From approx. June 2008 to March 2009, I lost over 70 pounds using a combination of the South Beach Diet (by Arthur Agatston) and the Immune System Makeover (by Janet Maccaro). I felt good. I was looking good. I was fitting into clothing sizes I hadn’t fit into in years. I started sliding a bit, as will occasionally happen even when you have the best of intentions and are “on top of the mountain”. I was on a bit of a slippery slope, but it was still “do-able”. I hadn’t really regained any weight, but I knew if I wasn’t careful, it could happen. Then my youngest granddaughter passed away. My diet went out the window. It was the least of my concerns.
There’s a reason they call it “comfort food”. For me, it wasn’t so much a matter of “eating to forget” as it was “I didn’t care what I ate”. Caring what food I put in my mouth (or when) was a difficult concept to grasp when, emotionally, I felt like I was at the bottom of a deep well, looking up. My granddaughter’s death, quite simply, gutted me.
In the nine and a half months that have passed since her death, I’ve managed to pack back on about 30 pounds. I’ve been wanting to get back on the South Beach/Immune System Makeover combo, but I wasn’t interested in being bothered with it during the Thanksgiving/Christmas season. There’s nothing like starting out a diet in the middle of family dinners, seasonal cookies and appetizers to really make you bomb. And I knew I’d bomb if I tried. Give me a day or so on the diet (rather…lifestyle change), my willpower will be as strong as steel. But at the beginning? Starting during Thanksgiving and Christmas? Not a chance.
The weight gain would have been bad enough. But there’s a reason I was on Janet’s diet back in 2008. My immune system was in the toilet. By the time last March had rolled around, I was a much healthier person than when I had started. Now? I seem to catch colds, infections and other ills at the drop of a hat. Once again, my immune system is in the toilet.
So here I am…I started it today. It didn’t really have anything to do with a New Year’s resolution. My feeling is that if I can’t do it the other 364 days of the year, why would that day make a difference? That said…there’s a bit of a “new beginning” feel to it. I figured I’d start the year out right.
What I’m doing is mostly fresh veggies, meat/protein, and the “right” (ie, complex) carbs from the South Beach Diet and the “No sugar, no wheat, no dairy, no caffeine” and “If it doesn’t rot or sprout, do without” from the Immune System Makeover. Along with nutritional supplements (vitamins).
I’ve used this combination before and was very pleased with how I looked and felt (how I felt is my bigger concern…losing weight is the fringe benefit). My blood pressure was better than it had been in years. And years. And years. I wasn’t hurting. I was even considering taking up jogging…which was a lightning-bolt moment for me. I’ve always hated jogging. But between the weight-loss and the running around (literally) I had to do at work, I found myself actually starting to like it. It was a concept.
But at this moment? Jogging’s not on the radar. Eventually…maybe. At this point, I’ll be happy to have more energy, be back out of pain, and back into smaller pants. I sat down in my daughter’s car a couple of days ago and one side of my pants split. Nice. Granted, I’ve worn those particular pants to death…but it was an enlightening moment. Perhaps the incentive I needed. Thank God (I mean that quite literally!) that it didn’t happen at work.
So here I am, rambling to myself and anyone else that’s interested. I started this journey, originally, at 279.8 pounds. Here I am now at approximately 234 pounds. I’m drawing the line in the sand.
I want my life back.
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