My walk today was not that outstanding just a beautiful day for a walk. I always love my walks because it makes me feel so good. I also love my time alone to think, and reflect on what I would like to say.
First off I want to say I do not ask you or tell you to do what I do. I put out what I am doing as an example, so you can think about it. If you decide to try it I am honored, and if you decide it not for you, then that is great also. I have been at this process for over 7 years, and with loseit for almost 6 and a half years. I have mostly stayed with the plan of portion control, but I did try gluten free, and low carb which did not help me. In my past life I have also tried the Atkins Diet, which by the way I lost a lot of weight while I was on it but as soon as I stopped the diet, I regained all that I lost and a lot more. And due to that I refused to try and lose weight or even try to lose for over 30 years.
I did not decide to lose again until I got to the point I could no longer tie my own shoes, and I was on so much prescription medications I could no longer even effort the co-pay. And on top of that I was having issues with snoring so bad my wife was thinking of sleeping in the other bedroom. So I decided to lose the weight, that was Thanksgiving 2010. By New Year’s Day of 2011 I had already lost 10 pounds, but still weight about 280 pounds. I really got down to losing the weight by just cutting back on what I was eating, and by mid March I was down about 30 pounds, and decided to stop all soft drinks, along with starting to walk. At first it was all I could do was to walk about a half a mile but by summer I was walking two or three miles without stopping. By the first of the year 2012 I Was down to 208 and feeling really good, and able to walk 5 miles without stopping, and I was also by riding my bicycle again. I could ride the bike up to 20 miles at a time without any problem. I stayed with the plan, the bike riding and walking and lost down to 194 by Christmas of 2013.
At that point I started gaining weight, then February of 2014 I was forced to retire. I stayed busy working on the house, building a deck, and yard work and even tried my hand at working for Home Depot. But I was gaining and I could not stop it. All the time I was eating about the same calories as I was back when I was still losing weight in 2013. The only thing that had really changed was I gave up walking and I was riding my bike only. For some reason bike riding was not good enough for me to lose any weight. This went on until about the end of 2015 when I was back up to 247 pounds.
I made my mind to go to a dietitian. What I learned was that I had screwed up my metabolism. With the help the help of my dietitian I managed to start losing weight again. And I started back to walking again and also riding my bike. And by the first of the year 2017 I was back down to 205.
This year 2017 I managed to as low as 187.6, but I was not happy with what I had to do to get this low and what I would have to do to keep my weight this low. So I started looking for some answers, and I found the book “The Diet Fix," in July of this year. It taught me that if you are doing anything you dislike doing, or if you are eating things you do not want to eat, or if you are not eating foods you love, or if you are doing exercises that you dislike. You will fail to keep the weight off and you will stop doing what you dislike. This changed me and I even lost a more weight.
But my research also lead me to the book “Intuitive Eat”. This book has made rethink what my weight management should be. It told me that a lot that I had read before and kind of pushed aside. It said that we should be eating before we are so hungry that we could eat anything and everything. And that we should stop eating before we are too full. This book also says we should never count calories and we should not weigh ourselves. It says we should also make peace with food and eat what ever we love to eat and at first not worry about nutrition. And it says as we make peace with food we will get to the point of eating less in the long run. But we also have to make peace with our body, and except our bodies for what it is and what we are. I have starting working with this also and I have decided that I have to mix the two books together along with things that have been working for me.
So I am adding weighing myself daily and logging my food to the intuitive eating plan. I am eating when hungry, but not too hungry, and I am slowing down and enjoying my food. I am also stopping eating before I am too full. I am also walking every day that is possible.
This is where I have come from and what I have come to. It is working for me. I do not expect you to do what I am doing or have done. I just hope it may help you find your own plan.
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