I've made my goal weight -
5 1/2 months on the beach.....
For the last few days I've been hovering right above my goal weight of 190...this morning I made it...it's a great feeling....
The numbers:
start weight: 235
now: 190
weight loss: 45lbs
pant size before: 40-42
pant size now: 34
t-shirt before: XXL
t-shirt now: L
Health: had a physical last week...everything is now normal and within good range.
How did I get here?
As I think back, I've always had a weight problem. I was a chubby kid. In high school I played football and westled. Going out for high school sports helped me keep control of the weight.
After high school I gained weight when I started college...I'm a true child of the sixties and an old hippie...I'm sure that 35 years of the munchies contributed to my weight gain...
In early 1970 I lost my student deferment, got drafted, and lost all the weight I had gained in college during basic training...got married the first time and gained a bunch...got divorced and lost a bunch living a crazy lifestyle.
When I met my DW in 1980 I weighed 178 pounds....by 1990 I weighed 215...by 1993 I weighed 250...started exercising and dropped to 215...quit exercising and have been fluctuating between 222 and 236 since.
This last year it seemed that the weight was just getting out of control more than before. I was not getting below 225 anymore. I was eating a ton of bad carbs. When I look back at how much I was eating, it's amazing that I didn't weigh a lot more. I was out of control and headed for the danger zone. I turned 53 on 12/26/03 and realized I need to do something and soon.
On Saturday, Jan. 3, 2004 my wife and I were at Walmart. I saw the SBD book, picked it up and thumbed through it. Went home and started researching on the web. Went back and bought the book on Jan. 7. I started the SBD WOE on Jan. 9, 2004 and haven't looked back.
I've used the book and the good fats good carbs guide as my daily guide. I rely on the information, food lists and recipes to help me decide what I am going to eat. I rely on package lables, nutrition guides, glysemic index, etc. to help me decide how much I should eat. I've entered most of what I eat into fitday.com and I'm consuming between 1700 and 2000 calories a day without hunger. This is probably half of what I used to consume. At this point good carb items are usually between 75 and 125 gr. per day. My stomach has shrunk and I get satisfied/full much quicker than before. I haven't used many recipies from the book. We come up with our own based on what we like.
When I first started the SBD it seemed confusing. I guess I wanted the book to tell me exactly what to eat, how much and when. I just don't think that this WOE is designed to be that way. It's not a 'cookie cutter' WOE. It can be used in many different ways by different people and still achieve good results.
I think that this WOE requires that I be fully engaged and pay a lot of attention to what I eat. The book seems to intentionally require that I make choices about what I eat and how much. I think that this is what has allowed me to change my eating behavior so that healthy eating comes as naturally to me as my unhealthy ways were.
I do best when I don't eat anything after dinner until the next morning. Besides quiting the bread and sweets, this may be my biggest change. For someone who was back in the kitchen within an hour after dinner for most of my adult life, I have got to the point that I don't miss the evening snacks at all.
I try not to eat any sugar, sweets, white bread/flour, pasta,potatos, etc. it's amazing that I really don't miss them. I don't use any LC products (frankenfoods) other than tortillas, fudgecicles and Dreamfields Pasta. No bars, SF ice cream, or ANYTHING with sugar alcohols.
I've used 1% milk, 1% cottage cheese, and limited amounts of regular cheese since starting and have still continued to lose weight. I've had a LF latte almost everyday(I'm addicted) after dinner with no ill effect.
I read every lable to make sure that I understand the fats, carbs, fiber, and added sugars BEFORE I buy.
I'm very goal oriented and would have liked to have lost the weight quicker, but, I realized early on that this isn't a race. It took me a long time to put the weight on and it took a long to take it all off. Even when the weight loss was slow I knew that I was better off with this WOE.
SBD really boils down to 4 simple things:
1. Don't eat bad carbs - eat good carbs.
2. Don't eat bad fats - eat good fats.
3. Don't overeat and maintain portion control.
4. Get some exercise - any is better than none.
I think that the SBD is really just a very healthy WOE and for the most part is information that I've known at some level for a long time. It provides balance and comes very naturally...kind of like my body is saying "yea, now you've got it".
I've been hanging around this forum since I started SBD...I'd like to say the the information and learning I've gained here is invaluable. I've learned from the folks in the Atkins, General Low Carb, and the other plan forums. It's helped me gain insight what I was doing and trying to accomplish. There are a lot of "weight loss heros" on these boards.
Early on I received support and inspiration from LAwoman an Bill L which motivated me to really get into to the WOL. Over the longer period of time I've looked to Monika (Monika4) and Maggie(maggieb), for support and inspiration. I also appreciate all of the posts and support that Jenn(Elsah), provides on this forum...it seems she always has time to answer questions no matter how many times she has answered them previously.
I'm here to tell you that I truly believe that my journey over the last 5 1/2 months has not only saved my life, but changed it for the better in every way I can think of.
Sorry for the long rant...I just wanted to share some of my experience and let folks know that the SBD WOE really does work. Is it perfect? No. You need patience and persistence. You need to do your own research. You need to experiment to find which allowed foods help you lose and which ones slow or stall your loss.
While this WOE may not be for everyone...it sure has worked for me...
SBD ROCKS....onward!
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WOO-HOOO! Way to go, pstar!
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