Some Things I Have Eaten to Lose Weight So Far

Several of you have asked how I have been losing my weight and I thought I would take a few minutes to tell you what I have been doing. It's not a big mystery. I am not going to Weight Watchers. I do recommend it though. I have gone about 20 different times. Off and on from 1969 until last year. I don't mean 20 meetings, I mean 20 periods of it. I have lost large amounts on it and also I have not been in the right frame of mind and I only lost a little and gave up.

I am someone that has had a huge issue with overeating for over 40 years. I love to eat when I'm happy, sad, depressed, excited, tired, etc. You get the picture. Food has meant more than a means of staying alive and nourishment for many long years. In the last year or so I have gained so much and unfortunately I weighed the most I have ever weighed the beginning of December. I had been reading Maree's blog, At Home and read about her adventures losing weight and staying on plan. It was and is inspiring to me. She shared some before and after pictures and it really got me enthused. She's younger than me, but we are both grandmas and I just kept thinking, "Trish, she looks fabulous, why don't you face reality and get on board?" So I did. I feel better and look forward to my Monday 'weigh-ins' by myself.

Here's some of the things I eat now. I eat lots of soup. Usually, vegetable or clear broth soup with some chicken, but I also eat chili sometimes, too. Soup is very satisfying to me and low in calories overall. I love Wolfgang Puck organic soups and I look forward to breaking open a can on a cold night. I also eat Pepperidge Farm Wheat Crackers. Get the small ones because you can have like 14 or so and it makes you feel like a really nice meal.

I eat some salads, but I try not to go overboard on them because to me salad is no where near a comfort food and I enjoy soup so much more. I eat a lot of Sugar Free Jello. Also, I splurge and have the Diet Puddings with a little Lite Cool Whip. It's yummy and the pudding is only 60 calories a container. The jello is 10 calories so I usually have 2 or 3. I am not saying I count calories, but after years and years of being conscious of how many calories are in everything I intellectually know what is better for me. My problem has been having my mind ready to take the steps to do what I needed to.

I have a couple of different breakfast choices and it seems to work well for me. I have LUNA bars or scrambled egg whites and fruit with turkey bacon. I enjoy these choices for breakfast, but it is not my favorite meal. I love fish, chicken and most vegetables.

Pop over to Maree's blog and look at some past posts when she has talked about eating out and food suggestions. She has inspired me and I am totally indebted to her for getting me on the right road.

I mainly want to lose weight for my health, but I will be honest...I am tired of being the 'thick chick' whenever I go anywhere. It also ages me. I don't mind looking my age, I just don't want to look 10 or 15 years older because of my size. Carrying around this extra weight is hard on my body and I recently was diagnosed with high blood pressure and losing the extra pounds should help.

I think portioned meals like Lean Cuisine and Weight Watchers are good for me. When I am in a setting where I have access to family-style cuisine I tend to want to overeat. Buffets were a blank check where I felt like I needed to get my money's worth. I want to move around better and I want to ease some of the pain of my arthritis. I have another 60 lbs. or so to go. I realize it will start coming off slower, remember I have been down this road before. I must keep reminding myself that this is a marathon and not a sprint. It was a process putting it on and it will be a process taking it off.

Unfortunately, people tend to treat heavy set people differently than they treat thin people and that has always bothered me. I am so thankful the Lord loves me thick or thin. I just want to feel better and be healthier. I pray 2009 will be a healthy year for you, too. We are blessed and life is good where I am worrying about losing weight and so many people in the world are worrying about where to find food to eat.

I will let you know from time to time about my journey with this situation that has consumed me for years and years. I can tell you what size I was when I did significant things in my life. I somehow always measured myself by my size. It's not who I am, I'm more than a fat woman, it's just that I am so much healthier and happier being smaller. We can say all day long over and over how it's just important what kind of person we are on the inside, but truthfully, and you know it's true....people do judge by our size. It's not supposed to be that way, but it is. I hope this isn't depressing to you, but I guess I just needed to get it off my chest......and hips and all over. I love you guys and appreciate you being there.