[floppymouse]

Hi there....

Up until about 1 year ago I was pretty significantly overweight following the birth of my son 4 years ago. I was at about 165-170lbs at 5' 3.75".

Then, in Oct of 04 I came down ill with a serious and chronic illness that not only forced me to re-examine my overall health but also forced me to adhere to a stringent low sodium diet (below 1100 mg per day for the rest of my life). Another side effect of the onset of my illness was severe dizziness/vertigo which caused me to no longer want to eat (at all!) and when I did, I often vomited (or wished I would because I would struggle for hours to hold onto my lunch!). Between Oct 04 and Feb 05, I dropped about 25lbs the hard way (and very unhealthy).

However, I have now gotten to a point to where I can manage my illness (for the time being) and my rejuvenated sense of priotities (your health should ALWAYS be #1 because without health you have little else)...so I decided to lose the last of my extra flub on my own. Since then, I have dropped from 145lbs down to about 126-128 lbs (depending on how many diet sodas I drink...lol). I am type 1 diabetic (not the illness I came down with...been T1 since I was 18) and I really needed to get down to a good, healthy weight if I want to live the rest of my life with my eyesight, my limbs and well...my life.

BUT... I have gotten stuck about 8-10 lbs from my goal. I would like to weigh about 117 lbs. This was my weight prior to pregnancy and lookspretty darn good on me! And when you live with an itty bitty frame like I do (I am short abd small boned)...10 lbs really shows. So I really want to lose it! But it just won't budge....

Here is what I am doing...

1. I don't "calorie count"...but I do "sodium count" (do it for one day and see how much you can eat on only 800-1100 mg of sodium! USDA recommends 2400 and the average american consumes 5400! One "healthy choice" microwave meal is 600...think on it.) I practice very strict portion control. I only eat 4-6 oz of food in a sitting and when I am in a hurry I eat bananas (I am on a diruetic which lowers my potassium, so the banans help offset) or "Zone Perfect" bars which taste great and while a little high in sodium for me (300mg) they really fill you up in a pinch.
2. I work out 4-5 days a week (last week I took the week off because I pulled my groin at work...ouch). I usually work out at home, run outside, use resistence bands or do a work out video. I also do 20 mins a night of floor exercizes before bed. I don't have time to go to a gym. Plus I work a physically active job. I bartend/wait tables because I am finishing up getting my teaching certificate.
3. I watch my glycemic index for my diabetes, although I do enjoy an occasional potato. I'm not crazy low carb...just right carbs.


Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can get off these last stubborn pounds?!? I know that to some people 10 lbs seems like a piddly sum, but I have come so far in the last year towards obtaining my health goals, that I would REALLY love to make it all the way back down to a nice, healthy size 4-6.

Thanks for reading this LOOOONG intro post. Figure I'd put it all on the table right from the get-go.

~FM

PS~ speaking of health goals...anyone got any good tips on quitting smoking without gaining weight?

START WEIGHT: 175
CURRENT WEIGHT: 127
GOAL WEIGHT: 117