I weighed in today and found I had reached, and even passed, a self-imposed milestone. I have lost, since May 9th, 26.7 pounds!
My milestone was 25 pounds and I reached it at week nine. I also found that Dr M had projected that I would have lost 18.5 pounds in the first three months. Well, as you see, I've surpassed that by 8.2 pounds. I've impressed myself.
I'm proud of myself for reaching my first milestone. I'm proud that I've stayed on the program for almost 3 months. And I'm proud that I've beaten the doctor's projection, too, even though I didn't know about it until today.
I'm finding the hardest part is logging the food I've eaten each day into the food journal I'm required to keep. If I don't log it, I don't later on when I'm trying to catch up what I ate. That's my own fault, and I have to take the time to record it in the journal or do better about writing it down so I can record it later.
Believe it or not, the easiest part of the program is the food part. I have not denied myself any food. I don't eat "diet" foods; I eat just about everything I want. I just don't eat the portions I used to eat. Logging the food after work shows me how many calories and grams of fat I've eaten so far. I make a decision on what to have for dinner based on how many calories or fat I have left in my "food bank". Because I've been "good" I've been able to treat myself with pizza for dinner. I've had ice cream, cookies, and candy because it fits into my program. I don't do it every day, and only when I don't go over my calorie/fat "budget". Or at least not by too much.
The only thing I haven't done for almost three months is eat at a restaurant. I'm not sure enough of myself to be able to eat away from home. And fast food is out for a long time. One day I'll be able to eat McDonald's or Burger King or KFC, but not yet.
Honestly, I'd love to have some fries. I've been eating hamburger patties instead of a real burger on a bun. And yes, I'd like a real burger on a bun. Add those fries to it, and maybe even a chocolate shake. But. I won't do it. Not right now. I have a point to prove to myself first.
I love my country, and I love being an American, but I don't want to be the
"typical" American. Not "typical" in this sense, anyway. I've heard figures that between 30% and 50% (or more) of Americans are overweight and/or obese. Even if the real number is 30%, I want to be one of the 70%. I personally believe that the figure is closer to 50% than 30%.
The typical American attitude is that more is better. And to a certain extend, that may be right. When talking about weight, more is not better, more could lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, and heart disease, to name a few. There are studies that say obesity can contribute to the onset of certain types of cancer.
My blood pressure has been my only health concern. And even that has been okay. It's not high enough to "worry" about, my doctor isn't worried and hasn't even suggested medications for it, but I've been watching it go a little higher every year. I decided that enough was enough. Since I've been on the program, my blood pressure has dropped.
I saw what diabetes did to my husband and I know that obesity was a big part of why he had diabetes. I will not go there. I seldom say "never", but this is one time I will: Obesity will never contribute to my developing diabetes.
Heart disease and high blood pressure run in my family. If losing weight will decrease my chances of developing heart disease or having a stroke, I will lose weight.
I know that losing weight will not eliminate the chance of any of those life-threatening diseases. I do know that losing the weight will decrease the chance of developing any of them. And I'll go for decreasing the chance, since I can't eliminate it.
Last week, I only lost 14 ounces - less than a pound. I wasn't happy, but I was happy to have lost that much. I could have gained that 14 ounces instead of losing it. I wasn't as dedicated to the program as I should have been, and maybe it showed in that 14 ounces. That's okay. Like I said, losing is better than gaining.
So, here I am. I've lost 26.7 pounds. I still have a long way to go, but I will get there. I've been crunching numbers (just because that's what I do. I get curious), and realized that I need to lose an average of 4.5 a week to get to my target weight by the end of the program. Is it possible? Yes. Can I do it? Yes. Will I do it? That remains to be seen.
I won't be devastated if I don't make my own goal by the end of the program, but I will make it. I know that if I'm close to the goal and that I've shown that I've been trying and that I've been dedicated to the program, I can be extended in the program.
I know even after I meet my goal, I will have to maintain that weight for another 24 weeks in order to completely comply with the program. I also know that I can do it if I really want to. I can do anything I want if I want it badly enough.
And right now, I want this. Badly.
My milestone was 25 pounds and I reached it at week nine. I also found that Dr M had projected that I would have lost 18.5 pounds in the first three months. Well, as you see, I've surpassed that by 8.2 pounds. I've impressed myself.
I'm proud of myself for reaching my first milestone. I'm proud that I've stayed on the program for almost 3 months. And I'm proud that I've beaten the doctor's projection, too, even though I didn't know about it until today.
I'm finding the hardest part is logging the food I've eaten each day into the food journal I'm required to keep. If I don't log it, I don't later on when I'm trying to catch up what I ate. That's my own fault, and I have to take the time to record it in the journal or do better about writing it down so I can record it later.
Believe it or not, the easiest part of the program is the food part. I have not denied myself any food. I don't eat "diet" foods; I eat just about everything I want. I just don't eat the portions I used to eat. Logging the food after work shows me how many calories and grams of fat I've eaten so far. I make a decision on what to have for dinner based on how many calories or fat I have left in my "food bank". Because I've been "good" I've been able to treat myself with pizza for dinner. I've had ice cream, cookies, and candy because it fits into my program. I don't do it every day, and only when I don't go over my calorie/fat "budget". Or at least not by too much.
The only thing I haven't done for almost three months is eat at a restaurant. I'm not sure enough of myself to be able to eat away from home. And fast food is out for a long time. One day I'll be able to eat McDonald's or Burger King or KFC, but not yet.
Honestly, I'd love to have some fries. I've been eating hamburger patties instead of a real burger on a bun. And yes, I'd like a real burger on a bun. Add those fries to it, and maybe even a chocolate shake. But. I won't do it. Not right now. I have a point to prove to myself first.
I love my country, and I love being an American, but I don't want to be the
"typical" American. Not "typical" in this sense, anyway. I've heard figures that between 30% and 50% (or more) of Americans are overweight and/or obese. Even if the real number is 30%, I want to be one of the 70%. I personally believe that the figure is closer to 50% than 30%.
The typical American attitude is that more is better. And to a certain extend, that may be right. When talking about weight, more is not better, more could lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, and heart disease, to name a few. There are studies that say obesity can contribute to the onset of certain types of cancer.
My blood pressure has been my only health concern. And even that has been okay. It's not high enough to "worry" about, my doctor isn't worried and hasn't even suggested medications for it, but I've been watching it go a little higher every year. I decided that enough was enough. Since I've been on the program, my blood pressure has dropped.
I saw what diabetes did to my husband and I know that obesity was a big part of why he had diabetes. I will not go there. I seldom say "never", but this is one time I will: Obesity will never contribute to my developing diabetes.
Heart disease and high blood pressure run in my family. If losing weight will decrease my chances of developing heart disease or having a stroke, I will lose weight.
I know that losing weight will not eliminate the chance of any of those life-threatening diseases. I do know that losing the weight will decrease the chance of developing any of them. And I'll go for decreasing the chance, since I can't eliminate it.
Last week, I only lost 14 ounces - less than a pound. I wasn't happy, but I was happy to have lost that much. I could have gained that 14 ounces instead of losing it. I wasn't as dedicated to the program as I should have been, and maybe it showed in that 14 ounces. That's okay. Like I said, losing is better than gaining.
So, here I am. I've lost 26.7 pounds. I still have a long way to go, but I will get there. I've been crunching numbers (just because that's what I do. I get curious), and realized that I need to lose an average of 4.5 a week to get to my target weight by the end of the program. Is it possible? Yes. Can I do it? Yes. Will I do it? That remains to be seen.
I won't be devastated if I don't make my own goal by the end of the program, but I will make it. I know that if I'm close to the goal and that I've shown that I've been trying and that I've been dedicated to the program, I can be extended in the program.
I know even after I meet my goal, I will have to maintain that weight for another 24 weeks in order to completely comply with the program. I also know that I can do it if I really want to. I can do anything I want if I want it badly enough.
And right now, I want this. Badly.
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