Your 'Ah-Ha' Moment

I lost sixty pounds 3 times and this time I got down to 144.6 lbs and I fit into size 18 from wearing a 3x pants. I am 70 years old and sometimes my glucose reading is down to 74, sometimes 81 before lunch and I feel great I am just on 20 units of lantus in the morning and ten at bedtime. I walk as often as I can.

My a-ha was reading the factors for heightened risk of dying from COVID: Older, obese, and sedentary. Well, I can’t do anything about turning 50 next year, but I can lose weight and get off my butt.

My aha moment was about a month ago. I’d been eating with wild abandonment since last March: anything and everything. As much chocolate and cake and cheese and mayo as I liked, wine flowing, crisps, biscuits, huge servings of pasta, sandwiches.... anything and anything bar fruit, vegetables or anything remotely healthy. I knew I was doing it out of boredom and loneliness but I continued on, knowing the only trousers that fit me were tracksuit bottoms and one pair of pyjamas. One weekend though I stuffed myself so much with pizza and chips on the Friday,an Indian the Saturday and a 3 course dinner on the Sunday that I physically felt unwell. I knew I had to stop or I’d be back where I was 10 years ago (I lost 4.5 stone -about 60lbs -in 2012/2013) but gained back 2 stone since. I stood on the scales that Monday morning and saw 167 staring back: my highest weight in a good few years. I’ve been watching what I eat the last 6 weeks ,and although I’ve still 22lbs to go and I know it’s going to take months to undo what I’ve done, I’m motivated to get there. I’m so relieved that I stopped when I did or I’d have a bigger mountain to climb by the summer.

2021 started with my FIL slipping into diabetic coma and needing emergency resuscitation, then going to a nursing home, and Covid becoming a bigger threat in Australia. I was fast tracking to his life or a Covid death. PCOS was diagnosed and doctor suggested reading about keto. I did, and my world became clear, my eating and exercise regime needed to change. It was never a diet. I needed to fuel my body in a way that it worked best. 12 month ago I started to utilise MFP to educated myself along the journey. In 18 months I am 60kg lighter, I run or fast walk atleast 13000 steps every day, understand food and my own individual body's response to it, and I feel better. I still have a few kg left to go, but I am starting to look at my maintenance plan in prep. Advice welcome!