30 lbs down; slow and steady

Hesitated to post until I had made significant progress. My entire adult life has involved starting the next diet. I had been maintaining a heavier build from regular walking, but arthritis in one hip really slowed me down. Walking was painful, even though my orthopedic doc said that it would get better the more active I was. And lose a little weight.

Well, it mostly hurt, so during the holidays and cold weather I walked less, and ate more. Until I was the heaviest I’d ever been my entire life. Which scared me because I had a parent with type 2 diabetes and my siblings are heavy.

So I finally decided to decide. I started a “bootcamp” program at my gym, which is not brutal at all but 3 days a week I have to be accountable.

On February 7, I started a weight loss program through a local hospital, where you weigh in each week, buy pre-packaged meals and snacks and consult with their nutritionist. I paid for 6 months, partly to be accountable to myself with hard earned money invested in the endeavor. I realize not everyone has a gym or can afford a fee-based program (it’s actually very reasonable) but for me, it was something I needed, again, for the sake of being accountable to someone else as well as myself.

They took my measurements, body fat calculations and I weighed in: 302.6 pounds. I was embarrassed, mad at myself — and mostly terrified. I’d NEVER tipped the scales north of 300. Wake up call is putting it mildly.

They started me on a very low carb, 1,100 calories a day based on my age (57) and measurements. Everything I tasted was to be measured and logged. And I’ve done that scrupulously and it’s definitely a key to awareness and success.

After 9 weeks, I’m down 31.5 lbs and over 3% body fat; good luck to all!