This is the latest in a series of entries chronicling my journey to try 40 new things before I turn 40 in FOUR days!! You can read all the entries under the label 40 4 40.
Warning: This one is kinda personal.
The title is kind of a misnomer. I have not actually lost 30 pounds but that was my goal before my birthday. So... yeah.
I am not fat, have never been fat. I have weighed more than I should though! When I was dealing with all my thyroid stuff, my weight fluctuated quite a bit. There was a point in 2001 when I was attempting to learn to play hockey and lost some weight from all the practicing. However, that was ALSO during the thyroid madness so who knows what caused it. But people actually said I was TOO skinny. I never thought that, of course.
Anyway, once my thyroid came out, I was supposed to lose all the weight I'd gained leading up to that point. Yeah, that never happened. But I also never tried. I expected the new magic thyroid pill to do it for me :) Then I moved halfway across the country. Then I changed careers. Then I was unemployed for two years. Then I got a new job. Then George died. And I ate! And ate! Apparently too much, by the way my clothes fit and the need to frequent Goodwill.
I can't remember what made me look up the government's definition of "overweight" last Spring. But I did. And I was. By more than I thought actually. The "ideal weight" is 140 according to a bunch of internet study type things, but the BMI average is about 150. Now, when I looked all this up, I no longer owned a scale but I know that the last time I weighed myself, I was about 177-8. So I figure when I started trying to figure all this out I was basically right at 180. That's what I'm calculating my loss from.
I didn't seriously start trying to do anything major until I got home from California and school started in August. Though I was already just trying to make smarter choices. Sadly, I have horrible willpower when I'm hungry. Get me hungry and tired enough and I can happily devour an entire large pizza :) So I found a calorie tracker app online and started keeping track. I have never been overly strict and have gone weeks without inputting what I'm eating. But it helped me figure out to eat this instead of that and stuff like that. Now I know why Atkins and South Beach work, eliminating carbs - SO MANY CALORIES!!
I also have gone back to a more or less vegan-ish food style. I am not strict, but I try to eat vegan when I can. Except for fish. The reason I had trouble being vegan originally is I was running out of stuff to eat that I liked eating!! So fish. And it helps when eating out too.
Slugs and I were both doing well with our weight loss and exercise regimen until he hurt his knee in November. My weight sat at 160 for about 3 months!! We just weren't walking as far and it seems to be the most advantageous exercise for me to burn calories. And it's fun and gets us outside. Except when it turned cold. I hate cold. So ours walks got shorter. And I was stuck at 160.
Oddly, I told someone about a month ago about this goal and I magically started losing again. It also warmed up a little though. The next five pounds came off pretty easy. And here I sit, the week of my birthday, stressed, busy, icy, and I have decided that 25 pounds lost is a HUGE accomplishment, and so I'm calling it a new thing done.
BUT I AM going to keep going. Especially once it warms up and Slugger's knee continues to heal. I figure I'll be right where I want to be (which, btw, is really just ALL of my clothes fitting!!) just in time for summer - shorts and tank tops :)
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