first post - introduction

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! :)