My Diet Died

Over 2 years ago I got on the scale and cried. I was huge! For the first time in my life my 5'3" frame had hit a whopping 179 lbs. I went into a depression. I could not believe I had gotten that big. I could not believe I let myself go.

After I pulled myself out of my depression funk I decided I needed to fix this. I told my husband about what was going on with me. He gave me the best encouragement. He told me he has known me a long time and he knew that whenever I decided to do something it happened. So I made a plan.

Now my plan was not a quick fix to a problem that took years to create. I knew that it took almost 10 years to gain this weight and it might take 2 to lose it. I had to change everything. They way I ate. The way I drank. And the way I exercised. So it was not a diet I was going to be on but a life style change.

The first thing I did was to keep a food journal. I wrote down everything. Anything that passed over my lips was written down. For the first two weeks I just wrote it down to get into the habit. The next two weeks I looked up the calories for everything written down and I added them up. I was shocked. Floored was more like it. I was consuming about 2000-2400 calories a day. Way more than my sedentary lifestyle could handle. No wonder I was growing wider and wider. Some one with my lack of movement, my height and my age should really only be consuming about 1600-1800 calories a day to maintain the current weight.

The first thing I did was cut out my empty calories in drinks. I had given up soda years ago. So cutting that out was not an option since it was already gone. But I did drink a ton of sweet ice tea. Anywhere from a half gallon to a gallon a day. That alone was between 550 - 1100 calories a day. Say I drank just a half gallon a day in 7 days was 3850 calories. Now cutting about 500 calories a day can help you lose 1 lb a week.

So I was hoping that would help me start my weight lose adventure. And it did. I lost about 10 lbs. but it did take me about 6 months to do that in. Then I plateaued.

I decided to cut calories. Easier said than done. Because there is an old saying..."When mama is on a diet, everyone is on a diet." And it is true. And I was fought at ever dinner at what I was making or not making. It is hard when your family is used to eating one way and you try to introduce lower calorie more nutritious meals. But I continued to find way to reduce my calorie intake. I started to drink Slim Fast shakes. Well, only for lunch. For breakfast I drank a Carnation Instant Breakfast mix plus a cup of milk. Then for dinner I did my best to do a good meal for everyone.

I added exercise to my routine. I walked about 30 minutes a day. In Texas in the summer heat that is a feat in its own right. And I started to go down again. Slowly but I was headed in the right direction. Summer went by and fall came and I continued my walking. And then the dreaded holidays came. And I stopped. I stopped trying to exercise. And I added a few pounds back on after they were over with. So I started again. And the weight I gained started to go down again.

But now that summer is here again and the heat is unbearable, I have not been doing my walks. But I have continued with watching my caloric intake. So I again have plateaued.

I am, as of today, at 147 lbs. Which is better than I was 2 years ago but still not to the 125-130 where I want or need to be.

I know that not exercising because of the heat is an excuse. And is a poor one. But today I am getting back on track. I started my food diary again. I will weigh myself daily and record it in my journal. And I will find something to do for exercises indoors. At least until the heat subsides and I can go back outdoors where I am happier.

So here is to trying a little harder. Losing more. And being happier with myself.