My Dieting Domain

Most of my life I have been a small person. I am 4 foot 10 and was always thin. Then I had kids, in my mid 30's. And I couldn't get that baby weight off, but frankly I had a good marriage ( and still do ) so I didn't care so much about my weight and they way I looked. My husband loved me and that was good enough for me. I would eat what I wanted, when I wanted. Not a good thing. Before I knew it I was 151 pounds, way to much for my small stature. But I was still at the same place, I didn't care because I had a loving husband. In June of 2008 I turned 50. Both of my parents passed away in their mid 60's. That was only 15 years away. And we all know how fast that can go. So I decided to make a change. It was time to lose the weight and get active for my health.

I didn't know quite what to do so I started to ask around and research diets. Finally I decided to give one particular diet a try. I met a lady who sold Herbalife products and I liked what she had to say so I decided to try the diet for one month. Herbalife is a soy based product, with soy shakes and nutritional supplements. I had tried diet shakes before but they tasted so awful that I didn't stick with them for long. But the Herbalife shakes were actually very tasty.  I had my doubts but what did I have to lose. Imagine my surprise when after that month I had lost 8 pounds. Without exercise. I was still sitting on my behind doing nothing. So I thought I would try for another month. And I lost another 5 pounds. My size 14 jeans were starting to sag. Now I was getting serious. I started to walk just a bit at the beginning of the 3rd month. A mile about killed me, my legs hurt, but I was determined that I was going to do this. For the first few weeks I walked a mile a day. As my legs got used to the walking I increased this to 1 mile twice a day. I was starting to feel better everyday. Eventually over a period of 1 year I have increased my walking to about 4 miles in one trip. Some days I walk a 2nd time, usually about 2 miles. The pounds were coming off and I was on a roll. My hubby had to add a new button to my jeans or I would have walked right out of them.

After the 3rd month I had lost a total of 17 pounds. I was now in my size 10 jeans and they were lose. Cool beans. Now I stepped up my exercise routine. I got a stationary bike for christmas and would ride that when the roads were to icy to walk safely. Some days I would ride that bike 20 miles. I was becoming obsessed. I purchased an exercise ball and resistance cords, my son had weights that I also started to use. I read somewhere that if you do the same exercises everyday your muscles become used to them and its harder to do enough to make a difference, so I started to take a day off now and then and do different exercises on different days. This seemed to help. Today I usually do 20 minutes of cardio exercise, a bit of weight lifting and then I walk or ride. I was burning calories like mad. But all of a sudden the weight stopped coming off. I talked to my Herbalife coach and she told me something I found amazing. " To burn calories you must consume calories". I was burning more than I was consuming. Your body thinks its starving and everything you eat turns into fat. OH my God. I couldn't let that happen so I started to watch my calorie intake and calories burned. I fixed that problem and the weight started to come off again. I also learned a lot about metabolism. First to get your metabolism revved up after a night of sleep, its best to eat within 45 minutes of your feet hitting the ground. Then half way between breakfast and lunch a small snack to keep your metabolism burning hot. Again another snack between lunch and dinner for the same reason. And protein is wonderful for making lean muscle. Soy is a wonderful veggie. It is a complete protein, the only vegetable that is. I had the soy thing covered with my Herbalife shakes. I was on a roll.

I started at 151 pounds and today I weigh 120, and would like to lose another 5 pounds. I was in size 14 jeans and now I can fit into a size 4 but they are a bit tight. I am wearing a size 6 but they are a bit lose. I couldn't be happier. I still exercise 4 to 5 days a week. And I watch what I eat. I cheat now and then for my mental health, but I cheat small. When I have to have something sweet I have it right away. I don't deny myself because when I do then I cheat big. But I have to say there is one thing that came out of all this that will always be better than the weight lost. I used to have at least one migraine a month and 3 to 5 stress or tension headaches a week. I have not had a migraine in over a year and my weekly headaches have almost all disappeared. I do occasionally have headaches but not like I used to. I don't know if its the lack of sugar or the good nutrition or even the weight loss but I love my head not hurting. I am not pouring ibuprofen down my throat everyday and that is a good thing. I have promised myself that I will never be overweight again and will continue with my exercises. So far so good.