[leblebi]

Hi all -- a mini success story in my battle against vanity weight. A brief bio first, since I am new.

Today, I'm 5'4'', 35-years-old, and weighed in at 122.5 -- hurray. It hasn't been easy lately. I have struggled with my weight since high school, my highest being 160 lbs. I have a small frame, so it really showed, and it was very uncomfortable, emotionally and physically. I lost a good chunk of it over the years by just being sensible but was still in the chubby category.

Flash forward some 20 years, and I'm 30 now...I came down with a bad, bad case of shingles (on my eye and my face no less) which put the fear of God in me. The culprit? A weakened immune system due to immense stress and a lack of proper nutrients, malnutrition basically. I wasn't eating enough of the good things. Shingles changed my life, it was a scary wake-up call and put everything into perspective.

I increased my visits to the gym and started to enjoy more outdoor activities (I now walk 3 miles to work everyday.) But most importantly, I changed my eating habits big time. It was a slow process, but I finally got out of the "diet" mentality and started to not only enjoy food for what it is, but to also undestand that it serves a purpose -- to keep you healthy and nourished. I am not militant in the least, but (except chocolate!) and am very, very careful about what I eat. I make sure most bites deliver what my body needs to function properly: protein, carbs, whole grains, fruits/vegetables, and fats. Not counting calories, just eating well and in proportion -- be it scallops sauteed in butter, a creamy guacamole, or even chocolate-dipped strawberries. It was annoying at first, but it's now a lifestyle. I rarely eat anything that's packaged and preserved with who knows what and avoid processed foods like the plague. Do I sometimes go for it out of necessity or cravings? Of course I do, but that's an exception, not the rule. And, lo and behold, the weight just slowly melted off...about 20 lbs in year.

Which brings us to today. I had been at my optimum weight of 120 lbs. for quite some time now, with 122 being my upper limit -- you know what happens when you let go. Sadly, the scale crept up to 125 a few months ago and hadn't budged since. I was pulling hair out -- tried everything it seems: increasing/changing exercise; decreasing calories, etc.

Then an article about Atkins caught my eye, I thought, sure, I can do this lo-carb thing for a while. Boy was I mistaken. I lasted on 20 net carbs per day for about a day and a half. However, what I have been doing for the past ten days is eat much more protein than I do carbs. Turns out, my diet was very, very carb heavy -- so I cut down. And today, it finally showed: 2.5 lbs down.

I think this just proves the point that your body needs to be "tricked" into action, whether it's changing/increasing gym routines, zigzagging calories, or switching around habits, however small. It's easy for it maintain homeostasis, get lazy, complacent so you have to keep it guessing. I miss my banana/oatmeal breakfasts, but once I am back to where I'd like to be, I'll go back to it, just not everyday. I'll have my turkey bacon and egg breakfast, too. And yogurt and granola once in a while. I will continue to mix and match snacks -- an apple as a morning snack some days, handful of macadamias another, a bit of popcorn the next. You get the idea.

Didn't mean for this to be so long, but hope it was helpful to at least one of you and will maybe even give you some ideas on how to jumpstart your engine.

Wishing everyone good luck and lots of patience.

[kat999]

What an inspiring story, and what good advice to just switch things up a little!

[3fcuser1058250]

leblebi ... Great story... I do very low carb too and love it!!

[MrsMerch]

Good story! I did the same thing on Atkins. I had success on it several years ago, but since I've hit my mid 40's it's a lot more challenging to stick to it than it was before. My last effort at Atkins was only a week ago...and like you I lasted about half a day. Someone on the forum suggested that I count calories instead of doing Atkins, so that's what I'm doing now. I've never been one to diet because I never had to. I could eat anything and as much as I wanted, but as I got older my metabolism of course has slowed down. Now I'm at a point where I am just frustrated with my weight (5'2", 143 lbs) and I have GOT to make changes and stick to them.
I've never enjoyed going to the gym...again because exercise has never been a way of life for me. I've got to watch my portions, and I've actually been going to the gym before I go to work. For me, this is HUGE because I LOVE my sleep. But it was too easy to pass by the gym on my way home because I was too tired, or had other errands to run, etc. It feels soooo good to get the my workout out of the way. I used to absolutely dread the end of the work day because the gym was looming over my head. I've only started this routine this week, but I don't see it changing. I'm enjoying having my evenings to do what I want to do rather than spend it at the gym. (Plus the gym so packed in the afternoons/evenings, so waiting on a treadmill or elipitcal was frustrating.) It's going to be a while, I'm sure before I see results. Im going to stay off the scales with the exception of weigh -ins once a week. Hope I'm not too discouraged when the time comes to weigh on Sunday. But even if I haven't lost any weight, at least I know I'm actually doing it right this time and not relying on fad diets or OTC supplements to cheat my way skinnier.

[indiblue]

Thanks for the narrative, leblebi! I think you offer useful advice and a good reminder about the importance of zigzag/switching things up tactics. Best of luck as you continuing maintaining- I hope to be there soon.