Promise

I promised myself that I would add one of these stories here every time I told one. I tell them at one point or another throughout the summer. There will be no chronology - not yet anyway - nor will there be much of a schedule. You never know; I might add a story every day and I might not. This is my life. Every day is an adventure.

Anna

Friday, September 16, 2011

It is what it is

My life is what my life is, and this time of year there is nothing to it but to wait for the seasons to change. I pulled one of the two boats we had in the water today. I'll keep watch on the water level. So far, it's raining enough to maintain things, but that's got to end soon. There is one thing going in my life right now that I'm rather thrilled about. I'm losing weight for the first time in a long time and I feel great - greater by the day.

I consider my body like unto a machine. A well-cared-for machine operates well and lasts long. This 'machine' however has been overloaded for a long time, and we all know that can lead to problems. My problems were sore feet, a stiff back and poor sleep. Poor sleep can also lead to problems but to date, I'd managed to avoid them.

Now that I'm shedding all those extra pounds, my feet aren't sore anymore and I'm sleeping tons better. My back is still stiff first thing in the morning, but then I'm no spring chicken anymore either, a few aches and pains are to be expected when you reach my age. My age - well back in June I felt about 80. What did I know what 50something was supposed to feel like?  My weight gain had been gradual over the last 30 years, and over the last five or so it would fluctuate from five to ten pounds as I went from winter's quiet to summer's work and back again. That didn't mean that I still didn't end up a couple pounds heavier at the end of it all.

July 24 was the last day of my first session with the hcg drops and I had lost 30 pounds over the 40 days previous, ending at 173 pounds. No longer did I feel like I was an 80 year old grandmother badly in need of retirement. Now I felt like, heck, I say I felt ten years younger, but I'm thinking I felt better than that - younger - nearly like a kid again - haha - well almost.

There is a six week break between sessions and during that time I continued to lose the weight albeit at a slower rate. I was at 160 pounds when I started my second session ten days ago and already I've shed over five pounds. It's been a long time since there has been a 5 as the middle number of my weight.

My husband keeps saying little things like, "There's a lap between your knees and your belly." and "I can feel some ribs now." Course that's not all he says, but that's all I'm willing to put on here. hahaha No I'm not getting bony. It's just that it's been a long time since ribs and hip bones have been findable without some digging.

My goal is somewhere in the 130+ range, hopefully less than 140 pounds. It's where I was way back when. It looks like I just might get there. This old 'machine' is more than ready to unload all this extra weight. It's certainly not doing me any good.

The biggest question I get is, "How do you deal with eating only 500 calories?" I don't understand calories and I don't count them. Heck, it would take me an hour just to weigh or measure what I eat to figure it out and I am too lazy to put that much effort into what I eat, plus no one ever counts all the extra calories that are floating around in your body already - that's the fat I'm talking about - that unwanted extra weight. These drops tell you body that they count too. So what if I only consume only 500 calories or so, I've got plenty to spare. I just don't eat what the diet says I should avoid and gestimate how much I am eating. It's working so who am I to complain. The people who have been, or are on, this diet have gone to great lengths to invent recipes to satisfy all you cooks out there but I haven't tried them. They look and sound really great. You could probably feed your whole family from these dishes and you'd all eat better. After all, you don't really need oil or sugar. I'll email a list of those recipes to anyone who wants to try some. Heck, I'll send anyone the whole pdf and you can read up on the study if you like.

2 comments:

Sunni-Day said...

So what exactly do you eat? I got weighed over a week ago and found out that I weigh more then I ever have and my knees are starting to hurt when I go up & down the stairs.

Anna L. Walls said...

Hi Sunny. I can identify with that, though my nemesis was a hill more than stairs. Breakfast was a cup of coffee with creamer before I went to work, at work I would grab a fruit - a banana or an apple if one was available. I'd swing through the lunchroom at lunch time, and if something was available that was compatible with my diet, I'd sit and have a piece. For dinner at home, I fixed myself a small serving of beef or chicken (not pork) and a small serving of vegetables (not corn). The dietary restrictions was primarily no sugar, and no oil, so there was no frying. Everything had to be either boiled or baked. It's been a while and I've long since gone back to a mostly normal diet, but I'm paying close attention to what I eat and what may cause me to gain weight. I'm thinking corn (including popcorn) may be on my out list, or at least my really close to being out list (I really love popcorn) because I've gained 10 pounds since I got some and since I ran out of oatmeal. Since this diet and like never before that I can remember, I get hungry like 5 times a day. A small bowl of oatmeal was satisfying the craving just fine until I ran out. I don't keep fruits at the house because I can't get them often and a bulk supply would spoil. My next recourse (happily) was popcorn - half a bowl in the evening and finish it in the morning. Probably not too healthy but it gave my stomach something to do. But I can't be doing that anymore. Maybe I'll treat myself once a week. I may try the diet again this summer, then again, I may only need the exercise. We'll see. Send me an email and I'll send you the pdf I have. There's a whole article on how it was developed that's rather interesting, and of course there's the whole list of recipes I mentioned in there. It also goes more into detail as to what you can and can't eat and how much and all that.