Back from Disneyland - Moment of Truth on the Scale

Back from Disneyland - Moment of Truth on the Scale

So I flew back home last night after a whole week (Saturday through Saturday) at Disneyland. I was exceedingly nervous about my home weigh-in. (Official one tomorrow night at Kaiser.)

We are in transition. I took bars and shakes, but knew I would also be having some real food. But I was amazingly strong (at least, I amazed myself) and did NOT have my usual Disneyland treats which range from chocolate covered marshmallow sticks in Critter Country to fresh raspberry tarts at the Holly Jolly Cafe to fried chicken on Main Street to margaritas in California Adventure. I was at bars and only had a diet coke. I was at complementary breakfast buffets and only had a hard-boiled egg. I was on a plane flight and passed on the free pretzels and sugar-covered peanuts. ;-)

But still, I knew I had eaten and drank more than we were supposed to be doing at this point in transition. And when you are losing weight and start eating real food, bizarre things can happen in your body. I honestly had no idea what to expect weight-wise. That's why I was blown away to find out that I had actually lost two pounds during the week at Disneyland. Now that is a first for me for sure! V. proud of myself!! :-)

And here's another thing. The last time I went to Disneyland (in November of last year) I weighed 45-50 pounds more than I do now. And wow, could I tell the difference. After that November trip I thought I might have to give up taking my grandchildren to Disneyland because it was just too hard and exhausting. This time I had more energy and stamina than the 9 year old and 3 year old I had with me. Feeling very grateful for how much better my body works for me these days.

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Optifast Kaiser Diet - Down 55 Pounds

Optifast Kaiser Diet - Down 55 Pounds

Weigh-in tonight (missed last week) was down 2 pounds, which was good. I actually would have been fine with no change, but Thursday am leaving for 6 days at an inclusive family camp, and am worried about gaining. Lots of high carb food served family style with not that many healthy choices. I'm going to try my best!

Not on product-only for some time, but I still have a bar or two a day. I'm happy that I'm holding my weight down even while eating "real food" and certainly have had food that wouldn't be necessarily recommended, from champagne flights to fig chutney on French bread to frozen gelato. BUT, those are the exception, and I've compensated, and mostly I'm eating high protein, low carb, high veg. And not a lot. Sadly at my age my metabolism can't handle lots of calories.

Related to that, in a few weeks we'll have that test that tells us how many calories we should eat to maintain. But I had it maybe five years ago and it was distressingly low - related to muscle (and lack of) and exercise (and lack of). And age and gender are probably figured in too.

It's in the hundreds where I live this week so am SO happy I shed that 55 pounds or I would be SO miserable - sweaty, rashy, exhausted. Well done me, is all I can say, for my success on this program! And best wishes to anyone considering a similar program, starting out on it, struggling through it, hitting transition, or in the maintenance phase. I've gone probably from a size 18 to a size 8, so for me this program is a big thumbs up. And I hope in 5 years I say the same thing!

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The Danger of Delicious Food

The Danger of Delicious Food

I've realized that for me, the biggest danger with regards to healthy eating is that some food just tastes too darn good! So I'm fine when on Optifast product, and if my fridge and daily diet is full of eggs, tuna, salad, apples, plain yogurt, veggies, I'm OK too. No problem with portion control or overeating.

But put me at an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet, or hand me a jar of chocolate-covered apricots, or sell me a basket of ripe cherries from a road-side stand, and that food is gone, all of it.

My mom could make a box of Sees candy last a month. I obviously didn't inherit the self-control gene. It is really really hard for me to stop eating when food tastes good. Yesterday at a buffet I only had salad because I knew if I started on the other food it would be a pig-out. Not proud to say it, but I feel like I know myself after all these years, and I know that I will blow through any stopsign on the autobahn of eating when the food is yummy.

So do I just eat meh food the rest of my life? That's kinda what I'm thinking at this point! I did read that successful post-dieting folks limit the variety in their meals. So basically eat mostly the same thing day in, day out. That's probably due to this same problem.

So for now, I'm keeping the sexy, high-interest foods out of my fridge and pantry, avoiding certain restaurants, and hoping for no more chocolate apricot gifts. (It was from my son! From Vienna! And he knows I love apricots. And chocolate!)

My weigh-in last night was half a pound below a month ago, the previous weigh-in. If I was still trying to lose a lot of weight that would be a bummer. But actually, I'd be happy to maintain, so no gain was good news. Just gotta keep keepin' on!

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You're a Different Person

"You're a Different Person"

At the weigh-in on Monday, as I was passing a fellow cohort member, she said, "You're a different person than the one who started in this program!" I thought it was an interesting, and somewhat surprising, comment. Although the person making it is probably not at her goal weight, I believe she has probably lost more weight than I have on the program. So I'm wondering, does she feel like a different person than the one who started in January?

Maybe she does. I definitely don't feel "like a different person." I recognize I might look significantly different (inevitable after losing almost 60 pounds), but I'm still me, flaws and all.

I actually would have expected that comment from someone who was NOT on a weight loss journey herself. In our culture we do judge people on their weight, and being "weightist" seems to still be an allowable way to discriminate against people and treat them like second class citizens. Losing - and also gaining - weight doesn't change who you are, and shouldn't (ideally) change how people perceive you and interact with you.

I'm 100% sure she meant it as a compliment, and I (after a brief hesitation) took it as one, and said something like oh we're all different than we were in January, but I meant in the outward sense only. I know the stereotype exists that people who are heavy somehow have character flaws - gluttony, laziness, sloth, lack of self- discipline - and so are seen as internally flawed based on their outward appearance. But I know I'm no better or worse than I was in January, just lighter.

The world may treat me like a different person, because I look different, but it would be nice if we could see through the outside and relate to people on the basis of other more important factors. But I know that's somewhat unrealistic. (Although it is the basis for the start of the movie Beauty and the Beast, where the beast judges the enchantress by her external appearance and pays dearly for his lack of judgment!)

I am happy to have compliments on my weight loss success and healthier appearance, but at the same time, I can't help wish that we lived in a world where people were judged and valued for who they are, not what they look like...

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