Well, after nearly 4 months, I’ve lost 25 pounds and am still on track. There have been so many positive developments along the way, including obvious ones like fitting into my wardrobe and having people compliment me (without prompting) as well as not-so-obvious ones, like less back pain, hip pain, even better skin (less chafing).

Next month I will be easing into another phase of my program, increasing physical activity, and today being Earth Day, I started a week early by biking 1/3 of the way to work, about 2 1/2 miles. I was going to go to whole way but decided I wasn’t quite up to it, so I hopped on a bus (with bike rack) and made it in the rest of the way. Then I changed clothes and came in. I feel fresh as a daisy and so energetic!

Today I brought in a batch of fresh-baked scones for my office. I made them with a mix last night and know they are delicious , but I haven’t had one yet. They’re 180 calories each. I haven’t had lunch yet, so what I will do is check back towards the end of the day. If I’ve been good and feel hungry — and there are some left! — I will have one, with some coffee or tea. But otherwise, no. This is the kind of strategy that has worked for me these four months and I want to continue. Temptation really isn’t a problem if you plan for it.

Not only did I hit the 20 lb. mark for weight loss at yesterday’s weigh-in, but over the past week I’ve had 3 or 4 people come up to me telling me they see I’ve lost weight.

“You’ve lost weight, I can tell.”
“Hmm… Have you lost weight?”
“That’s a nice outfit. You’ve been losing weight, right?”

People actually always compliment my outfits, since I know how to dress, but I guess now my body is fitting the outfits better. Anyway, it’s nice to have some positive reinforcement.

I haven’t posted here since I had my nasal surgery. Should get back to it! Not like I have any reason to hide, since I’ve continued to lose weight. As of this week, I’ve now lost 17 lbs. since the end of December. I continue to follow a 1500 cal./day diet, tracking all my food and using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help myself along. So far I’ve stuck to good choices and have even managed to fit in special occasions and some treats without too much hassle, since I planned for these events and was able to compensate. I’ve lost weight every week since I started. I hope to get down to 215 by the end of the month, which will be 20 lbs.

Well, my weekly weigh-in has me smiling — again. 222! That’s exactly what I wanted it to be, although I told myself not to be disappointed if it was a little higher. I’ve done well.

To see what affect this has had, I just put on a pair of “fat pants” that I got a few months ago. They fit, but not as well as I’d like, which was disappointing since they’re Lane Bryant, Size 18. I wore them but always with a longish shirt that would cover up where it was pulling funny. Good news! They fit much better now around the weight and belly, which was the problem area before. I will wear these tomorrow to work.

Yay!

Here’s another bit from the Initial Assessment document I wrote up. According to the program, it’s important to assess why you want to lose weight. Sometimes you may find that not all the reasons really have to do with weight, but may relate to other parts of your life. Anyway, without further delay…

Reasons for wanting to lose weight:

• To fit into my clothes without looking stupid.
• To fit into my pants.
• To be able to wear my tights w/o wrecking them, getting sores.
• To alleviate back and hip problems.
• To make it easier to carry myself around.
• To take up less space in bus seats, plan seats, etc.
• To reduce my risk for Type II diabetes.
• To look younger, less frumpy.
• To look more attractive.

Did my weekly weigh-in this morning and found I’m on track. So far I’ve lost 6 lbs. What’s funny is that this is about all the weight I lost the entire time I was working out at the gym for eight months straight. And I did this in two weeks just by following a calorie regime.

I’m not starving myself either, but just learning to eat reasonable portions and consider calories instead of just the contents of the food. At this point I even seem to be developing a rhythm, with breakfast, lunch, dinner and three snacks (morning, afternoon and night), with about the same amount of food, calorie-wise, each time, and I feel satisfied after each meal, now that my stomach is getting used to it.

Later this week I’m going grocery shopping and stocking up on all the foods that I’ve found to be the best choices as far as “repeat” meals, like grapefruit, cottage cheese, yogurt, eggs, etc. I hope that by keeping all these things in stock I will avoid the temptation to just grab whatever food is handy.

I’ve been following the 1500 cal/day regimen for a week now and it’s going pretty well. However, the last couple of days I’ve gone a little bit over, according to the calculations of BuddySlim’s food journal. When I do my review next Monday I will look at which things I should perhaps mark as “not worth it” in terms of calories. One thing that really surprised me in terms of calories was olive oil and canola oil. Kind of annoying, as those types of oils are good for you in the sense of general health. I’m also surprised that an apple has 100+ calories. Anyway, overall things are going well and I think on average I am still doing about 1500 a day, and the average is what I’m supposed to be concerned about, not that I hit 1500 exactly each day.

Oh, and on the weight front, according to what I logged Monday, I have already lost a couple of pounds, which surprised me. I am trying not to make a big deal of this, since according to my program it’s weight loss trends (last four weeks) I’m supposed to care about, not week to week numbers, but still, it’s encouraging!

I just wrote up a 6-page document that’s my  “initial assessment” as part of  my CBT-based weight loss program.  I thought it would be cool to include various sections of it to this blog. Here’s one section and later I’ll add other ones.

Development of the weight problem

How and when the weight problem began, what was happening at the time:

Began gaining weight as soon as I moved to Georgia. Managed to lose 20 lbs. during that first year, but that was the last time any diet I did was ever completely successful. 

My weight hovered between 180 and 200 for a few years, then probably around 2004 when I began self-employment, it began to go up. My frequent travel to Europe and pastry habit led to overeating, although I remember during either 2004 or 2005 going on a diet and losing enough weight that I fit in some of my jeans. 

By 2006 my weight was about 215. I began an intensive program of exercise, but didn’t lose much weight. In late 2006 I lost my job and became very depressed. I got a part-time job at a food market, where I ate a lot of things I shouldn’t have, like pizza and cheese sandwiches, and gained more weight. 

In early 2007 I got a good job and also got treatment for depression, but my weight gain continued, probably because I ate out too much and didn’t get enough physical activity. I tried several times to limit portions and keep track of my food but I wasn’t totally committed and therefore it failed. Even though I now feel much healthier mentally, I am stuck will a lot of extra weight. 

Subsequent course 

Subsequent evolution of the problem: 

See above.

Pattern of weight change: 

I would say that for the most part my diets only last a couple of months before I get distracted and/or give up. I usually only lose a few pounds, maybe five or ten, and then I quickly regain it and gain yet more weight. I think I have fallen into the trap of giving up on my diet any time I make a mistake; I’ll have a piece of cake and instead of deciding to make up for it by being good and trying harder, I’ll have three more pieces of cake.

Highest and lowest weight (at this height): 

Lowest 155 (age 16) 

Highest 235 (last week, age 33)

In college I was mostly in the 160s, 170s, then I went up to 190-something my senior year. I’ve been at or above 200 for at least five years.