Lessons learned

The weight-loss journey continues, but not without some bumps in the road.

The past week was very difficult. I lost one pound, but seem to have found it again. I’m not surprised, though, because I made some poor choices and learned a few important lessons.

The first is the absolute necessity of eating at regular intervals. Extreme hunger makes my willpower weak. If I wait too long between lunch and dinner, it is a sure bet that I am going to grab something quick and easy.

Quick and easy usually means fattening.

Last Monday and Tuesday nights, I didn’t get home until later in the evening and I picked up dinner on the way home.

I worked out like a mad woman Monday night, but was so famished by the time I was done that I had to eat right then. I couldn’t wait until I got home to make something healthy.

So, from now on, I know I must eat something before working out so I am not starving when I am done.

I also did not work out as often this week because of special events that were scheduled, a newspaper awards banquet (we won third!) and a 13th birthday celebration with my cousin Maggie, which turned into two days of celebrating because she stayed the night with us after a day of shopping in Lexington.

But, these events are no excuse. I knew they were planned and could have worked harder to work around them. I could have gotten up earlier and gone to the gym before work, but I didn’t. And I didn’t get the results I wanted this week, either.

The most important lesson, however, is not giving up. It is too easy to get down on myself and throw in the towel. Instead, I am going to let this week renew my vigor. Besides, I am still down seven pounds from when I started. And I can reach my goals. I just have to learn this way of life and keep it up.

So, if you’re feeling down about messing up your “diet,” don’t. Just do better today.

As one of my friends tells me, “Remember, I think you’re fantastic.”

Low-calorie snacks and advice from Jimmy Dale

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the feedback from readers about my blog/newspaper column. It is really good to know that I am not the only one in this boat, and that you are counting on my success for inspiration.

I have received many uplifting emails and phone calls, and even had one reader bring low-calories snacks to the office.

It is odd, I confess, to publish such personal things. But, almost everywhere I go, someone thanks me for writing about my struggle to be healthy. So many have said my experience is inspiring them to tackle the issue, too.

Sharing this journey with you holds me accountable to you, which aids in my success, and it is helping others, so how can we go wrong here?

One reader said she was stunned when she read my first entry because she felt like she was reading her own story.

A coworker joined Weight Watchers and thanked me for inspiring her.

I even received some invaluable advice from Jimmy Dale Williams, a local defense attorney who has been writing me letters for the past few months about various topics. (Jimmy Dale’s letters usually are full of insults, but I don’t mind, because I’m just glad he keeps reading our newspaper.)

It seems that Jimmy Dale understands a thing or two about weight issues. I wouldn’t have guessed it.

The only thing that Jimmy Dale was wrong about in his letter is saying that I am a “Johnny Come Lately” on the fat scene.

I only wish this were a new issue for me. I’ve struggled with weight and food issues since I was young enough to count calories. Losing weight isn’t the hard part for me. It’s the keeping it off.

Jimmy Dale joked that he never would have guessed that I weighed one ounce over 201 pounds, and suggested that perhaps I am “big-boned” and carry my weight well. I got a good laugh about that, but my husband did not find it funny at all. I really thought he would.
Jimmy Dale said perhaps I have been employing the same technique he uses to create the illusion of a more “svelte” look, wearing dark clothing.

The letter made me laugh out loud.

Next time I see Jimmy Dale, I will be sure to give him an “atta boy” on his weigh loss endeavors. He tells me he has been working on his Doctor of Phatology for 13 years at Duke University’s Diet and Fitness Center.

Jokes aside, Jimmy Dale did offer some tried and true suggestions, some that I already have talked about here. Weight loss is simple, he said.

“The simple answer is living a healthy lifestyle by consuming fewer calories than you use; and the two components of that healthy lifestyle are just simply consuming nutritious foods in a modest and sensible manner, along with daily exercise,” Jimmy Dale writes. “It does not get any more simple than that; and the more you try to invent a new method by which you can see Twiggy in the mirror, the more you are destined to continue to see Fat Alberta in the mirror.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

My get-back-in-my-size-10-clothes plan

Many readers have thanked me for my candor in writing this blog. Knowing you appreciate my journey and might get some inspiration from it gives me renewed energy and a stronger drive to succeed.

Success is an odd word when we are talking about losing weight and gaining health. Success means something different to each individual.

Having walked this road many times, I have a new sense of what success means. Before, I wanted to be healthy and wanted to lose as much weight as possible. I thought, losing weight would make me happy.

It certainly made me have a little better self-image, but it did not make me happy. As I said before, I didn’t truly appreciate it. I still saw an obese person in the mirror.

Happiness is an inside job.

I believe I’ll never truly be content with what I see in the mirror as long as I am judging myself by my appearance. I have to make peace with who I am and learn to treat my body as a vessel entrusted to me to take care of.

I have to learn to deal with stress, anxiety, fear and any other uncomfortable emotion without turning to food.

This is the body I have to live in for the rest of my life. I have to take care of it. I want to take care of it.

Here is my plan. Feel free to share yours with me. Together, we can figure out the best ways to manipulate our bodies into shape and perhaps live fuller, more useful lives.

First, I am tracking every bite I take using the LoseIt app on my Android phone. If you don’t have a smart phone, that’s OK. You can simply keep a food journal where you write down your meals. I think Weight Watchers has a saying, “You bite it, you write it.” There are plenty of websites and publications where you can find the calorie content of your foods.

I have the LoseIt app set to allow for about 1,300 calories each day. That’s the target, which the application says will help me lose two pounds a week. (You put in your height and weight and it will calculate your calorie target, based on your goals.) The target number of calories will decrease as I lose weight.

If you find the target calories range to be too difficult, you can modify how many pounds you want to lose per week and get more calories. You also can eat more calories if you burn more calories.

The app has almost every food you can think of, and it has a place to enter your exercise for the day. For example, if you walk your dog for 45 minutes, you burn 143 calories. If you walk briskly for 45 minutes, you burn 379 calories. You tell the app what you did and for how long, and it will calculate it for you.

Losing weight is a simple numbers game. For example, today I ate 1,290 calories and burned an extra 683 calories, for a net of 608 calories.

I began tracking my calories and exercise on Dec. 29, when I weighed 204.5. Today, Jan. 8, I weigh 200 pounds. I am excited to see results.

The key to eating fewer calories is making smarter choices. Yes, I can have a candy bar for 280 calories, but it will not curb my hunger or provide any nutrition. Instead, I could have a cup of Greek yogurt (my favorite) for 140 calories and a handful of almonds (11 of them) for 76 calories. That’s 64 fewer calories and I am no longer hungry. (Also, candy sets off a sugar craving for me, and then I want more and more.)

At the gym, which I am going to four or five times a week, I like using the elliptical machine. I think it gives you the most bang for your buck. At a moderate pace, I can burn 333 calories in 30 minutes.

I like to do an hour or more. I know it sounds like a lot, but I watch a movie or television show on my phone, using the gym’s wireless Internet connection, and the time flies by.

I have been nervous about using the circuit training weight machines because I feel embarrassed, but I am slowly getting over that. I did a few machines today, and plan to continue on my next trip to the gym. I know cardio and strength training are both important to overall fitness.

My husband and I usually go to the gym together. I recommend finding a workout buddy. When Tinsley and I trained a few years ago to run a 5K, working out together made us more accountable. She encouraged me and I supported her. We made a commitment to work out, and we kept it. On days when I did not want to run, I knew she’d be waiting for me and that I had committed to being there. It made a huge difference.

So, that’s my plan so far. I hope you find it useful. I’d love to hear what you’re doing to stay healthy.

Thanks for all of your kind words and motivation.

What’s for lunch?

I’ve read time and time again that the key to eating healthy is preparation. Cooking meals ahead of time and planning your lunches can help you meet your weight-loss goals.

But, I am a busy woman! It is difficult for me to prepare a week’s meals ahead of time. I do well to remember to get something together the night before.

Today, I ate a yummy salad at Panera. It was the Thai Chopped Chicken Salad, a spicy mix of chicken, cilantro, crispy wonton strips, Thai peanut sauce, cashew pieces,  edamame and red peppers.

At 470 calories and 19 grams of fat, it is probably a little more than I need to eat at lunchtime, but it was such a generous portion that I probably only ate half of it. (The most fattening parts, I’m sure.)

In a pinch, Panera has a few good options for a quick, healthy lunch. But it is tough to stare at all those baked goods and not be tempted. Sugary sweets are my weakness.

Lunchtime can be tricky for me. I need to stop and take the time to eat, but so often I am tempted to keep working through my hunger, which leaves me famished at dinnertime and more likely to make bad choices. So I have found a few go-to lunch items for a busy lifestyle.

Here they are:

* The Jimmy Johns Unwich. Yes, a sandwich without the bread. Order without mayo, and there are some really good options. I like the Big John, 90 calories and 3 grams of fat.(Leave the mayo on and it is 283 calories and 23 grams of fat. Remember, you can always say easy on the mayo.) The Billy Club with no mayo is a little heartier. It has ham, roast beef, provolone cheese and dijon mustard, and clocks in at 258 calories and 13 grams of fat. Couple it with a cup of yogurt or baby carrots (or both) and have a nice lunch. And, they deliver, so I can keep on working until the moment I start eating.

* Zaxby’s The Blue salad. Here’s the tricky part. You have to order it without Texas toast and the french-fried onions. I also eat it without dressing. The bleu cheese crumbles add enough flavor (and fat) for me. With these alterations, the salad is 345 calories and 14 grams of fat.

* A small chili at Wendy’s is only 210 calories. Add 8 saltine crackers and you’re at 311 calories.

* Kids meals also are good ways to cut down on calories. But, I am not talking Happy Meals. A kid-size naked burrito a Qdoba is about 350 calories. At Qdoba, you can see what they’re putting on, so ask for less rice, cheese and sour cream, and more salsa.

So, those are a few of my go-to items. But I really need some more ideas. Where do you turn for a healthy lunch on those hectic days? Getting bored with what I eat can be a diet buster for me.

Oh, and just to check in. Today’s weight: 201.5.

Progress.

Me and Gallagher

In high school, somehow I ended up with the best set of girlfriends ever. We called each other the BeeFF. Yes, that’s pronounced “beef.” As in, “Where’s the BeeFF?” We were best friends forever, with a few Es thrown in the middle.

Now that we’re all grown up, we get together about once or twice a year, and it does my heart good every time. When I am with the BeeFF, I remember who I am, and who I was, the girl I sometimes leave behind in the hustle and bustle of being an adult.

And I was pretty awesome.

Or so I thought, until I saw a picture in one of Kim’s albums Sunday at our annual holiday BeeFF reunion.

It was group shot of our high school drama class, I think. I was standing in the back, grinning from ear to ear. I had short hair, styled in a curly perm, about chin length. My hair was, let’s just say, reddish. I was wearing a jean jacket that I probably bought out of the old ladies section at Walmart. (You know the one.)

And atop my mess of curly reddish hair was a black beret. I’ll let you pause for a moment to picture it.

I don’t have the picture to share with you. (Hopefully Kim can scan it and send it to me!) But I have the next best thing.

Yep. Take away the mustache and add some weight and a big smile to Gallagher’s face, and this is what I looked like.

I am not exaggerating. Even Nicole’s husband said it, so it is no joke.

After cracking up for awhile as we passed the picture around the table, all I could really say is, “I’m so glad you guys were my friends even though I looked like that.”

On the drive home, I thought, “Why did my friends let me go around looking like that?!”

And then, as I got closer to home, I remembered why.

The BeeFF loves me no matter how I look. Our friendships are not based on looks. Heck, we each are as different as they come, looks-wise. We loved each other then, and we love each other now, because of who we are.

And, we’re pretty darn awesome.