(photo courtesy of rovenimages.com)
When I decided I had something to say about weight loss, I had already achieved my 60 pounds by 60 years by following the calorie deficit diet. It was the most weight I had ever lost in my life to date and the longest I’ve ever been able to stick to a diet.
I had thought about starting a blog early on in the diet, but I didn’t feel like it would be credible until I could post from a place of confidence and success, which I thought would be more encouraging and helpful to people.
I am in week 32 of my calorie deficit diet. As of my previous weekly weigh-in almost a week ago, I have lost 70.6 pounds. The good news is I’ve already reached my 70 pounds by 70 years goal. As far as I’m concerned, there is no bad news.
My goal for this blog has always been to reach people. I wanted to help people like me, who have been trying to lose weight and haven’t been as successful as they wanted to be. I have a heart for those people who have maybe gained weight, lost weight, and then gained it back, or people who have resigned themselves to believing they would be overweight for the rest of their lives.
I wanted to give these people some hope that the calorie-deficit approach, along with some self-reflection about their relationship with food, would help them to lose weight as it has done for me. I believe strongly that we must consider both the psychological and emotional connections with food to be successful in losing weight. Since we are overweight, that means we have unhealthy behaviors to change in order to maintain any weight loss achieved. It’s not about ‘eating less’ or ‘eating healthy.’ It’s about what is behind the unhealthy eating and changing that permanently.
Another reason I wanted to add my voice to the millions who provide weight loss advice is that I am extremely frustrated with all these beautiful people selling weight loss products and methods on Facebook and Instagram, many of which that are successful due to the fine-print, low-calorie diets you have to follow while using them. I’m honest about how you have to do this weight loss plan and I believe wholeheartedly and passionately in the calorie deficit diet. Furthermore, I think it is the most inexpensive solution there is for weight loss. You can do this diet with a $10 food scale, some measuring cups and measuring spoons, and a cell phone or a computer with internet access.
Am I still following a calorie deficit diet? Yes, because I am still about ten to fifteen pounds overweight, and I still have fat around my abdomen area. I’ve been obese for much of my adult life, which means I probably still have visceral fat in my belly, which is the dangerous kind of fat that surrounds our organs. That fat can be a contributing factor to high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol and insulin resistance. All these factors increase the risks of stroke, heart disease, and type two diabetes. I will tell you I was on two medications for some of the conditions listed above when I started this diet and now, I’m down to one.
No matter how many times my sister tells me I have chicken legs and can stop losing weight now, I’m going to continue until I get a medically informed opinion (with much discussion about why that is the opinion) about the fat around my middle and what is a medically healthy weight for me. I’m not going to take any medical advice at face value without doing some research ahead of time.
Do I exercise? Yes, but currently not more than a few times a week. If the weather is bad, I may not exercise at all. At the beginning of my diet, I was exercising more. Given what I have seen with myself, I believe you can be successful on this diet with minimal or no exercise. If it seems overwhelming to make big changes in both your exercise AND eating habits, then start with the diet and try to work up to doing some exercise.
Before I started dieting, I was going to the gym regularly for about two months and not losing weight. I continued that pattern of exercise for the first three months into the diet. I was doing two strength training workouts and two cardio workouts per week on average. My workouts range from maybe 45 to 50 minutes per workout.
Then we left for our summer camping location. I had lost about 33 pounds (over three months) by the time we left. The rainy summer has made exercise very difficult because we are camping and there is really no good way to work out indoors and no gym where we are. Note that I’m now down 70 pounds. That means I’ve lost 37 pounds (over four months) this summer while camping, and not being very active outside due to the weather.
Here is my summer exercise log:
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June – I walked eight times at a distance of 1.5 to 2 miles each time. That’s an average of two walks of less than an hour per week.
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July – I walked six times, 2 miles each time. We did three tandem bicycle rides at 4.5 miles, 10 miles and 17 miles. That’s an average of a little over two times per week. The 17 mile bike ride was the only workout that was more than an hour long.
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August – I walked four times for 2 to 3 miles each time. We rode our tandem bicycle seven times, distances ranging from 6 to 34 miles. The weather was more cooperative in August so we rode our bike more. Average workouts were almost three per week.
- September – We rode our tandem bicycle five times, distances ranging from 10 to 22 miles. A 22-mile bike ride takes us about two hours. The average was less than two workouts a week.
My point of going through that detail is to show that I was only somewhat active this summer and still lost 37 pounds during those months. Other than yard work, I did not do any strength training.
I’m still going strong and just as passionate about this diet. I hope you are with me, if you need to be. It doesn’t have to be an all or nothing approach for you. You can slowly work your way into a calorie-deficit eating plan. Any positive change is a good start.
I know one person who is doing really well for breakfast and lunch and is still struggling with dinner/supper and night-time snacking, but she’s hanging in there and trying to make some positive changes in her life.
Looking forward to celebrating 80 pounds by 80 years waaaaaayyy ahead of time!
Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired yet? If so, here are links to some of my posts to get you started:
This is How We Do It! (publish0x.com)
