Thursday, July 30, 2009

Proud of Myself

Looking back over the year I realized that I've managed to loose more pounds than my son weighs now. This is pretty significant. 50 lbs is a lot to loose, and surprising I didn't have to fight to loose it. It was a matter of everything coming together at the right time.

This time last year I weighed in at 182 lbs, that is the most I have EVER weighed in my life. That number on the scale shocked me and got me on my trip to weight loss and better eating. I never did get rid of my baby weight gain and soon after giving birth I had to go on medications which slowed down my metabolism and increasing my appetite. Some of the medications I took in the past 5 yrs were also given to patients who weren't eating enough to stimulate their appetite. I didn't find this out till much later, not that it would have mattered I needed the medication, there weren't any other options, I'd tried and failed to find them. However, if I had known about the side affects, I might have started to make better food choices sooner and maintained instead of gained. Who knows.

This past year I have seen what getting off the medications, improving the foods I eat, eating proper portion sizes, and adding exercise can do. With almost no effort I am now down to 135 lbs. People who haven't seen me in a while do double takes and always comment on it. They say "you've lost a lot of weight!" There is no question in their minds that there has been a change.

OK, maybe not no effort, but less than I thought it would take. I started out on SparkPeople.com tracking my calories, was AMAZED at how much I was consuming in a day. Those little chocolate bars and small snacks really add up. So does 1/3 a bag of chips in one sitting in front of the TV. Now there are no chips in the house, no baked goods purchased at every shopping trip, the only cookies are Peek Freans Lifestyle 'diet cookies,' 3 for 100 calories! My portion sizes are good and I'm trying to eat more protein. I don't go back for seconds and the carbs have been reduced.

I realized just how far I've come when I caught my reflection in a window and didn't cringe. That is huge, I've hated seeing my reflection in the window for so long, it never matches my inner image of myself. This week it finally did. I have lost 50 lbs and am now at a healthy 132 lbs. I'm proud of myself and how far I've come this past year.

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