Down 70 lbs and counting...my weightloss journey

The ratio of calorific contributions from food components of four diets (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ok so I guess it was time for an update on the weight loss. For those that may just be reading this, I have been on a weight loss journey since March of this year. It's been a fantastic experience, but not an easy one but it could be a lot worse. I could have had a relapse and gain some back, or hit a dreadful plateau. Because I don't weigh every day and I don't recommend anyone do that while dieting, if I did hit a plateau, it may have been only a short lived one.
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The way the diet has been is this, I might go two-three weeks with no change and then just when I think I'm making no progress...boom, 5-10 lbs. gone. Just like that. I have not indulged in any real sweets but I have broken down a few times and had a few handfuls--and I mean handfuls of raisins and a few scoops of peanut butter. It was delish! LOL..
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Ok, so here's another thing, and it goes against what everyone in the diet field would say but I never eat breakfast, never have. I just don't have an appetite in the morning, (except for coffee) so I say if I am not hungry, don't eat. Part of the problem with getting overweight in the first place is eating, out of habit, at certain times, whether you're truly hungry or not. I don't see the advantage in that, because you're basically training your body to ignore your natural hunger signals. I am not recommending anyone follow my lead here, but just sharing with you what I have done and what has gotten 70 pounds off of my body. So instead of eating at breakfast I do make sure most days to have a snack a few hours before supper.
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I know I say I do low carb and for the most part I do, but for my snack, I have a small bowl of celery stalks, cut into 4 inch sections, a few pieces of cheddar cheese, and maybe a little thin sliced ham, and some light ranch dressing with a few wheat thin crackers. I have a bowl I make myself use, and it can only hold up to a bout a cup or so of food but its an easy way for me to control the portions without thinking too much.  At supper, one piece of meat and some vegetables. Usually squash, zucchini, maybe roasted sweet potato.. I do not allow myself to go back for seconds except if it is soup.  I try to never ever eat past 6 pm either. If I have to have something late night I might have a cup or two of broth, or a few more stalks of celery.
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Well that is the update for now. I will be returning to dr. for my regular check up October 13th? I am not sure at this moment..but I dread going to the Dr. but I do like getting weighed and seeing her face light up from the progress :D

Remember, it can be done, it's not going to be easy, but its not the hardest thing in the world to do, at least not from my perspective. I'd rather give up too much food than to give up not living enough of my life. Ya know?

The Low Carb/Portion Control Project update: My progress

Well this is the first week of the third month of my dieting experiment, which I'll call the Low carb/Portion control Project. Thus far total weight loss has been 33 lbs. My daily regimen thus far has been to increase my water intake. Diet Soda has been kicked to the curb. I still drink coffee and that will just have to be my vice, as I am not prepared to give that up too.

What jump started this new journey in my weight loss was my Dr. finally agreeing to give me something to help. The pill is called Phentermine. Now because my weight was at a crisis point, she decided that the benefits would outweigh the risks.

What was the risks? Well for some people with high blood pressure Phentermine can cause it to raise, and also additionally in some people heart palpitations. However I will say my Dr's strategy has proven correct and my personal case, my blood pressure has steadily gone down since losing some weight. The last reading was 129/76. I'll take it. At the beginning my bp was around 130/86 so it was going in the wrong direction. I currently take medicine for my blood pressure so the diet has been a good thing.

Side effects of Phentermine- Well in the first week, I did feel a little "wired" more energetic, but by the second week that subsided. I suspect though that my sleep patterns are still a little off, but I can't be sure since I have never been a great sleeper not since I hit my forties anyway.

Now I have only three months left on Phentermine, because my Dr. will not prescribe it for longer than six months because it is supposedly habit forming. I personally haven't found that  to be the case, since I often forget to take it. You are supposed to take it one hour before you eat in the morning and it is supposed to curb your appetite. Even though I've lost weight, I can't be sure that this pill is the reason, since I go to a lot of effort to eat low carb and smaller portions. Am I still hungry sometimes? Oh yes!
What do I do? I try my best to fight through it, I gulp down some bottled water and I find something productive to do. My weakness is wanting to eat at night so the sooner I can get to bed and fall asleep the better. Challenging for a chick that doesn't sleep well.

The other challenge is that I have a thyroid condition so this weight loss thing is even more tricky. Why? Because lots of foods I love that are low in carbs are also not necessarily ideal for thyroid, inasmuch as they can interfere with my thyroid medicine working properly. I will get blood work done probably the next Dr. visit at the end of this month and I will find out what the scoop is then.

Is a low carb diet enough?

food sources of magnesium: bran muffins, pumpkin seeds, barley, buckwheat flour, low-fat vanilla yogurt, trail mix, halibut steaks, garbanzo beans, lima beans, soybeans, and spinach (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Well from past experience, I'd have to say no, sticking to low carb may not be enough. There are other components and factors that must be considered when we think of what makes for a successful diet.
All diets eventually can hit a road block, where the dieter hits that dreaded "plateau" you hear about, where no weight is coming off and you're stuck in a rut of sacrifice with no reward in sight. This is one of the toughest places to be in when dieting.
It is important though, during this time not to give in, or give up. Push your way through as if you're losing weight every day anyway, even if the scale seems to be stuck on one number. Be more stubborn than the disappointment, and don't think of your quest in terms of failure, but that you're maintaining your edge. No weight loss, after all, is better than weight gain.
That being said there are a few additional strategies you can employ that may help get you past that weight loss rut. Some things that help are these following strategies that can be implemented into you low carb efforts.
1. Drink more water. I know you've probably heard this a lot but it is true, not only does keeping hydrated help your body when you diet, but the water helps aid us in feeling full. I drink at least two bottles of water before I eat my biggest meal and then I have a bottle or two afterward. It really does help when I am fighting the urge to go into the kitchen for seconds or late night snacks.
2. Go to sleep earlier. Funny as this sounds perhaps to some, the truth is you can't eat if you're sleeping. I found I cheated a lot more on my diets when I stayed up really late, say after everyone else went to bed and the refrigerator was just steps away, beckoning me to have peak inside for left over goodies. By going to bed earlier, you give your body not only the extra rest, but it does get your through one more day of not cheating.
3. Portion control. So you've been low carbing and you hit the brick wall. Your problem may be that your body is fighting back and managing a work around. The body is smarter than we think it is. It can find a way to get around your efforts and it adjusts to combat the dietary change. I believe it interprets any diet as starvation. In the beginning it doesn't know what hit it, and over time it seems like our systems figure it out.  So what then? Well could be your portions are still quite large. Larger than you need them to be. It's hard to cut back on portions, especially when you feel you're giving up so much already, but in time you'll realize, you really don't need as much as you think you do.
4. Give yourself a free pass. One day a month, you should really give yourself a treat. It seems like this throws the body off, because you've been following a predictable pattern for so long. The body doesn't always seem to know how to deal with the sudden influx of goodies and generally speaking your improved metabolism will deal with this little treat just fine. Just don't ever for one minute forget this is for life. Diets are not optional for the morbidly obese. There is no getting off of a diet, only modifications of the diet. itself. Lose sight of that one fact and you'll be bigger than ever in a few years. Keep the faith, push on through and good luck low carbing.

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