I’m back at my pre-pregnancy weight, even more importantly I’ve lost five inches off my waist. Hips haven’t budged all that much, but then I don’t carry much weight there. I’ve been gradually working up to this, but officially started June 10, 2010. This is essentially my routine:
- No Booze. No Sugar. No Grazing. I do occasionally have a Laughing Cow ice cream bar, and I do mean occasionally. I’ve had three in the past two months. Sugar makes me crave sugar. If I don’t eat it, I don’t miss it.
- I exercise five days a week. No excuses. I run on the indoor track at the Y. Somedays I run intervals, some days I just run full out, either way I run for a minimum of one hour. I then do a 20-30 minute weight training set. I focus primarily on my lower body, glutes, quads and hamstrings. These are the biggest muscles and working them burns the most fat. For me this the key to trimming my waist and getting rid of my gut. Two days a week I run for 30 minutes and weight train for a full hour. It’s important to lift as heavy as you can. If the first few reps are too easy, you need to lift heavier. You should not be able to do more than eight or so reps, if you can they’re too light. Do reps until you cannot lift it again. I don’t count reps, I just do them until I can’t maintain form. If you don’t like weight training and want to get by with the minimum, focus on deadlifts, squats and lunges. Deadlifts will give you the ass of a goddess. I mainly do upper body for aesthetics. I like for my arms to look cut.
- And here’s a big one. I don’t eat more than 1200 calories a day. I go on My Fitness Pal and log in what I eat every day. Each morning I eat two boiled eggs and a cup of greek yogurt. For lunch I have a big salad with turkey or whatever protein we had for dinner. And for dinner I eat whatever I cook for the family, minus the carbs. I’m extremely carb sensitive. Even good carbs like brown rice will put weight on me and/or trigger cravings. I try to avoid them. Fortunately fruit doesn’t have this effect, but I stay away from the sugary ones like bananas and grapes and focus on apples and berries.
Looking back I think I’ve always had a metabolic disorder. For years I could eat whatever I wanted and stay slim as long as I worked out. Well, eventually that caught up with me. I’ve never counted calories before and man was it an eye opener. I’ve always had a good diet. No fast food. No soft drinks. So I thought I was doing okay. Not so much. I was eating way too much. Even good stuff will put weight on you, especially as you get older.
Sugar is my nemesis. I’m amazed that I don’t miss it all that much. I do miss alcohol. I had my first drink in months Fourth of July weekend. I’ll probably have another when we go to New Hampshire this weekend. That’s a far cry from the several cocktails or glasses of wine I used to have every week. I could probably tolerate the extra calories, but not the way it brings my already sluggish metabolism to a screeching halt. It’s simply not worth it.
Surprisingly this hasn’t been nearly as difficult as I would’ve imagined. It’s certainly a helluva lot easier than being tired all the time. Tired of looking like crap and feeling worse. Tired of the fear of developing diabetes. Tired of taking medicine and still feeling nauseated. Tired of not being able to wear cute clothes.
I’m still angry and frustrated with the diet and fitness industry. They tell us that we only need “thirty minutes a day” of exercise to lose weight when all current research says we need an hour or more of cardio PLUS weight training. And don’t even get me started on the diet choices.
I finally had to learn some hard truths on my own. Hunger is not an emergency. Some nights I do go to bed hungry. Anytime my stomach growls I drink water to make sure I’m not just thirsty. As we age our metabolism slows down. We either have to exercise more, or eat less. It’s really that simple. Food is not a pacifier. It’s not an emotional crutch. It’s not entertainment. It’s fuel, just like for your car. That’s all it’s designed to do. Exercise is not entertainment. It’s not fun. It’s not pleasant. It just has to be done. Just like you change the oil in your car. Once I wrapped my mind around those hard truths, losing weight has actually been downright easy.
I’ve still got a ways to go on this journey. Goddess willing I will attain my goal my Christmas.
the one who writes 
21 pounds is EXCELLENT!! I’m down 14, and I truly feel your pain — but I am enjoying the benefits. Keep it up!
Oh, I meant to say Congratulations, too!
congrats
Congrats Roslyn! Don’t you just love it when your hard work pays off!
Honestly Roz, I’m not sure that you’ve set yourself up for long term success. But congratulations.
Your post has inspired me. I need to lose approximately 45 lbs. I too have given up sugar but I think I replaced it with other carbs. It is tough but it is a commitment to take care of myself. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the kudos everyone. I see your viewpoint SAC, but I know one thing about me that ensures my success: Once I’ve decided to do something I don’t quit until it’s done. I will be successful because I will it to be so and I’m willing to put in the blood, sweat and tears until it happens. After all, sweat is just the tears fat cells cry as you KILL THEM.
Fantastic! I have been revising the way I think about food also. I have lost about 17 lbs but for the last couple weeks nothing. I’ve recommitted and I’m sure I’ll see results this week. I’ve been a little hungary but I’m eating the right foods and not skipping meals. I now understand that a 50 year old woman has no business eating potato chips, regular soda and fast food on a regular basis. I feel so much better, I haven’t started doing any serious exercising yet, just walking. I will get there. Keep us updated it’s inspiring.
That’s great Ruby. Yeah, changing the way you think really does make a difference. I don’t even dread or resent my workouts anymore. It’s just something that has to be done. It’s amazing that we have no problem accepting and understanding the way our lives change as we age, but it never crossed my mind that I’d have to change the way I eat as well. How crazy is that?
Be careful not to move the obsession from food to the scale. It is not abnormal for your body to fight the excessive loss of fat by holding on to it. So when I speak about long term success, it comes with a diet that isn’t so restrictive (eating the exact same thing for breakfast) that you get bored (diet for the sake of losing weight), hence the law of diminishing returns. And when your body flushes more than 2-3 lbs. a week you can’t obsess about weeks of losing nothing, where you place undue stress on yourself and cause more fluid retention.
Stay the course. Your overall fitness goal can be a short and long term one. Short ones give you boosts of adrenaline. But they can also cause freak outs when you hit a plateau. Ditch the scale or move to weighing yourself once a month instead of daily or weekly. Your long term is maintenance without guilt or depression. After weeks of being on 1200 calories and eating roughly the same thing, your body is becoming accustomed to this and realizes it’s losing so it’s fighting you. The best way to get it charged is do one of two things (change the course of your exercise or change something in your diet). You literally need to trick your body into thinking you are doing something as drastic as the day you commenced the initial regimen.
Oh yeah, I totally understand that. There have already been weeks when I’ve lost NOTHING. Again, I’m 45 years old. The days when I could lose five pounds in a week to fit into my “skinny” jeans are long gone. I know there will be plateaus, but since my ultimate goal is to get to a place where diabetes is no longer hanging over my head like the sword of Damocles, I’m okay with that. I know I’ll get there. Thanks for your advice.
Congratulations! The best part is putting on clothing that is too big but use to be snug. Exercise is the key, imo!
GO.GO.GO.GO.ROZ! I’m not going to shat on your progress as others seem to be doing it without remorse. I’m simply going to say how very proud of you I am and that, as always, you have my support no matter WHAT you do! If you look good I know you’re feeling good and to me…that’s AWESOME!
o-0
Wow Ros, that is truly fabulous!