Diet Update

This picture was taken October 2009. I am usually the one behind the camera and rarely ever see myself in a picture so this was a rude awakening for me. I had allowed the pounds to creep on. Working part time in a plus size women's clothing store didn't help matters either.

At 192 pounds, I hardly recognized myself anymore, with a round face, double chin, large belly and what I called my bubble butt. I hated it! It was painful to garden and I had difficulty even putting on my shoes. Not only that, I was beginning to have serious health issues. I had become a diabetic and I was having dangerously high blood pressure. My hips, legs and feet hurt all of the time. I felt terrible.

I am a stress eater, and there had been significant, never ending, stress for about four years. I put on 20 pounds in 2009 after my dad's bout with lung cancer, my mother-in-law's nursing home injury and surgery, her significant weight loss and end stage Alzheimer's. My husband also lost his job. I needed a lot of comfort food! I love to eat and I am a sugar/carb addict. The more I eat, the more I crave.

The worst part was the guilt. I have over 100 diet and nutrition books in my personal library and have read many more from the library. I am a health nut wannabe. I was not being true to myself and I felt so incredibly guilty for eating all of the processed junk food. Something had to change.

On January 1, I started a healthy diet plan. Eating only fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean cuts of meat. No sugar, no coffee and nothing processed. After the first three or four days I no longer had cravings and I started to actually enjoy what I was eating. The weight came off...without exercise. I have lost 35 pounds! Really, I lost a total of 38 but those last few pounds keep fluctuating.

I used the timer on the camera and took a few pictures to record my progress.

The sad part about losing weight is that I can no longer wear my favorite denim jackets and the clothing budget is rather small right now.

These jeans were actually too tight for me and I couldn't wear them when I started my diet. (I had already packed away the larger size.)

I am down four sizes! I know that I still have some weight to lose and it will come off more slowly now, but that is OK. I'm happy! At 48 years old, I never thought I'd see a size 12 again!

The best part is not even the weight loss, but the health benefits. I no longer have high blood pressure and I can control my diabetes with diet so I have not had to get on medications. After seeing my mom suffer for years with diabetes and eventually die from surgery complications due to the disease, I am motivated more than ever to stick with this healthy eating plan.

My next goal is to start exercising consistently. I don't think I'll lose much more weight until I do that. Really, my husband doesn't want me to lose any more weight. I'm 5'7" and I weighed 110 pounds when we got married and he honestly likes the size I am. So my goal now is just to be healthy and more physically fit. If I lose more weight in the process, hopefully he won't mind too much.

I know weight is a very personal and sensitive issue, I hope that I haven't offended anyone by sharing about my weight loss. I wanted to share just in case there are those who might need encouragement to change their diet and get healthier!