Sue's weight loss blog

size huh?

2010-12-08T05:25:00.000-08:00

Just a quickie update! Today I got a lovely outfit from my son and DIL but the pants were in size 8. I have never in my life worn a single digit size before. With trepidation I tried them on and ..... (drum roll please...) they fit perfectly!!!! I saved one of labels which was marked size 8 (like people save their first dollar for their businesses etc!) And I took a photo of it (attached photo). Way cool!!!

update - 2010 is almost over

2010-11-02T06:06:00.000-07:00

Well, unbelievable as it is, I have actually stayed at 27 lbs below goal now, since March and celebrated my year's anniversary of lifetime membership in Weight Watchers in Oct (and this Saturday is my monthly weigh-in).

I still haven't gotten new clothing and really need to do that - I did get a couple of new pairs of shorts and pants from Sports Authority which is a bit less annoying to shop at than the clothing stores. I've decided I need to ask my DIL to help me with shopping because being a computer software developer and such, I'm definitely the type who would wear my "army boots to work because you never know what you will encounter in the computer room." (from the joke, THE REAL PROGRAMMER). Luckily my DIL who is an artist herself, is not only talented at putting together clothing but also seems to be able to find the best bargains.

Anyway, be that as it may, this is the first time I have stayed at an ideal weight this long in my adult life (and probably before that).

I still journal daily and watch my portions. Weight Watchers is not a diet but a lifestyle. And feel lucky that I've been able to keep the weight off, so far. (still exercising also, of course).

Stay tuned! :)

7th monthly weigh-in

2010-05-06T16:28:00.000-07:00

I haven't written for a while - life has been sort of busy. But I have been losing slowly. In March I got my 100 lbs lost award (this is a sort of a washer thing in gold - not real gold.. *LOL* with 100 lbs on it) in March 2010. I got to get up before the class, show a before and after shot etc. This last monthly weigh-in my my 7th monthly weigh-in - I'd lost another 1.4 lbs bringing the "off" total to 105 lbs! And 14 lbs heavier than what I weighed on my wedding day. I can sort of get into my wedding dress but have developed a more muscular upper body from the years of working out and weight training so it would be tight on top. Kind of a thrill. A friend got some size 12 jeans for me at the GoodWill and they are getting too loose but I got a smaller pair that will work - same size but very tight cut like women like to wear them today. I also have a pair of black pants which fit and between these two, that's mostly what I wear. The clothing issue gets to be a pain after a while especially if you are like me and hate to go clothing shopping. Generally speaking though, I feel the difference of the weight off mostly in my joints - I've been able to cut down arthritis pain meds to very little and can move around much easier than I could even as a fit and fat person.

3rd month lifetime weigh in

2010-01-09T06:58:00.000-08:00

Got a "good job" comment from the leader on my 3rd monthly lifetime weigh-in. It's nice to be weighing once a month. My lifetime manual says when we go to lifetime membership, we go from member to "role model". Imagine ME a role model for weight maintenance! Wow! Wonders will never cease. :)

On a not so good note, my favorite leader is no longer with WW and I miss her a lot.

I've come a long way, baby! (from an old cigarette commercial)

Shopping woes

2009-12-28T09:07:00.000-08:00

After several shopping trips, I finally found out what size I am and could actually buy some clothing. Also, my savy DIL bought me some nice clothing, all of which fits and looks nice.

What was kind of strange is looking at a pair of size medium pants and thinking my butt will NEVER fit in these and then, trying them on and seeing that they fit great and feel comfy...

During one frustrating shopping trip, I went into Lane Bryant's, my former favorite store where I could REALLY "buy clothing off the shelf" and where the sizing is fairly predictable and the clothing is nice with a good variety of choices. The lady looked at me and asked "for whom are you buying clothing?" I answered, "Me" and she laughed and said "You're too skinny for THIS STORE - we don't have anything to fit you!"

Bottom line, "buying off the shelves" when you are average sized is a myth...

Amazing. I'm still getting used to this.

Second monthly weigh-in for WW lifetime membership

2009-12-07T14:21:00.000-08:00

This last Saturday was my second monthly weigh-in for Weight Watchers' lifetime membership and I was 7 lbs below goal... wooo hooo....

I got the official lifetime membership guide and it says our part in the meeting changes from member to either leader, receptionist or "role model".

Imagine me, a role model... wow... who-da thunk it?

Lifetime membership is so worth it! :)

Size 14 jeans? NO WAY!!!

2009-11-30T08:37:00.000-08:00

I talked to another person who lost a lot of weight (but not as much as I have). He lost 45 or 50 lbs in 3 months. "It felt weird," he said.

I've lost 92 lbs and it feels VERY strange because I've never lost this much weight before in my life.

I look at photos and my first reaction is "someone narrowed the photo to make me look slimmer and it doesn't look right.". But no one narrowed anything except my body.

Then, there is the clothing problem. NOTHING and I mean NOTHING fits me. Well, I did find one warm suit which fits - I apparently had gotten it small because I needed it and that was the only size available. In the very low 200's I could wear it snugly (which worked for the playing job outside on New Year's Eve I had where I had to wear blacks, many years ago). Now I can wear it comfortably so that's great for bicycle riding in the cold.

I have no idea what size I take and my favorite store of several decades has nothing for me (Lane Bryant's).

We ventured out on Black Friday and came home with one package of undies. They do fit but then I thought they HAVE to be too tight and went out Sunday to buy larger ones only to find the smaller ones DO fit. Oh well, one size larger is going to be a lot better than 3 sizes too large which most of my "small" undies were.

I looked for jeans on Black Friday and found - none. Most of them were hip huggers. Yeah right, I'm 65 years old and I'm NOT going to wear hip huggers. Forget it.

Last time I tried on a pair of jeans, they were size 18 and I was thrilled to get into those because I hadn't been able to get into them for years and when I DID wear them, they grew tight quickly. Of course, I had had to put them away months ago because they were so loose they looked bad and even WITH elastic waist, were falling off me. And it's not so long ago, that my size 20 jeans were too small. I remembered how thrilled I was to get into those even though they were a bit tight.

Yesterday we were out again in a different store and hubby asked if I wanted to look for jeans. I wasn't super enthusiastic but at last, acquiesced. I found one pair which was nice looking, NOT hip hugging and something I'd wear. Problem was it was a size 14. I remembered being on the low fat diet in the 1990's and getting down to the low 200's and taking a 14 in some regular clothing and proudly, buying a pair of size 14 jeans.

I couldn't even get my lower legs into them let alone my butt.

That memory haunted me as I moved fearfully toward the fitting room.

Oh yes, another "fun thing" not- is the fitting room. The harsh lights reveal EVERYTHING you have. Fitting rooms had not been a part of my life since my jaunts to Lanes because sizing there is very predictable - you can buy off the shelf.

I removed the baggy pants I was wearing (are spandex but of course, have been baggy for quite a while - were skin tight when I was larger). As I climbed into the size 14's, I said "no way... this is ridiculous". And by the way I had finished saying that, I had easily, zipped them up.

HUH? They FIT? But this cannot be... size 14 in JEANS? EVEN if a 14 now is about the size of a 16 in the 1970's, mostly even in slimmer days, 16's were too tight on me. I walked out of the fitting room and everyone's like "those look good on you". I went back into the fitting room and thought "I betcha I can't sit in them." But I could and they fit snug but they are supposed to be a snug fit... I COULD sit in them. I sat there for several minutes not really knowing what to do... I couldn't BUY THEM... they couldn't be fitting me...

I ended up taking them home with me.

Still somewhat traumatized. I had hubby take my photo in the jeans (the photo with this blog) and looked at the photo and my first reaction was "that's not me!"

Looking at the ladies at the desk watching the fitting rooms for support, I told them I'd lost 92 lbs and felt strange. They were like "that's wonderful" and "you should be proud of what you did!" Few understand how strange it feels when you've been a certain size most of your life. I didn't lose this weight fast but it caught up to me and seems that suddenly, I have a new body... one which is still elderly and arthritic, but just unfamiliar.

If those around me are not too happy for me LOSING the weight, they are REALLY not happy when my enthusiasm wanes. I'm supposed to be dancing around like they do in the commercials on TV. Well, sorry but TV is NOT reality.

I realize the two times previously, in my life I got very slim, I didn't like my body either... it was too strange. I wasn't used to things like bones sticking out. My backbone sticks out now at least in my neck. I've felt that several times and it feels wrong somehow...

No one tells you that it's going to be something to get used to. It's supposed to be all good. But a change even FOR the better is hard especially at my age.

I do find that Weight Watchers meetings ARE supportive of this type of thing so they must have seen it before in lifetime members.

I still have a way to go. As I realize I RAN BACK TO the comfortable, familiar FAT other times in my life, THIS time, my program is for health, not looks, so going back isn't an option. I will eventually get used to the new me. I hope. :)

life on the other side of the mountain

2009-11-16T10:17:00.000-08:00

I had my first weigh-in for lifetime membership two weeks ago (first week in November) and weighed in at 5 lbs below goal. My leader smiled and said this often happens when the pressure is off for achieving lifetime membership.

Now, the harder job seems to be getting used to "things".

I have lost 90 lbs from my all time high but am down 60 lbs from the weight I've been most of the last 35 years!

The last time I was at THIS weight was in 1974.

And I find there are several issues to deal with. My new size has made some things nicer and I generally like the look way better but...

First, I find that I have not much which fits me in my collection of clothing which I have amassed over the last 20 years. And what does fit is very loose on me. This was brought to my attention the other day when my doctor teased me about my baggy spandex bicycle pants. The problem is that I've been basically between 2 or 3 sizes most of my adult life and so wearing stretch clothing covered a lot of evils. Now I am faced with buying a whole new wardrobe and truly speaking, I haven't a clue just how to do this! My doctor suggested buying on line which sounds viable but then it's sight unseen type of thing.

I sure miss "UNITS" - this was a store of "one size fits all" and I loved it. Getting a new wardrobe of "Units" would be easy... you just pick the color and go for it.

To make things much more confusing, what was a size 16 when I was last this size, seems to be now, a size 10/12! But then, the sizes are very inconsistant and can vary from garment to garment. Women's clothing shopping seems more of a nightmare than it was years ago. I remember sewing most of my own clothing because of extreme frustration with clothing shopping but although I have a sewing machine, it's been "buried" in stuff for years and I cannot find room to put it where I could use it even if I un-buried it.

Frankly the idea of replacing my wardrobe, frightens the heck out of me.

Second problem - I seem to be fighting "ghosts" which I fought in the 1970's which are a bit harder to fight now because they are very buried in my subconscious. "Protective layer of fat"? Maybe there is some truth to that one. It's almost as if I've lost my bearings a bit (the disability from my stroke doesn't help things).

You know, I have loose skin all over my body. Not just my middle (which isn't so bad since I do ab exercises and yoga and have exercised daily for the last 15 years) but places you wouldn't expect it like my lower arms - it just hangs there. (MY upper arms are definitely "bye bye" arms but we won't go there). :) I have loose skin on my thighs - just all over. But this is the least of my problems although adds to this strange new feeling I get in my own skin. I understand that plastic surgery can help there some but it's very expensive, not all that safe (under anesthesia for many hours doesn't seem a good idea for looks) and from the befores and afters I've seen on TV, doesn't necessarily look that much better than dealing with the loose skin, especially in my case where it isn't super obnoxious.

Bottom line, I have to admit to myself that I have a sort of new body - I haven't gotten rid of the arthritis (old age type) nor the damage from a mini stroke I had last year but it's new for me and I guess it will take time to get used to it. I certainly do NOT want to get fat again especially as the last time I gained a bunch of weight (after the 3rd attempt at Weight Watchers in 2003-2004), I appeared to be not leveling out even though was not eating that much... I wasn't journaling daily but journaled some and averaged from 2000 - 2200 calories a day with no fast food, junk food, soda etc. and was rapidly approaching the weight of 300 lbs!

Would it be easier if my "new body" were 20 years old and size 0? Probably not as I realize a change, even one for the better, is still a change and something to get used to.

But it will take time. I just have to be patient and endure... this too will pass..

Lifetime membership!

2009-10-27T13:29:00.000-07:00

Yes it's true... weighing in at 3 lbs below goal, I hit lifetime membership this week! finally there!!!!

I DID hit goal!!!

2009-09-26T03:29:00.000-07:00

After umpteen years of trying, I actually hit goal two weeks ago and are in the 6 weeks of maintenance which lead up to --- LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP! I got the little star which is hanging in a prominent place in my home and the greatest feeling!

Last week when I weighed in, my leader asked how my week was and I told her I'd been on a cloud all week.

It STILL feels good! :)

Hit goal?

2009-09-09T04:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I actually hit goal or 1/2 lb over last week but I think it was an anomaly. People seem to think I'll hit it this week but knowing my body, it will be up again...that's how things work with me. One of these weeks though...

lots of news to report

2009-08-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

My husband and I are both attending classes now (Weight Watchers). I was doing the WW on line but find it's really nice to attend the classes and I kind of look forward to my class on Saturday.

And since I've been going to classes (4 weeks) I've lost THREE pounds and am 2.2 lbs from my WW goal and lifetime membership! yeee hooo

My hubby's sugar levels are way down after being close to 300 on the highest dose of diabetes oral medication he can take! (he's been on program for 4 weeks and lost 13 lbs!)

He's a happy camper because the doctor was close to putting him on insulin. We both are breathing a sigh of relief on this one.

My weigh in this last week was 182.2 lbs! The doctor was impressed that I've lost 10 lbs since I last saw her!

Losing slowly now

2009-07-19T17:30:00.000-07:00

Decided to start going to Weight Watchers meetings. I've always wanted lifetime membership. You have to lose at least 5 lbs and I weighed in at 186! (Doctor set goal is 180). So it's in sight. My leader said "well, let's see if we can get you to lifetime membership!" That sounded good to me! :)

I have about 1 pair of undies which fit me so I guess it's time to buy some new clothing. (my "small clothing" is too large for me because I have not been this size in about 34 years!)

Some NSV's

2009-05-17T01:20:00.000-07:00

An NSV is a non scale victory. (The scale has been kind to me also - I am at 190 this week!)

got into a shirt I used to wear to play square dances --- 30 years ago!!! I never thought I would get into it again!

Sat down easily into a couple of small chairs with arms and I had room to spare!

Made a "fat joke" about me which fell flat and one person said 'you're not fat!'

Lots of folks have been noticing the weight loss

Can do a yoga move that I haven't been able to do for years!

Life is good!

Here's a before/after photo. The "before" was taken in 2007 - the after was taken a week or so ago.

Still losing...

2009-04-29T18:17:00.000-07:00

Was officially 192 at the doctor's. With normal blood pressure! :) Sorry I haven't updated this in a while but I'm still on my program. I also had the stomach flu a couple of weeks ago (it's going around).

Hope all is going well for you'all...

Have been 198 all week!!!

2009-02-28T11:11:00.000-08:00

Wow does it EVER feel good to be in ONE-DER-LAND!

I never thought I'd make it. I just FEEL good about it all! :)

ONE-DER-LAND

2009-02-25T01:05:00.000-08:00

So a couple of times in the past two weeks, I actually hit the magical land of ONE-DER-LAND i.e. under 200 lbs! I took a photo of the scale the first time it happened (which turned out to be no easy task because the darn thing kept timing out before I could get my camera ready so I had to weigh 3 times to get the picture! *LOL*)

However, my official weigh-in this week was 201.5 so my body is playing games with me. I like the feeling of "one der land" and hope I get down to the point where I never see 200 lbs.

I measured and found that I have lost 8 inches in my butt and 7 inches in my waist (well not being a young thing, my waistline went the way of the nickle beer).

Nothing fits me, not even my undie panties and I don't have a clue what size I am. I haven't been this small forever... (at least 25 or more years). I now weigh 8 lbs more than I did when I had our son in 1969 (of course, I thought I was horribly fat then because I started in the pregnancy at 149 or 150 lbs... my low weight is 198.5.

In looking at some summer photos, I realize that last summer I weighed like in the low 240's or high 230's so this summer might be fun as far as skimpier clothing etc. Right now, it's warm clothing cover up time... :(

down and STUCK

2009-01-13T12:41:00.000-08:00

I'm down to 203 (that's 64 lbs lost) and STUCK. The old plateau. Well, I knew it had to happen and I really am pretty happy at this weight so will hang in there... :)

63 lbs down

2009-01-01T01:02:00.000-08:00

Weight this week was 204. 63 lbs down and 24 from my doctor set goal.

This week, with hubby home for the holidays and busy-ness, I didn't have time to eat a lot so have had low points which is NOT good because can injure the metabolism.

Rode the new light rail and took photos. Like the look. :)

Found out I have been made a "poster child" for weight loss on one of the message areas.

Pretty cool.

61 lbs down

2008-12-16T03:44:00.000-08:00

This week, I didn't weigh as much as I usually do because I've sort of reached my goal (although staying totally "legal" on Weight Watchers and intending to do so for the rest of my life because I do not want to regain the weight).

The weight was 206 - loss of 1/2 lb which is much more what I'd like to lose each week (more healthy to lose more slowly). Last week, did not deplete my flex points and since WW is no longer minusing exercise points - well only AFTER flex points were depleted, I had a "light eating week". Things are getting busy now and sometimes just don't have time to eat a lot during the day so grab a balance bar and a milk and call it "lunch". :)

I did have fun holding my great granddaughter (who is ADORABLE!) though. (photo) Life isn't all about dieting! :)

my all time low!!

2008-12-02T12:42:00.000-08:00

As of this morning, I weighed 206.5 which is my all time low. I stood there and stared at the number for a while. It looked BEAUTIFUL. Because I have now taken off the 60 lbs I gained after I stopped attending Weight Watcher meetings in the end of 2004 and I am actually at an all time low in 25 years.... This time I'm not quittin' - staying with Weight Watchers on line and I hope to keep going with my weight loss!

Hit minor Nirvana

2008-11-23T02:39:00.000-08:00

This week I weighed 208 three times so can take that to the bank, I think. And that is only ONE POUND from my lowest in 2004.

Now, ideally to keep going and get under 200 would be nice! :)

Slowly....

2008-11-05T01:30:00.000-08:00

Last week with the stress of the election (which is OVER [for better or for worse] THANK HEAVENS) I got ill on Friday and couldn't eat. And Saturday I weighed 209 which is only 2 lbs from the magic 207 that I was in 2004. However, after Saturday and Sunday when I ate normally (my right amount of points) I was back up to 211. Well, that's only 4 lbs from the magic number but it's going slowly.

And even with days off from exercise (2 last week) my hamstring injury doesn't seem to be much better.

Can stress interfere with weight loss? :)

Onward and upward...

slowly slowly....

2008-10-23T03:28:00.000-07:00

Well, after a several week plateau, I weighed 213.5 this morning (usual weigh-in time) and 212.5 at 4 pm. So which should I count? I am either 6.5 lbs or 5.5 lbs away from the magic (and ellusive) 207 and when I go down to the "0's" I will have to drop 2 points from my daily intake which shouldn't be a big problem.... (you drop 2 points every time you change the left 2 numbers).

Today was a no exercise day - I am taking 1 day off a week because I find it's helpful for healing my ligament injury and also, my muscles like it better. I guess I can live with that although I DO like working out every day. And I very much miss my walking program - I've always been a walker type person. But still working out, doing no impact or low impact stuff. Have temporarily dropped aerobic dancing for a few weeks until my injury heals more but will probably take that up again, at least in the New Year.

As of....now....

2008-09-12T12:34:00.001-07:00

I'm down to 217.5 as of this morning. That is exactly 10 lbs higher than my absolute lowest weight on Weight Watchers in 2004.

Got into my size 18 jeans last weekend. Never thought I would be there. It's a strange feeling especially when it is taking so long to lose the weight. The photo to the left (the after) is me in the 18 jeans. I even have some sitting room (I don't like tight jeans - comfort is king) :)

On the bad side, I realize that my current rather nasty knee/hamstring injury (which I aggravated yesterday by walking for 7 minutes... ** Sigh **) is because I was feeling a lot lighter on my feet and started jumping around like I did when I was in my 50's forgetting that there is a lot of difference between the age of 64 and anything below 60.

If this ever heals (and ANYTHING AT MY AGE heals slowly) then I think I will feel a lot lighter on my feet. And hopefully won't be so doggoned stupid next time.

I am still continuing the daily workout of course. But just making it low impact except when I decide to do something stupid.

August

2008-08-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

Somehow I managed to trim off 6 lbs since I last wrote this blog... not sure how. But I'm weighing 220 now and that's only 13 more than my lowest weight after Weight Watchers. I never really thought I'd get to this point and glad to be here.

Also I started B12 sublingual tabs and have noticed a definite improvement in muscle pain and fatigue etc. I take one a day. I've known I've had a B12 deficiency for a long time but push came to shove when I started to experience the symptoms of neuropathy... time to stop fooling around I said so here I am. I've only been on it for a week but I'm expecting an improvement of my gum problems. I hope.

Anyway, 6 lbs is the most I've lost in a month. And if I lose 6 lbs this month ... but won't hope for that. I'll be happy for 3 lbs.

1400 calories is the magic number. At that amount, I get NO gerd and wow is it a relief. Acid reflux symptoms get so old. I've had GERD all my life but of course, it, like everything else, gets worse with age.

Another pound down and musings

2008-07-23T11:40:00.000-07:00

Weight: 226 as of yesterday morning! Also I measured and found that my waist was 2 inches smaller than it was at my lowest weight on Weight Watchers (which is still about 16 lbs from where I am now)!

I am attributing this to the aerobics videos I'm doing. There is a lot of waist work included in all those videos i.e. the leg lifts etc. I've been doing 2 or 3 a week and then, the other days, I do biking or the Healthrider or the Gazelle Freestyle.

Yesterday I took a bike ride - it was really hot out and I was only going to stay out for 20 minutes but ended up with a 35 minute ride because I was having fun, even in the heat! :) The photo is from the place I rode around in, a large park!

So anyway, when I saw the photo I put up in the last blog, I realized I really HAVE lost weight. It's been so slow that I still feel like I look the same as I did 41 lbs ago. But the photo jolted me to reality (but a nice reality!).

I actually have not used a few photos of me because I thought that somehow the angle made me look "deceptively slim" but I am beginning to realize that I really LOOK like that and that I really weigh 226 and NOT 267!

Onward and upward...well... downward... weight-wise anyway :)

Another pound down

2008-07-20T04:26:00.000-07:00

Weighed in Thursday at 227 and have been consistantly weighing that since. That makes in an even 40 lbs that I lost. Somehow that feels like a milestone.

I also can wear my smaller panties which are more comfy than the larger ones. But I almost am afraid to start wearing them. It hasn't sunk in that I've lost so much weight!

Thursday, GG took a photo of my worst view... my rear and it looked pretty good. I made a comparison photo of Thursday's photo next to a photo taken in February 2007 when I was just starting my program. It is the photo to the left!

Today's exercise was a 41 minute bicycle ride in the heat... was 109 out but we had fun anyway! :)

2008-07-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

I'm finally down to 228. I know - 1 lb big deal. But I'll take it. That makes 39 lbs in all so one more pound and I'll hit an even 40.

Still sore. Trying to do aerobics twice a week to combat sarcopenia (muscle wasting in the aged). I am walking around with constant sore syndrome. Well, some of it is probably from arthritis.

Not much to report except I am now 20 lbs away from the magic place where I was after Weight Watchers the last time and 13 lbs away from a really good weight.

And sometimes it seems like 50! :\

My workout program looks something like this:
Biking 1-3 days a week, walking twice or three times a week, 20 - 30 minutes a time, gazelle freestyle once a week - 50 minutes and I work my upper body here also, trikke, 1-2 times a week, 20-30 minutes per time (three wheeled cambering vehicle) and aerobic dancing ala Richard Simmons or Jane Fonda (mostly Simmons), 2-3 times a week and Healthrider, once a week, 40 minutes. Thinking of adding Richard Simmons "Sweat and Tone".

I've been working out for 14 years by the way. But one has to shake things up every so often. During 2005, I opted for a few more points a day and easier workouts and that probably caused the weight gain. Now with sarcopenia hitting with a savage vengeance, I HAVE to cross train.

Onward and upward...

first post - introduction

2008-07-01T03:52:00.000-07:00

This blog will be about my on going battle with my weight. Briefly, in Jan 2007 I weighed 267 (after regaining 60 lbs from my low weight while in Weight Watchers). I cut 200 calories off my daily intake and lost slowly. In July I started a walking program i.e. added it to my already existent workout program which has been going on for 14 years. I have worked out daily since Aug 1, 1994. But in the last few years, I have succumbed to the easier workouts. Workout machines inside, a delightful HPV called a "trikke" and more. And I was losing my ability to walk for any distance. You see I am 63 years old and am suffering sarcopenia or the muscle wasting of the aged and unlike men, I have no nice testosterone floating around in my blood so basically if I don't move all my muscles twice a week and throw a couple of walks in there, I hurt a lot. I started walking several times a week last July (2007) and by November could walk some kind of distance (at least comfortably in the food store etc) and didn't hurt so much as I did for the first few months of my walking program. Raising the level of fitness at my age is very very hard.

In February 2008, I ended up lowering my daily intake to 1600 calories. And in March, I started doing aerobics tapes twice a week. Now THOSE are hard. I sweat like a pig, I have to pay close attention and they are just hard. But my back pain has already reduced greatly since I've been doing these.

So now I have gotten a low weight of 229 but of course, today on the last day when I weighed it was 230. I would love to get down to 207 or so - that's a nice weight for me although being in "one-der-land" would even be better.

Why I started a blog is so I could write about my frustration with this. It's SO slow. Like in June 2008, IF I really weigh 229 then I've lost only 2 lbs. Yet I know the slow way is the healthiest way and the best chance of keeping it off (IF I continue to journal my food every day and of course, keep up the most intense workouts).

I guess I started this NOW because I'm in the plateau from heck and maybe that IS The time I should be writing.

One more thing about me. I do not eat fast food or junk food. I am on a low fat diet (the old Susan Powter program - nothing below 20 percent fat) which is also supposed to be good for my arteries and heart. I have been low fat since 1996 or so and have not had fast food since then either.

If anyone is reading this, thanks for reading and more later! :)