Friday, November 2, 2012

Medium

When I started to change my eating habits at the end of January I was tired of being fat and tired. 

When I started my BMI (body mass index) was 30, which is in the obese category.

At 5'7" I weighed 204 pounds on a good day, more on a bad. 

"This time" I was determined to lose weight in a healthy sustainable way.  

"This time" I knew I had to make changes that I could stick to for the rest of my life.  

My goal was to lose 45 pounds and get down to the normal range BMI of 25.  I reached that goal in September. It took eight months, but except for having to give up a few things, it really wasn't all that hard.

Once I reached my goal, I knew I had to continue eating in the same way I had been, and continue to do daily exercise.  The only real change I have made since reaching my goal, was to stop recording and analyzing every bit of food I consumed in a food journal.  

I weigh myself ever day, and if I start to gain, I will go back to the journaling.


I am determined to keep it off this time! 

In the month since I reached my goal I have lost an additional five pounds. An amazing total loss of 50 pounds! 

I weighed in at 154 pounds this morning.

My BMI is now 24.1 (Normal is 18 - 25)

I have lost 23% of my body weight, and feel great.

In this picture I am wearing a T-shirt my grandson tie-dyed for me as a Christmas gift two years ago. Although I liked it very much, it stayed in the closet because it was too small. I felt like my arms were stuffed into sausage skins. It fits now and is very comfortable.

I am not big on fashion. For years I have worn the same brand of black pants. I buy them at K-Mart. I had some from this time last year that were almost impossible to keep up. They were Extra Large. I bought some Large ones in spring, and they too have become very loose.  

Last week I ordered several pair from K-Mart online, and bravely selected Medium size. After ordering them I told Craig I wondered if they would fit. I expected to have to return them.

They arrived yesterday, and fit beautifully! For the fist time in years I am a Medium! I feel so good about it.

But, I remind myself of and old expression my mother used to say when any of us became too prideful.


"Don't hurt your arm patting yourself on the back."

I know that maintaining this weight loss is going to be a new challenge for me.  






Last week as I was going thru a stack of papers in the studio I came across a calendar from 2008. I had kept it because it had nice animal pictures, but it also serves as a reminder of how vulnerable I am. It is the record of one of my past weight loss efforts. Over a period of five months I recorded my weight each day.  I lost 30 pounds. As I recall it took less than five months to regain it!


Do any of you remember Oprah's weight loss in 1988? Remember how she pulled a little red wagon containing 67 pounds of fat onto the stage? 

Then over the next year or so we watched her balloon back up. It was so discouraging. If she couldn't keep it off, how could I?

I'm hoping that by blogging about it I will be adding one more incentive to succeed. I want to be able to post that I have kept the weight off from time to time.  

But I won't hurt my arm.

For me, the hardest thing will be to continue  saying "no" to a glass or two of wine in the evening. But I know that would be like drinking poison for me. I know "once in a while" would slip into "just on weekends", would slide back to "everyday".  

Wish me luck. And keep posting good low calorie recipes. I love to experiment.

25 comments:

  1. That's awesome Merikay! I am just starting the same process. I started October 1st and have lost 9.4 pounds so far. I am also recording everything I eat, although I haven't changed what I eat quite as much as you did. I am just working on portion control and eating more fruits and vegetables. I am using a website called "Lose It" www.loseit.com

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  2. 9.4 pounds in a month is great! Everyday is a challenge.

    Food choice change came gradually. At fist I kept thinking in terms of substitutions, now I rarely think about a potato or rice or pasta element to a meal. I just do more than one veggie!

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  3. Oh, Merikay - outstanding! What an accomplishment! I think it may have been Oprah that said nothing tastes as good as going down a dress size.

    You look mahhh-velous!

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  4. So happy for you! Love, your daughter!

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  5. Let us pat you on the back, too. Nice job! I've gained and lost a classroom of kindergarteners in my lifetime; this time feels different. It will be for you, too.

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  6. You look fantastic! I'm sure you feel much happier and healthier too.

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  7. Really really great!..I often wonder about Oprah...lol...I mean really...if you could have the money for a persoanl trainer and personal chef...there must be someething else going on!...

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  8. Good job Merikay. You look so very different.

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  9. You look great and you are an inspiration. I bought a cute jacket. it hangs on the outside of my closet door as an aide to me as I need to lose weight to fit into it.
    Congratulations!!!

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  10. Way to go, Mom! For the first time in his life, your 6'0" son recently tipped the scales over 250. I need your example and inspiration to lose my 50+ pounds!

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  11. Go ahead Merikay...pat yourself on the back all you want. You deserve it. You look great!

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  12. That is an impressive achievement! Hearty congratulations, Merikay. Though I lurk, I also speak occasionally, and this occasion merited a voice.

    Emjay

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  13. Fantastic job!! You look wonderful, at least 10 years younger. I am on a mission to lose 20 pounds. Working at Amazon and doing so much walking as a picker is my jump start. I have also found that writing down everything I eat really works. You are an inspiration!!!!

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  14. Merikay - You ARE an inspiration, I fight weight everyday and the diabetes meds don't help. Actos+Met XR has serious side effects and one fo them is fast weight gain, so I battle that and still try to lose.

    I need to get my butt doing more than walking and to cut back on some of the food I have been eating. I think I can do it but it's not easy!

    Congrats on hitting your goal!!

    Erik

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  15. Way to go Merikey! You have done a great job, but as you know, now comes the hard part. It sounds though that you have totally changed your mindset which will lead to success.

    Your success has helped me to keep going on my weight loss, but I've gotta say, my attitude just isn't there yet. I find it too easy to give in to temptation. That bottle of bubbles in the fridge calls my name pretty loudly! But I will continue to be motivated by you - thanks.

    Patting yourself on the back is good exercise! Just change arms every now and again so one side doesn't grow stronger than the other ;-)

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  16. The very best part of this story is that you did all of this for yourself! As a person with the same sort of life long struggle, I commend you friend! You have your head on straight!!!

    I liked you before and I still like you! No matter how you look, if you feel proud and healthy and worthy, that's a joy to all of our hearts!

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  17. Marikay, you look wonderful. My mother started working on losing weight this last January (2012), she just reached81 pounds lost so far. Because of her and your blog, I my self have started working on my weight the first of September. So far 28 pounds lost. I just want to thank you for being such a great inspiration.

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  18. Congratulations, Merikay. One day at a time on your path to keeping it off.

    We're proud of you.

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  19. Hey mom! I referenced this blog in an entirely new blog I am writing as begin some big changes in my life.

    Surely you realized I wasn't asking for my birth certificate just for the fun of it...

    http://leavingamerika.blogspot.com

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  20. You SHOULD be very proud of yourself, Merikay..You should shout it from the rooftops if you wanted to! That is an AWESOME accomplishment! We know how hard it is to maintain our weight as we get older, or to try and lose it after months or years of bad habits. You are a wonderful example to the rest of us who need to keep trying and get going on losing weight and taking better care of ourselves!

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  21. In the past 2 1/2 years, I've lost 180 lbs (yes, not a typo), and regained fifty of it. I'm still on the upswing, and it's destroying me. I don't know how to get back on. I think you're right--I lost it using myfitnesspal as a way of journaling, and I have got to get back into that. Thank you--I'm going to start today!

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  22. Congrats on the weight loss!!! i KNOW it is hard to do & maintain. But it feels good, right!! Take Care

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  23. I am an Oprah story too. I lost 50 lbs and when my back got so bad I stopped walking. Now I have gained 25 back. I wish you good luck many times over. You don't look like the same person in your profile picture. You look very pretty and several years younger in your tie dye t-shirt picture. May I add my congratulations too!!!!!!

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