8 weeks. 56 days. That is how long between now and my Winter Break. It is also the length of time until I reach my mini goal of losing 45 lbs. By December 17th, I will have hit it. Mark my words.
I am over halfway there, having lost 23 lbs so far, and nothing will stop me from reaching this goal. How am I so sure? Because I’m doing it. And I’m doing it with moderation, consistency, and determination.
Longtime readers might say that they’ve read these statements before, but I can tell you that this time it really is different. My mind is set, and I’m following that with actions.
Ever since I started eating the Bariatric Choice foods, I feel a difference in the way that I’m living. What I mean is, I haven’t felt a craving or a need to eat more than I should (binge). At all. Even when I’ve been stressed out and over-tired and frustrated as all hell. I never once turned to food. And I think I know why.
First of all, I had a bit of a breakthrough, mentally, and figured out a few deep-seeded reasons why I turn(ed) to food for comfort. It took a lot of self-reflection and honesty, but once I recognized the source of the issue, it was like I released it. I’m not going to go into more detail than that, but I am truly so relieved that I’ve identified it and that I can stop myself before I turn to that behavior again.
The other major part of this difference is in my diet. The Bariatric Choice foods that I chose have more carbs than the Medifast foods did, but I think they’re actually helping me. I’m averaging about 80-90g of carbs a day out of 1200 calories, and the increase of carbs has kept me from feeling as deprived as I used to. I’m not craving pasta, rice, or bread because I’m getting some carbs in with the cereals, crisps, and snacks that I’m having. The increase in carbs is also helping me in the bathroom, but that might be a bit TMI. Let’s just say I haven’t needed to take a fiber supplement since I started eating the Bariatric Choice foods, and I love that. I think I was really smart in purchasing some “dessert” type foods that I can have after dinner, too, because they have completely taken away sweet cravings I was getting. All in all, I can’t say enough great things about the way that I’m eating right now, and it’s showing up on the scale.
I’m also allowing myself to have the occasional treat, like Friday night when my sister and I had a Girls’ Night In and I had Italian meats and cheeses, nuts, and wine. I woke up the next morning and I’d actually lost 0.2 lbs, a fact that is even more amazing because I have TOM right now. Next weekend I’m meeting LMK for dinner, and I’m confident that I can keep it low carb. Two weeks from now I’m having another Girls’ Night In with my sis and our friend (neither of them has watched Love Actually, which I think is a tragedy, so we’re having a little movie night) and I’m sure we’ll have more wine. But I’m not worried about any of this, because I’ve been keeping my calories down to about 1400-1500 on these “indulgent” nights, and I make sure to get in a good calorie burn to counteract the effects. It’s all about moderation, not deprivation.
I’ve been good about burning calories daily, but I haven’t been the gym in weeks. I love walking Sofi, and we go fast enough that my heart rate is beating quickly, but I’m not actually sweating. I know that if I want to increase my weight loss, I have to increase my calorie burn, so for the next 8 weeks, I want to get to the gym at least 3 days a week for a hard workout. I like going to the gym, so this won’t be a difficult goal to meet – I just have to get back in the habit of going. Once I’m there I like pushing myself and raising my heart rate, and I LOVE the sense of accomplishment that I get from completing a hard workout.
I cannot wait until December 17th when I can go into Kaiser and get officially weighed in and then call the Bariatric Department and tell them I’m ready to get on the surgery schedule. There will be a few more hoops to jump through, but nothing like losing this 45 lbs.
You’ve got this lady. You can and will do it. No excuses. December 17th is SO close. That’s not that many days to live with NO EXCUSES!
Exactly!
Bella, you’re doing this right! I lost weight on my own before my surgery too and I can tell you it made such a difference. Getting yourself set mentally and gearing yourself exercise-wise will make all the difference in the world. You’re so gonna rock this. You can totally do it. If they don’t have a bariatric support group for Kaiser you can come to mine. It’s really good. My husband even goes with me. Actually, there are a bunch of people who go that haven’t had surgery. Online support rocks but there’s still so much benefit to physically sitting in a room of people all going through the same thing you are. Can’t wait to follow your progress!! Next week it’ll be 11 months for me.
And not seeing Love Actually is a crime. DH and I watch is every xmas eve.
That’s a great tradition!!
I’d love to get more info about the support group that you go to. Kaiser offers a few, and they are “meh.” At least for now, since I haven’t had the surgery yet. People mostly talked about the types of food they were eating, which can only go so far, you know? I thought the leader was somewhat boring/ineffective – I wrote a post about it a few months back when I first went.