Weighty Issues...How I Lost It....

I feel like this post needs to have about a billion disclaimers at the top. A number of you (as well as friends at home) have asked how I lost the weight.

So let me please be very very VERY clear - this is what worked for me. And only for me. I don't pretend to know everything about health, diet, nutrition, wellness. There are lots of people who are far more expert than I am.

But this is what happened.... Back in August, there were some stressful things that happened and I had a night where it was so bad, that I literally didn't sleep. Lay awake all night with my mind a-whirring. After that, I had almost no appetite for several days. Which is SO not like me at all.

I do love my food. I think I have been blessed with a metabolism that is better than it should be, and I guess I've been spoiled by that. I've always loved my food. And have the unhealthy habit of eating fast - my mom had 2 brothers and my dad grew up in boarding schools. That's the only way to you can eat in either of those situations.

So after a couple days on not eating much, I snapped out of it. But when I did, I just wasn't as hungry anymore. Very hard to explain. Maybe my body reset itself? But all of a sudden, I stopped eating just because I could and instead ate when I was hungry. Maybe I needed to be able to stop and listen to what my body was telling me. We all get so used to eating whenever it’s easy, convenient, etc. Oh look, yummy food, I think I’ll have some. (again with the disclaimers, I don’t claim this is anyone else’s issue – it’s mine)

So the bottom line is that I waited to be hungry. Food became a means to an end, not the end itself. I remember reading an article in one of the billions of magazines I get where the writer very closely observed the uber-thin editors, etc during Fashion Week.  Her conclusion?  Yes, they ate, they just ate less.  It wasn't magic for them, it was conscious effort.

So there are lots of platitudes here I could spout, but it really all comes down to being in tune with my body and really listening to it. And when I did, the weight started just falling off. I lost about 15 lbs from August to October. I even resorted to some minor self-sabotage by eating random junk food when I was worried that I was losing it too quickly. We all know that losing weight too quickly is not good or healthy.

Does this work forever? No, absolutely not. In fact, a few pounds started to creep back while I had the whole cast/splint on thumb thing going on with my thumb…because I was eating when bored. So for Lent, to get back on track, I gave up sweets and snacking while the kids were at school or asleep. It’s actually a modification of my Lenten diet when the year after I had E – no eating when they were asleep. Since I had an almost-1-year-old and an almost-3-year-old, there were lots of naps and early bed times. Again, you don’t realize (or at least I didn’t) how much unconscious eating we all do.

Is it exercise?  No.  I do try to stay active, except when I'm being lazy (see note above on cast/splint).  I do have this to help keep me active:

But I honestly don't do enough activity for that to shed lots of pounds.  I'm not running 10 miles a day or swimming a billion laps. 

I will say, and I speak as one with the experience of having a parent who had a heart attack and needed heart surgery, exercise and activity is important.  **It's essential.**  Quite frankly, it's the reason my dad is still with us - if he hadn't been as active, I doubt he would have survived. Nothing like waiting in the cardiac cath lab for a supposed minor stent surgery after a minor heart attack that was only detectable from the blood chemical levels - and then finding out 4 major arteries are almost totally blocked and require a quadruple bypass.  But exercise is not what's going to take the weight off me.  And this is a weight conversation. Or at least it's my weight conversation.

I guess this all sounds very simplistic, but it really worked. For me, it’s about focusing on what my body is telling me. It’s ok to be a little hungry. Please don’t take this as an endorsement for eating disorders. But with our self-gratifying society, it’s so easy to do with food. (Speaking from personal experience.)

And it’s still ok to enjoy your food. You should enjoy your food.  I still enjoy my food. That’s for sure!! But I just don’t need to eat as much.

So I’m getting back on track and in tune. Not that I want to lose more weight – just be healthier and more conscious. And start to tone up more. Next step for me…yoga…so important as we age (flexibility!!!) but also should help with my neck/shoulder/stress issues.

Again...with my disclaimers...this is what worked for me.  I don't presume to know what works for everyone.  But if you want to shoot me a note, you can always use my blog email on my profile, which is heidigblog@verizon.net.