Total Loser!

I've been dedicated to a weight loss plan, more so now than ever before, since mid-October.  All my life until about 9-10 years ago, I was always the Skinny Chick.  I mean, seriously skinny. At 5'7" and struggling to keep my weight up to 110 lbs., I felt I'd never struggle to lose weight, but that's exactly what I'm doing now.  I underwent surgical menopause in 2001 and then thyroid surgery less than a year later and that's when the weight kept inching upwards.

I've been single now for 8 years and I suppose I thought my weight didn't matter, no one was going to be interested in me at my age.  So, I ate what I wanted and if my clothes got tight, then I'd just go get the next size up.  Even though I was gasping for air just bending over to tie my shoes, I continued to tell myself there was no point, I knew how fat I'd gotten and how easy it was to do (so losing it had to be impossible, right?)  Of course, it's always easier to buy larger clothes than to lose weight?

I work for a LTC facility as the Business Office Manager and my day typically consists of little physical labor.  Each year in November, all the department managers attend a yearly conference and workshop for the trade.  On the last night, there is an award banquet and we dress up for it.  I purchased my dress online this year and even though I bought one in my size range, I discovered that these dresses tend to run small and of course, when it arrived and I tried it on, it was so tight I just knew I'd bust the zipper out less than 5 minutes of putting it on.  And because I didn't have time to try to find another one, I decided that I HAD to lose weight, and fast. 

So, on October 17th, 2009, I weighed in at 181.6 lbs., 5'7" tall.   My diet plan is not one I could live on forever, I know that.  But I'm trying to lose the weight first and then worry about how to keep it off later. 

First, I visited my physician and got on "The Plan."  She gave me an RX for phenteramine, instructions for exercise and I also purchased Alli, an over the counter weight loss pill that kept one from absorbing some of the fat they eat. 

My current plan goes something like this:

I eat breakfast at work each day, so I found a Smart One frozen breakfast dish with 220 calories and it actually tastes good and is satisfying.  I drink unlimited coffee with stevia and powdered creamer (20 calories each cup) during the day.  At lunch time, I go home and my dog and I walk a mile.  No lunch. 

As soon as I get home from work each evening, I change clothes and my dog and I walk another mile.  The only times we don't walk at least a mile are when it's raining.  Since Chloe is still a pup at 9 months, and a Sheltie (high energy animal!) it's extremely difficult to carry an umbrella AND her leash.  I also recently purchased Richard Simmons "Sweating to the Oldies" but I've not yet started working out with him.

Since I usually get in close to 10,000 steps a day, I'm not unhappy if we don't get to walk due to rain.

At night, I usually have one of the low calorie frozen meals, such as Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones, etc.  While I love to cook (and that contributed to my weight gain) I've found it's easier to count and watch calories in this manner.  Since it's just me, it's not affected my grocery budget.

So, here I am, December 11th, 2009 (8 weeks) and I'm down 18 pounds.  The weight initially came off very quickly, usually eating no more than 1100 calories per day.

I will say that the nights are the worst.  Nothing to occupy my mind or my hands so it's so easy to just keep on eating.  One thing I've started doing lately is to eat dinner as late as I can so there's less hours to eat after dinner and before bed.  Even though the weight loss has slowed, I have not gained back any that I've lost this time.  And it's all been within the Holiday season that I've maintained so I feel good about that.

For instance, today was the Christmas party at work.  There's always too much food and too much of all the wrong foods.  However, I was able to stick to a small plate and chose veggies and dip, sweet cheeseball/graham crackers and only a few chips and cheese dip.  Portion control, rather than deprivation, works better for me when I'm at such functions.

So, today, I'm weighing in at 163.0.  Now I've got to dig in here and see what help the other members have to share and maybe share what's worked for me with them.