So... weight loss. Geeze louise, what a fun topic. I have been debating about even writing about this as it such a touchy topic with myself, and many other people, but what the hell. I went on a weight loss journey several months ago, and was really successful. I talked about it some on here while I was doing it, but I figure I would do a blog post about it. In March I had a 31 party, and the girl who did it was telling me that some people that we both knew had lost a lot of weight, they did it with a little help... I got the info and set out to do the same thing...
April 1st I began a diet. The first few days maybe 3 or 4, I did an atkins type diet, which I messed up on and had a few carbs. It was to jump start the weight loss. Like I said though I cheated by eating bread a couple of times. Then on day 5 or so I started a 1200 calorie diet. To help stay within my calorie range, I was prescribed an appetite suppressant (phentermine). I also got vitamin b12 shots that studies are showing help with weight loss, by mainly giving you energy. The suppressant made me feel jittery for a day or so, and I cut out caffeine until I could tell I was adjusted. This suppressant really was a miracle worker. I love food. When the doctor said appetite suppressant I laughed, as I figured it wouldn't work. I literally found myself forcing myself to get in my 1200 calories a day because I just wasn't interested in eating. 1200 calories doesn't sound like much, but it was hard to get in! I cut out high fat foods, (I still have not had a french fry since March), ate high protein meals, and made it a point to get more fruits and veggies in. I became a huge fanatic of Zone bars, and protein shakes. As far as working out, I started out slowly with old lady style walking videos. Go a head laugh away. My husband and kids did. Within the first week I lost about 7lbs I think, the end of the month I was down 15 lbs. By the end of the 2nd month I was down 25. Now not every week did I lose weight, but I was losing inches, and as the weight came off I became motivated to start working out more intensely, and rejoined a local gym. Some weeks I lost 1 1lb, sometimes 5lbs, and sometimes none, but the scale kept moving on down....
I never cheated with the eating. Now drinking would be another ball game. Now don't get me wrong, the first month I didn't even cheat there, but eventually I would have a few drinks on the weekends, and then I discovered Skinny Girl Margaritas... sigh.... these are deadly. I still would save them for the weekends, and when I knew I would be drinking them, I would just have protein bars for my meals.
The end of June I stopped the appetite suppressants, but continued the vitamin b12 shots. I was scared at first I would go crazy eatting and the weight would come back on...But I remained focused, continued to work out at least 5 days a week.....The middle of July I stopped the shots, and the doctor told me I was good to go. I could come back for shots once a month, if I wanted to, but I had met my ultimate goal. Before my ultimate goal I had set two other goals. The number I would happy with getting to, a number I would love to be, and then the ultimate goal...I couldn't believe I had hit the ultimate goal.... So how much did I lose? 50 lbs... I still can't believe it... The size I am at now is pretty much highschool early years of college.
I have been able to maintain my weight so far. I try to do 1400-1600 a day, but usually do more on the weekends. I still eat healthy for the most part, man do I miss french fries....but I eat what I want within reason and with portion control. I also continue to work out, but now with girls in school, and busy schedules I mainly workout 3 times a week at the gym. So far it's working for me, and I have not gained. I bake and cook a lot at home, so if I eat anything sweet, it something I have made. I would never buy a candy bar anymore, if I am going to enjoy a sweet treat then it better be good and worth it. Also, the dietician where I work preaches about how everyone needs to lower their phosphorous intake. Seriously, the studies out there that she has shown me are very scary! Now being the diet coke addict that I am, I am not ready to say goodbye to diet coke, but I will try to make fresh desserts and meals for my family =)
It hasn't been all rainbows and unicorns though... the weight loss brought a lot of insecurities out for me. The feedback I was getting from others was also extremely hard. I had a lot of people say mean things to me about it, some people thought I was too skinny and told me I looked unhealthy, and I looked better with the weight. Really? Let's be honest....I was considered over weight on the far side with my starting BMI, and now that my BMI was appropriate people said I looked unhealthy. I hate to be snarky, but all of those people who said that crap to me were obese, but I wont lie, they got under my skin. Seeing myself thin also was like seeing a whole new person. This really shocked me as I was thin my entire life until later, so you wouldn't think going back to how I used to look would be that big of a deal, but it was....Maybe it was because it came off so fast, but I pretty much lost my mind for little while. My insecurities got the best of me, and that's all I have to say about that.
What I like: the energy that I have, buying new clothes and feeling confident in them. Buying size 2's and 4's for myself, and knowing they will fit. It's still weird getting those sizes, but it still makes me happy. I also like that being at my ideal body weight will help me health wise and lower my chances of a million different ailments and diseases. It seems like every crazy disease is linked to being overweight.
What's still hard, hoping I don't fall off the wagon and gain all the weight back. I mean seriously, I am scared to death that I will go to bed skinny and wake up fat, and how bad would that suck since I got rid of all the bigger clothes. I would have to cut a hole in my sheets and go a la mumu. It really is a life style change. You can't stuff your face every meal , every day. I still need a crazy amount of new clothes, but buying a wardrobe isn't cheap, but hopefully little by little my closet will look full again. I seriously own just two pairs of jeans lol, but that's ok, maybe I will just ask for clothes for Christmas.
I guess what I learned overall about this adventure is, you still have to find a way to love yourself no matter what you weigh. Losing 50 or 100 lbs isn't going to make your life perfect either. If anyone has any other questions feel free to comment or email me.
