myself to make the switch even though I did not really want to. I think it helps when you aren't drinking your calories.

I also added a gym membership to the mix. I have been working out about every other day. I get up before work and go to the gym in order to do cardio for 30 - 60 minutes (depending on the day) and sometimes add an additional 15 minutes of weight training. It's a nice way for me to start my day. Sometimes I'll hit the gym on the weekends and do a little extra cardio: sometimes I don't. It's always better when I do, but you have to add in that human factor of just complete laziness :)

I have what I consider a "free day". I typically "weigh in" on Saturdays and then utilize Saturday as my free day. On Saturday, I don't count any of my calories. In fact, I make it my mission to eat foods I've been craving all week and eat as many calories as I want. Today, for instance, I went to Burger King and got a whopper with cheese meal, bought fruity candy (my vice), went to the movies and had a real soda and popcorn with butter and then went out and had a few drinks with a meal I ordered with no thought to how many calories consisted inside the contents. I figure if I don't allow myself a day to eat whatever my body has been craving or whatever makes me "weak willed", then I will become weak willed and not have the dedication to continue losing weight. If you constantly deny yourself a cheeseburger, for instance. You are just going to "cheat" with a cheeseburger later and feel bad about yourself. Food should NEVER make you feel guilty or bad for eating it. In a class I took at Purdue we were examining how weight is put into the spotlight with women as "good girls" and "bad girls". Women who are overweight are considered "bad" and those who are not are considered "good". Eating something is considered "sinful". If you watch commercials, they even say that. It's "sinfully decadent" or "it's so good, you'll feel bad". It is ridiculous!

But I digress...eating foods that your body is craving may be because your body actually NEEDS something in that food...or maybe you just really want it ;). Either way, it's good to give your body want it desires. You feel better and my theory is that you will be more successful. I've heard that fluctuating your calories up and down is a good way to speed up your metabolism, and I think that is the same logic as the weight watcher's points.

When I go out to eat, I try not to order an actual meal. If I do, I cut it in half and only eat that half. I think it's easier to do that if you box up half of it right at the beginning so you don't even see it and let it tempt you there. What I prefer to do is to make a meal out of the a la carte section. Sometimes that can add up financially, but it's been a good way for me to go. I've found, however, it can often be cheaper than ordering an actual meal. Often a few a la carte or side dishes together make more than enough to be an entire meal.