Many of you know my ups/downs the past couple years what with my injuries & health problems & weight gain, etc.
I just celebrated my 45th b'day yesterday. We (husband & I) had a small party Saturday night (just a few close friends). It was very casual; held outdoors on the deck, snack foods, beer, cola, water, etc.
I wore a pair of denim shorts & a "baby-doll" type top w/flip flops. I thought I looked OK when I checked myself in the mirror. BUT THE PICTURES FROM THAT NIGHT... OMG... ok, I KNOW I'm overweight & I don't kid myself about that, but the camera is just sooooo .... UNFORGIVING, isn't it?
I'm the fattest I've ever been in my life. I think all my years of yo-yo dieting has finally just screwed up my body in a monumental fashion. I'm STILL the same size I've been for MONTHS now. 182 lbs, size 14. I've tried so many things that have worked in the past, & NOTHING is working now.
I currently keep my caloric intake between 1400-1500 per day. I was doing 1200-1300 but that gave no results, & doc suggested I "up it" a bit, so I was doing 1300-1400... also, no results. I've done the math: I have to have 1800 calories per day to maintain (supposedly...) And I know that it's unhealthy to dip below 1200 calories per day, so I don't (even tho I've been tempted to try it!) I track EVERY PIECE OF FOOD & DRINK that passes my lips (I use FitDay).
I gave up junk food & Mountain Dew completely, & lost not one single pound.
I swim for an hour a day (sometimes more, esp. on weekends) and walk 1/2 hour each day.
I've tried calorie cycling, it didn't work for me. I've tried South Beach; it worked before (1998) but not this time. I've tried WW, same thing. Of course I've tried several "fad diets" (way in the past!) & while I lost weight, I gained it all back, plus some.
My basic eating plan is simple, really - here's a typical day:
Coffee - 80 calories (the way I fix it)
Breakfast - Kashi Go Lean Crunch w/skim milk (regular serving size) (290 Calories)
10am snack - Two t-spoons peanut butter (Skippy Natural) and half an apple (115 Calories)
Lunch - Raw baby carrots, 1/2 cucumber, 2 oz cheddar cheese, 2.5 oz baked chicken and other half of apple (355 Calories)
3pm snack - 12 almonds (80 Calories)
Dinner - baked flounder w/olive oil & lemon, steamed broccoli & half ear of corn480 calories)
Dessert - usually nothing, but sometimes I enjoy a frozen fruit bar (40 calories).
That's 1440 calories. I drink water all day, including with dinner, and usually have a Diet Dr. Pepper in the morning. SEE? I'm not a *bad* eater.
I am in peri-menopause, and doc said that *whack hormones* can do the strangest things to a woman's body. I realize that. But does that mean that I can no longer lose weight, no matter how much I diet/exercise?
I'm completely at ends with my body. The way it's NOT responding to ANYTHING I do just makes no sense to me anymore.