leanneslife.com

I’m Slowly Winning

It’s been a very hard fought battle but I can finally say I’m slowly inching ahead. Or should I say I’m slowly losing inches?

My lifelong battle with my weight has been a war since high school. I am like most women – a yo-yo of weight gain and weight loss. It’s pretty much been consistently cyclical for me, too. I’ll be in fairly good shape for a year or two, then the pounds slowly pile back on – 5 pounds at a time.  Next thing you know, I’m 25 -30 pounds from my ideal weight.

And that’s where I’ve been almost all of 2009, up 20 pounds from where I should be. It took a visit to my doctor for my yearly exam to knock me into reality.  His words cut through me like a knife in a chocolate cake. (had to do a food joke.)  I sat in his office and he said “Leanne, you’re fat.” Oh. I teared up. He called it “tough love”.

I knew I had been gaining weight. None of my tailored clothes from my 2005 trip to Hong Kong even came close to fitting.  Shopping for pants had become a nightmare when I would see the size I was needing to buy. I would completely have to suck in my stomach to get my pants buttoned. There was no room in the legs for a pinch of material – every pair was skin tight. 

I would avoid any glance of me in the mirror. I hated my fat self. And I think what was hardest to understand was how did it happen?  I don’t eat junk food. I don’t eat fast food. I avoid fried foods unless it’s a rare occasion. I hardly ever eat sweets – except Biscoff cookies when I’m on a plane. Yum.  Yes, I drink, but I don’t believe a glass or two of wine brought this on.

The great news: Today, after 4 weeks of serious dieting and bringing back exercise into my life on a consistent basis – I’ve lost 16 pounds.  I wish I’d lost this before the camping trip but at least I’m getting in shape for the cruise.

It hasn’t been easy by any stretch of the imagination.  For me it boils down to calorie counting and carb control.  I scaled back my daily calorie count to between 1,000 – 1,200 each day. Some days even less than that.  I also cut out breads, potatoes, rice and pasta.  The hardest part there was bread. I love bread!  But to lose the weight I had to give it up.  The good news I can go back to it in moderation when I reach my goal.

Exercise is also a top priority.  I walk no less than 2-miles at least 6-days a week.  On a good day I’ll even jog a bit.  And I got back in the groove of hitting the gym at least 3-days a week for weight training. I can already see a difference in my arms and waist.  My legs, not so much but they’re improving, too.

I’m in my 40’s and believe me folks – losing the pounds as you get older is definitely harder to do. Cutting back to 1,000 calories a day is pretty drastic but it’s what did it for me.  In the beginning days I did feel faint at times but it wore off. And I do crave pretzels and chips with hummus. I will indulge  in those foods again – no doubt whatsoever.  And I’ll have stuffing with gravy on Thanksgiving, too. But I’ll be cautious and do so in moderation. 
I’ve got to look good for this 7-day cruise in December!

Pictures to come soon.