New Lifestyle

This blog is being written as a walk in my life of trying to lose weight and to document my successes and failures.  Yes, I said failures too.  I believe that we need to record everything, so we can look back at our lives and see what works for us and what doesn't.

I have finally accepted the inevitable!  I am getting older and my body doesn't work as well as it used to. :)

About a month ago, I decided that I was going to have to be proactive in my weight loss.  However, the question is how do you go about losing weight.  I had been on several diets throughout my life:

1.  Weight Watchers
2.  Restricting calories
3.  Atkins
4.  3D - Bible Study
5.  South Beach Diet

All of these worked for a time, however I found myself again back at way too much weight.  I needed to control my eating and get my life under control again.  So how do I do this? 

Finally, one day probably in November, my husband came home and told me about this group close to us where everyone was getting together to study the Bible and lose weight.  I felt God nudging me to look into this.  With a big sigh and a fear of failure, I said ok and joined this group.

It is a wonderful group, and I attended for about 2 months, thinking that it would all come together and I would be better.  Of course being that I tried to do this without changing my exercise or my diet, of course nothing changed.

After the 2 months, the Holy Spirit spoke to me again and said "Ok, you did it your way are you willing to do it My way now?".  While I was fighting this, Christmas and New Years came along.  Instead of my weight going down, it went up. 

If you remember, I stated when I started this that my body doesn't work as well as it used to?  Well, it wasn't just that it wasn't as efficient, I had actually been diagnosed with Diabetes, High Blood Pressure and High Cholesterol.  The medicine I was put on took care of the numbers, but I really wanted to feel better, which I hadn't yet.  So I decided to go back on South Beach Diet again.  This diet is hard for me, because I like pizza, chips, potatoes, corn and all of those starchy foods that as a Diabetic, I shouldn't have.  So I knew I needed help this time to stick to it, so I did what I should have done from the beginning.  Why is it that we know what we need to do, but we fight as hard as we can to get control of our lives?

Well, I finally realized that one of the problems I was fighting was that I didn't want to give up control and while in many ways, I felt I had lost control of my life at least I could have control here - I could eat whatever I wanted.  I took these feelings and gave them to Christ.  I am not saying I don't still struggle with this issue, but I realized I needed to lay these feelings at the cross of Jesus and let Him have control.

Once I did this, and realized that this was not just a change for a short time, this was going to have to be a lifetime decision.  One of the things that I like about South Beach is that while for a time you are giving up some foods, you can add them back later.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

One of the things I noticed, was that as I ate the foods allowed on Phase 1 of South Beach, I felt so much better.  Some of those things that didn't work right, were starting to work right, when I ate right.  This was such a releasing idea, that if I just ate right, I would feel better, that it was enough encouragement to keep going.

So how am I doing?  Well.... on January 5th when I gave this situation over to Christ, I weighed in at 185.  The first 3 days were not bad.  It was a new diet, new things to learn, new foods to concentrate on.  Then Day 3 happened.

Day 3 - I became so frustrated with not being able to eat those things that I craved - mostly starch, that it was difficult.  I determined that it was like hitting a wall.  I pushed through with the help of friends, prayer and bible reading.  I kept telling myself "I can do this."  This lasted for 3 days, but with the help of my friends, my wonderful husband and some determination, I broke through the wall.

Day 7 - Tonight is weigh-in day.  Time to go to the Bible Study and to weigh in, so with fear and trepidation I weighed in.  YAHOO!!!! I lost 2.7 pounds.  That was good news and made me feel so much better.

Week 2 - I continued with the eating meat and green vegetables (not my favorite vegetables, but if it makes me feel better. :) ).  Here comes Wednesday and it is time to weigh in again.  How did I do this time?  Will it be good or bad news?  Cautiously I stepped on the scales and what did I find?  I lost 4.1 pounds :)  Wow!  How did that work.

Week 3 - Ok, now is Phase 2 of this diet - how will I do?  Well it was not a good week for me.  I ate pizza half way through the week, and then had some snacks that had too many calories.  On Wednesday, when I got to church I stepped on the scales and I had gained 3.6 pounds.  Talk about frustrated.  I was so disappointed, I didn't even want to go to the Bible Study.  We talked through the week in our study and I found I wasn't the only one that had a bad week, but my slogan was "I fell off the wagon, but I am going to get right back on again."

Week 4 - So now that I had my bad week, I had to do better.  I did still add the foods back in to my diet, but I tried to be better and really watch the calorie count this week.  After pushing through this week, I got on the scales on Wednesday again.  I had lost 4.1 pounds this week. :)  I discovered even though I had gained weight the week before, I was now at the lowest point in the last 5 years.  It was enough to let me continue on my journey.  In fact when I looked back on my last 3 months - I had actually lost 15 pounds since I started this journey.

Thank you Lord - for helping me through this journey.  He is so faithful to help us even when we fail Him.  He loves us in spite of our sinful nature.

This is the first of this blog.  I will keep tracking my weeks and what I find as I travel through this new life.  I don't like the word "diet", because it gives the concept that there is an end to this way of eating.  That is one of the problems so many times, we go back to eating the way we did before and we regain the weight.  This is a life change not a diet.

I have decided to set up intermediate goals to aim for.  My first goal is to be under 160 pounds by June 5th.  Why June 5?  We are going to a niece's wedding and I would like to have a pretty dress and make my husband proud to have me on his arm. :)

Deb