Tag Archives: Weight loss

Let’s Eat – 2

April 21, 2013 dotyness Leave a comment

It’s time again! Here are some meal suggestions for the upcoming week with approximate calorie values. Like I said last week, your calorie budget will likely be different from mine. Make appropriate adjustments and EAT ENOUGH. You will sabotage yourself by eating too little as surely as you will by eating too much. Our goals should be to be healthier, not to be the media’s version of beautiful. We aren’t all built that way and it would be unhealthy for many of us if we did look that way. My friend Amanda has beautifully delicate bones. At a size 4, she looks fantastic. With my medium bones, at a size 4, you can see where my ribs join my sternum. It’s straight up nasty. Let’s be healthy and be the beautiful we were made to be rather than the one we’ve been told to be.

For breakfast, you’ll see three meals of steel cut oats. I like those for several reasons: 1. you can cook several servings at once and just warm them up when you need them, 2. by adding different things, you get vastly different meals, 3. they have a wonderful texture and flavor, and 4. they stick with you, providing good energy for busy mornings.

On this list, you will find crunchy natural peanut butter. I use the natural kind because I don’t want anything other than peanuts and salt in my peanut butter. Smuckers makes a good one; but, Publix, Kroger and Walmart all sell a store brand. It does cost a little more than homogenized peanut butter and you have to mix the oil in (or pour it off, like I do), but you’re not getting added sugar or palm oil.

Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning is listed a couple of times. If you don’t have that in your kitchen, stop right now. Go get some and don’t let yourself ever run out again. It’s great on nearly everything and adds either mild or frightening kick depending on your taste buds. I use it in eggs, on chicken, on fish, on steamed vegetables…..

Thanks for reading and, please, enjoy your food, enjoy your week and share your favorite menus and recipes with us!

Breakfast

1 c. fat-free cottage cheese, 1 navel orange – 290
1/4 c (uncooked) steel cut oats, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 2 tbsp ground flax seed meal, 1 tbsp raw honey – 324
1/4 c (uncooked) steel cut oats, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 2 tbsp ground flax seed meal, 1 tbsp molasses – 324
1 whole egg, 2 egg whites, 1/4 c. chopped onion, 1/4 tsp Tony Chachere’s sesoning, 1 c. raw spinach – 110
1/4 c (uncooked) steel cut oats, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 2 tbsp ground flax seed meal, 1 sm. mashed banana – 354
1 mini bagel, 1/2 tbsp crunchy natural peanut butter, 1/2 tbsp reduced sugar raspberry jelly – 171
4 oz Jenny O sweet Italian turkey sausage link, 1 egg, 1/4 c. chopped onion – 237

Mid-morning snack

1 apple – 72
1 apple, 1 tbsp crunchy natural peanut butter – 167
1 stick light string cheese, 1 c. seedless red grapes – 154
4 tbsp hummus, 20 baby carrots – 280
1 stick light string cheese, 1 c. red seedless grapes – 119
1 large banana – 110
1 grapefruit – 120

Lunch

2 c. iceberg lettuce, 1/4 c. onions, 25 g dark meat chicken, 3/4 c. black beans, 2 tbsp Marzetti Spinach salad dressing, 1 pc Laughing Cow semi-soft jalapeno cheese – 380
1 c. raw spinach, 2 c. Italian salad mix, 10 boiled shrimp, 2 tbsp Ken’s Light Parmesan & Peppercorn dressing – 158
1 c. fat-free cottage cheese, 1 navel orange – 290
1/2 oz deli ham, 1.5 oz. genoa salami, 1/2 slice deli roast beef, 1 c. shredded lettuce, 1 tbsp. parmesan cheese – 221
1 c. Italian salad mix, 1 c. raw spinach, 2 tbsp Marzetti spinach salad dressing – 88
1 c. Italian salad mix, 1 c. raw spinach, 2 tbsp Marzetti spinach salad dressing, 10 boiled shrimp – 148
Wendy’s grilled chicken sandwich – 350

Mid-afternoon snack

1 whole mango – 65
2 oz English Walnuts – 370
4 tbsp hummus, 20 baby carrots – 280
Fiber One chocolate peanut butter brownie – 90
1 mini bagel, 1/2 tsp crunchy natural peanut butter – 158
1 c. seedless red grapes – 69
1 navel orange – 62

Dinner

1/3 serving grilled chicken nachos (El Pollo Loco), 6 grilled chicken wings – 582
4 oz baked Swai, 2 thin slices bacon, 1 c. steamed collard greens, 1 c. steamed turnip greens, 1 medium baked sweet potato, 1/4 tsp Tony Chachere’s seasoning – 391
1 c. collard greens, 1 thin slice bacon, 1/2 c. white beans – 242
1 baked chicken leg quarter, 1 c. steamed yellow squash, 1 c. steamed spinach – 248
6 oz baked chicken breast, 1 c. red seedless grapes, 1 c. iceberg lettuce, 2 tbsp Ken’s Light raspberry pecan vinaigrette – 324
1 c. Italian salad mix, 1 c. raw spinach, 2 tbsp Ken’s light options balsamic vinaigrette, 10 boiled shrimp – 148
Ruby Tuesday’s Barbecue grilled chicken meal (fit & trim) – 345

Evening Snack

1 pc string light string cheese – 50
1 c. dark chocolate almond milk – 120
1/2 c. fat-free cottage cheese, 1 navel orange – 142
3 c. popped kettle corn (Pop Secret) – 105
1 pc Babybel 70
1 Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich – 140
4 oz. Oikos caramel yogurt 110

Eating Out, Habits

Not Such a Smart Cookie

April 18, 2013 dotyness 4 Comments

Yesterday, we had a training session during lunch; so, my company brought in boxed lunches from Panera Bread. Yum! All of the lunches were half salad and sandwich combos, which was great. I ate my salad, ate the meat from my sandwich and I ate half my bag of chips. That would have been a good lunch, and at 221 calories, at a great calorie count. However.

You see? There was this chocolate walnut duet cookie in there, too. (Insert movie music indicating danger.)

I ate half the cookie and congratulated myself on eating only half. Not so bad, right? Huh.

That HALF of the cookie had 220 calories! TWO. HUNDRED. TWENTY. As much as the whole rest of my lunch!

When I got home, I walked/ran 1.3 miles in 18 minutes. I burned about 150 calories. I was gasping for air, sweating like a horse, and smelling like a goat herder. And I didn’t burn off that half cookie. It was a good cookie, don’t get me wrong, but, sugar, ain’t NO cookie THAT good. I should have done what I used to do which was to check the cookie’s nutritional information BEFORE I put it in my gullet.

Plan food. Check the nutritional information before eating. Spend your calorie budget wisely.

Now THAT’S a smart cookie.

Accountability, Exercise

A Calculated Walk in the Park

April 17, 2013 dotyness 3 Comments

My exercise yesterday was shopping. I know. That doesn’t count. Actually, it does. I walked around the store for over 90 minutes. For 90 minutes I was walking, not sitting, While it wasn’t strenuous exercise for me, it would have counted had I been at the part; so, it counts when I was in Target.

Now, my walk in the park with the pups on Monday was considerably more strenuous. We walked 2 miles at 3.7 mph. Now, you know that math is not my best subject; so, how do I know that’s how fast we walked? I have an app on my phone called Cardio Trainer. The free version tracks how far and how fast I go using my phone’s GPS. It gives me updates along the walk or run to let me know how far I’ve gone. Using the weight I’ve input, it also tells me how many calories I burned and it equates those calories to something I can relate to. The walk on Monday burned two pears’ worth of calories!

It allows me to input all my workouts manually to track everything I do. It will also keep track of all my walks over time; so, in a month or so, it will tell me how far I’ve walked in total and how that relates to my region. By the end of summer, I will have walked to Chattanooga and back, two or more miles at a time, without ever leaving home!

Cardio Trainer has an associated food diary app called Noom. I downloaded that free version last night and will let you know how that goes.

As I told you earlier, I used LoseIt to lose weight before and I’ve been using MyFitnessPal this time. The more I use MyFitnessPal, the less impressed I am, actually. The food diary seems really random and disorganized. That’s such a shame! I had such high hopes for it.

I know there are tons of these programs out there. What are you all using and what do you think of it?

Exercise, Habits, Motivation

Baby Steps Count

April 16, 2013 dotyness 1 Comment

When I first started losing weight, I can’t tell you how many people lamented that they, too, would lose weight if only they could exercise. My thought was that unless you are a quadriplegic, you can. Then, I injured my knee.

I couldn’t exercise in the ways I had been and in the ways I wanted; so, I pretty much just stopped. I pouted, threw a little pity party complete with cake and ice cream….and elastic waistbands until I forgot how I started.

I walked the dogs.

So, you can’t run a marathon. Walk. So, you can’t walk far. Walk a little and build up. You can’t walk fast. Walk slowly. Walk the dogs. Park further from the grocery store door. Eventually, take the stairs instead of the elevator. You don’t have to be able to climb Everest today. It will wait while you work up to it!

I have a friend whose knees are in such hideous shape that even thinking about how they grind and pop makes me shiver. She can swim. She can do leg lifts. She can lift weights with her arms. She can still move.

Remember how when we were children we ran everywhere just because we could? We experienced the joy of movement! Find something that lets you feel that joy again. I felt it yesterday just walking from my office to the nearby grocery store. I felt my muscles waking, stretching, and contracting as they corrected my balance and allowed me to move. Our bodies are truly wondrous machines!

After work, the pups and I went to the park and had a nice, long walk like we used to. We felt the warm sun and the cool breeze. We smelled the perfume of the flowering trees. They spotted a deer and tried to go befriend it (I’m sure that’s what they had in mind). They loved it. I loved it.

It’s a beautiful time of year to start – to remember the joy of moving and the wonder of Spring. It may be a little cliché to say that we should let the season remind us of our own potential, new beginnings and growth; but, why waste a good cliché? Let’s use it! Let’s start again.

Accountability, Exercise, Motivation

Monday Morning Blues

April 15, 2013 dotyness Leave a comment

So, I weighed in this morning expecting at least a pound lost and….no. Nada. Nothing. C’mon! As long as I’ve been doing this and as many real causes as my mind can give, this still frustrates me, particularly at 5 AM.

I’ve run into this several times during this last couple of years. Here are some possible culprits:

The fact that I’m a woman in child-bearing years. Girls, you know what I’m talking about. Did you know that we can retain as much as nearly five pounds of water? I feel like a camel.
Too much wheat. My first week at my new job saw me eating about 10 meals of Cheerios and a couple of meals that involved mini bagels. While my calorie counts were okay, too many of those calories were supplied by wheat. I don’t know if all the studies are valid; so, I don’t know that wheat causes weight gain. I just know that, for me, too much wheat makes me feel bloated.
Too much fruit. When I first switched my food choices and when I’ve had to pull myself back onto the wagon, I found that eating a lot of fruit during those first weeks was really helpful with cravings. I had quite a bit of refined sugar in my diet, which just wreaks havoc with my blood sugar. To help me stay with healthful food choices, I replaced the refined sugars with fruit, then decreased the amount of fruit to cut overall sugar consumption. It’s time for me to cut my fruit consumption down to two servings a day. I’ve seen diet plans that recommend that you not eat apples. Apples are actually VERY helpful for me. They are sweet, colorful, crunchy, and full of both fiber and flavor; so, they satisfy my appetite in several ways. You just have to try it for yourself and see how your body does with them.
No enough exercise. I have pretty much been wiped out when I get home at night and have not been getting any movement in. That simply won’t do. For my weight, for my heart, for my muscles, for my bones – I must exercise.

So, what are my solutions and goals for this week?

Nothing much I can do about that whole girl thing but wait it out and drink a lot of water to keep my system flushing.
I have to reduce my wheat intake. This week, I will have no more than two servings of wheat. I will satisfy my grain requirements with oats, brown rice and quinoa.
I will have no more than two fruit servings per day.
I will get in at least four hours of exercise this week that will include at least five days.

If we are connected on MyFitnessPal, you can hold me accountable for my exercise – and I EXPECT YOU TO! If you don’t see me moving during the week, send me a little nudge. If we are not connected on MyFitnessPal, why aren’t we? Connect with me and let me know your goals and how you’re doing. Let’s help each other.

The keys to breaking through this stall are:

modify my behavior. To get different results, I must do different things.
(and this is most important) DO NOT ALLOW OLD, NEGATIVE THINKING PATTERNS TO DEFEAT ME.

I have been my own worst enemy. It is long past time I became my own best friend and defender.

Motivation

Putting My Back Into It

April 10, 2013 dotyness 2 Comments

I have either had or believed I had a weight problem most of my life. I have lost weight and found it all again; but, most of the time, I’ve just wished I could lose weight or (at least) said that I wanted to. I haven’t REALLY done much about it other than to lose and gain the same ten pounds about a hundred times. If there were a Frequent Loser instead of a Biggest Loser, I’d be the Grand Champion! Several people have asked me what made this difference this time. What made me stick with it? What made it work?

I would soooo love to give you some fantastic formula. (Oh, who am I kidding? I’d love to SELL you some fantastic formula!) But I just don’t have one. The truth is – I don’t know.

Maybe it was realizing that I am approaching menopause when weight loss will be more difficult. Maybe it was realizing that the health risks associated with obesity weren’t just risks anymore, but were becoming real and showing up in my blood pressure. Maybe it was wanting to meet my grandchildren someday. Maybe it was losing those first 20 pounds so quickly. Maybe it was some combination. I don’t know.

As a senior in college, I spoke with a professor when I was thinking about attending law school. “Doty, ” he said, “you’ll fail. And when you do, you’ll be devastated. You’ll fail not because you’re not smart enough, but because you don’t want it enough.”

He was right. It wasn’t important enough for me to put my back into it. I didn’t want it enough to give it everything I had. I would have failed. If I had wanted it badly enough, his words wouldn’t have stopped me – but they did.

Maybe, the answer for why the lifestyle change worked this time is just that simple. Maybe I didn’t want it enough before.

Maybe this time, I wanted comfort, health, and possible grandchildren more than I wanted Phish Food. Maybe this time I believed it was the worth the effort to save my own life.

Maybe this time, I valued myself enough to put my back into it.

Body Changes, Habits, Motivation

It’s Not MY Butt That’s Dragging!

April 9, 2013 dotyness Leave a comment

I love hockey. I love going to the games, sitting in the stands, yelling my head off. When the Preds do something great, I jump up and cheer.

When I first started going to games, though, I couldn’t jump up. The armrests blocked my hips. I had to turn sideways a little before I got up. The truth is, that’s embarrassing – realizing that you don’t fit into a seat at an arena.

Me in the hangar — Side shot illustrating how overweight I was.

The last time I flew before my lifestyle change, I realized that I didn’t fit completely in my own airline seat, either. I didn’t have to ask for a seatbelt extension; but, that seatbelt wouldn’t have held much more. I’m sure the person sitting beside me didn’t love sharing their row with me, either. I wasn’t actually IN their seat, but all kinds of encroachment was going on. That’s embarrassing – realizing that you don’t fit into a seat on an airliner.

Those situations were real, tangible demonstrations that I was bigger than I thought I was. If you don’t fit into a seat in a room decorated with finger paintings, you’re in a kindergarten. If you don’t fit into a seat in a lecture hall, you’re in a world of trouble.

Now, let’s fast forward 11 months from my new birthday (July 24). On a gorgeous June Saturday, we went canoeing down the Harpeth River. Winter and Spring had been on the dry side, leaving the river a little low. On several occasions, our canoe dragged the gravel on the bottom of the river. Embarrassed, I shifted my weight each time, trying to wriggle us off the gravel bars. At some point, I realized that my efforts had no effect. Huh. Curious. Then it occurred to me: it wasn’t MY butt that was dragging!

I wanted to sing!!!

Me at near my goal weight — Near my goal weight

I turned to the man I was seeing, a height/weight proportionate tall man, and announced that it wasn’t me! It wasn’t my fault we were dragging! I was thrilled. He thought I was nuts.

You see, he’d never had a big weight problem and he’d never known me at my biggest. He had no idea what it felt like to be truly and deeply embarrassed about his size. But I do. And, perhaps you do, too.

People who have quite literally always fit likely can’t appreciate the wonderful, liberating lightness that comes with not being the one weighing everyone down. But I do. And I know that you can, too.

Exercise, Habits, Thought Patterns

Move It

April 5, 2013 dotyness Leave a comment

If you have a fat dog, you’re not getting enough exercise.

Doctors always tell you that to lose weight you have to change your diet AND exercise. Now, let me let you in on something here: I hate to break a sweat. Seriously. Hate. It. I don’t mind so much once I’m sweaty, but crossing that barrier just grosses me out something awful. Plus, I would really rather just sit on the couch. The sitting on the couch routine was killing me; so, it was time to adjust.

The truth is, my Labrador was a little chunky. So, my exercise started with walking my dogs three times a week. I started walking for 30 minutes at a moderate pace. As the days passed, I added distance. Then I added speed until the pups and I were walking 5 miles in 70 minutes. The Lab and I were dragging at the end of that. The Soup Hound was grateful for the warm up. Nobody likes it when one of the party is that perky after such a workout.

I bought some yoga discs that I did at home once or twice a week. I started slipping more accidental exercise – parking further from the door, taking my shopping cart all the way back in the store, that sort of thing – nothing particularly strenuous. Before I hurt my knee, I ran one day a week – 2.5 miles on the last time, I went to kickboxing three times a week, I used yard work as exercise one day a week and I went to the batting cages and driving range one day a week. That day was a light exercise day; but, movement is movement. It counted and it was fun.

As I told you, after I hurt my knee, I went sedentary again. However, I’ve joined one of those 24 gym places now and had my first workout with a trainer. I couldn’t move afterwards. It was discouraging. BUT – I know that as I keep going and keep working, I will see results.

Walking, cycling and using the elliptical machines increase endurance. Sit-ups, push-ups, and planks strengthen core and upper body. Squats strengthen legs and rear. These things will work. I know they do – they did before.

The biggest challenge then – and now – is making myself go. I can find a million reasons why I should do something other than exercise. To be honest, I’m still struggling with that right now as I am more mobile.

What do you use to motivate yourself?

Accountability, Food, Habits

Accountability To Myself

April 3, 2013 dotyness Leave a comment

I Ate What?

Like I said, I had no clue what I was eating. I was astounded to find out and I found our using a very simple tool – a food diary.

The one I used was LoseIt!.

You can find it at LoseIt.com and they have a great app for your smart phone. You can log your food and your exercise either online or on your phone; so, there’s no excuse not to get things input. I used their free version which has a few deficits. I don’t know what the features are for their paid version are.

Their food database is extensive with lots of restaurant foods included. I can scan bar codes for a super fast input and can add my own foods and recipes. Since I make my own spaghetti gravy, I have to calculate each ingredient individually, then figure out the nutrients per serving. As long as I make it the same way every time (fat chance), I have to do that only once.

Their exercise database is also pretty extensive and it allows me to add my own, as well. However, the exercise duration times are only in blocks of five minutes. If you’re maintaining your weight or if you are exercising for a couple of hours a day (yikes), fudging a minute or two is no big deal in the larger scheme of things. BUT, when I first started, I could run only a couple of minutes. I could manage only ten or so sit-ups and, by golly, I wanted every drop of sweat to count. This app (at least the free version) didn’t let me account for that.

The one I’m going to use this time is MyFitnessPal.

I’ve played with their free version a little bit, but I’m still not totally familiar with it. Like LoseIt, I can log my information either online or on my phone.

Their food database is also extensive and includes lots of restaurant foods. The one issue I’ve encountered is that there are sometimes duplicate entries for the same item. The duplicate entries may list different nutritional value for the same item. I normally choose the entry with the highest caloric value. Even if my calorie count then ends up artificially high for that day making it look like I ate at least my minimum calories when I didn’t, that error won’t happen every day; so, it’s not like my long-term progress is going to get knocked off track. While LoseIt also tracks carb, protein and fat calories consumed, it doesn’t tell me which categories I’m light and heavy on. MyFitnessPal does and I like that. I like being able to look at my daily summary and see that I need to concentrate on vegetables at my next meal. This app also allows me to add my own recipes so that next time I cook up a big old batch of Peel-a-Pound soup, it’s already in the database.

Their exercise database is also extensive and lets me add my own. The real plus here is that I can count every. single. minute. of exercise. I don’t have to do five minutes of sit-ups, two minutes will count. They won’t count for much, but they will count. As my friend Trish says, “Ounces make pounds.” Calories ingested or burned account for ounces on or off. Each one counts.

Both of these programs allow me to share my exercise and my weight loss (or gain) via Facebook and Twitter. I really like that. My friends and family have been an invaluable cheering section throughout my process. It’s like a group weight loss program stacked with a group of people who already love me. It’s great!!! (By the way, neither site posts your actual weight. I was a little worried about thaton account of I was a big girl.)

I would like to be able to change the caloric value for restaurant foods, but neither application allows me to do that. For instance, if I order a Cobb salad at Chili’s, but I ask them to hold the cheese, croutons and dressing, my salad is going to have fewer calories than the one listed in the database. To get an accurate count, I would need to measure the remaining ingredients and build a recipe, which is just not going to happen sitting there in the dining area. It would be nice if the salad in the database had check boxes underneath for all ingredients. You could check the ones you didn’t eat and the calorie count would adjust accordingly. I’m sure that’s an absurd amount of programing work or maybe their paid versions already let you do that. Hey! If you know, tell me!

Also, if you use, have used or know of another food diary (besides a note pad and pen, please) share it with us!

The big thing with these applications is that they are effective only as long as you use them and are honest with yourself. If you ate two cups of Cheerios rather than the 3/4 cup serving listed, then count that. That fish stick you ate to clean off your child’s plate must show up in your diary. Lying to ourselves and/or being oblivious about what we eat is one of the reasons we can’t zip our pants now!

Together, let’s be honest with and accountable to ourselves in all things. Nobody else has to know ; however, we are worth that attention! Let’s make sure we get it.

Accountability, Body Changes, Food, Habits

Who Is That Fat Woman?

March 31, 2013 dotyness Leave a comment

I’ve had a weight problem almost all of my life; however, when I saw photos from a family Memorial Day event in 2011, I was surprised to see how big I had gotten. In my mind, I was around a size 14. In the real world, I was a size 20 and still going up. Surprised as I was, I was not motivated to make any kind of real change.

Oh, sure. I told myself I was dieting and cut out my daily Snickers bar, but that was really it. You see, that was kind of my life-long pattern. The Big Diet Lie, as it were. Don’t look at me like that. You know you’ve done it, too. “Oh, no more lasagne for me. I’m on a diet.” Meanwhile, back at the ranch, you scarf an entire box of low-fat cookies. Hey, but they’re low fat. Stop it. You know you don’t even believe that.

I had lost significant amounts of weight using both The Diet Center program and Nutrisystem when I was in my twenties. With the Diet Center program, I cooked my own food. Nutrisystem was just like it is now – super, super easy. I just wasn’t commited enough to myself to keep the weight off with either program.

When I made the decision this time to actually lose weight, I remembered the food list from the Diet Center program. Unfortunately, their store fronts have long gone out of business and the books are no longer in print. So, I went to abebooks.com (my most favoritest book site) to get a copy of the cookbook and of the program guide. The books are written by Sybil Ferguson who devised the program for her own health. I also bought a book called Your Body Knows Best about eating for your blood type, metabolism and heritage. I combined those two programs and came up with a group of foods that work for me.

The short description of the list is this: lots of fresh fruits & vegetables, no canned foods or premade sauces (they hide all kinds of sugar, sodium and preservatives in canned and jarred food – read the labels, they”ll scare you to death), meat-free Mondays (or just some day of the week), fish one day a week, no more than one diet soft drink a day (down from 6 or 7 cans a day!), and absurd amounts of water. A daily multi-vitamin ensured that my vitamins and minerals weren’t all flushed out by the copious amounts of water I drank. I also took flax seed and fish oil supplements to help curb cravings. My body craves red meat; so, I eat it. My dad had a calf slaughtered before it got into the meat processing system. The cuts are leaner from this grass-fed calf (which also hadn’t been treated with all those antibiotics necessary for cattle in stockyards); however, even with fattier cuts, I just counted the calories. A good piece of roast beef from time to time isn’t going to kill me and if it keeps me from craving worse things, then, in the balance, it’s the best move for me.

I ate three meals and three snacks a day, keeping my mealtimes as routine as possible. For me, this regular intake of calories kept my blood sugar steady which kept me alert and hunger pang free. I’ve read that the body often signals the need for fluid by making you feel hungry; so, if I found myself feeling peckish outside of routine meal times, I drank a large glass of water or a cup of hot herbal tea. If the water trick didn’t work, I brushed my teeth. That minty feeling often cut off hunger at the pass.

I do not buy sugar free cookies or candies since they actually contain sugar alcohol which, I have discovered, makes me hungry. For 110 calories, I can have two pieces of sugar free candy and be hungry enough to gnaw off my own fist in 30 minutes, or I can have a large banana and be satisfied for two hours. For the same reason, I rarely ate pasta or white breads. Any bread that I ate came from the store bakery, from the farmers’ market or from my own oven. Since the stuff sold on the shelves takes so long to mold, it scares me. I’d rather buy from a local baker, pay a little more, put some in the freezer to keep it fresh and know that I’m reducing the preservatives in my diet.

I would estimate that the first 40 to 50 pounds were lost basically to changing food choices and habits. It was phenomenal! But, did you notice how an awful lot of those habit descriptions involved the past tense? Tomorrow, I’ll tell you why.

The Daily Doty