About me, my first entry (and the longest!)
Welcome to my blog!
A bit about me........
My weight loss journey started at a very young age and my life filled with diets until I gave up years ago when nothing seemed to help. In October 2001, at a weight of 406, I underwent gastric bypass, a Roux en Y procedure, with stomach stapling and a duodenal (intestinal) bypass. This has left me with a lifelong need of supplements for nutrition, and more importantly, multiple food intolerances, in particular to concentrated sweets and fats. The later, I view as a good thing. I lost 150 lbs within the first year then stabilized and slowly started to regain. I am not sure how much, but somewhere around 60-70 lbs. This was before I bought my current scale. I had lost weight in the past, but it always came back on and always took tremendous effort of abstaining and extreme exercise. The last largest weight loss in my early 30s included hiking 40 miles a week, jogging 2 miles a day before work and strict calorie restriction. That was my last real weight loss before my surgery. The lifestyle was unsustainable.
Never have I allowed my weight to keep me from accomplishing goals. I am well educated, a professional who has attained much in life. I am truly blessed and I truly believe my struggles and battles have strengthened me as a person and given me a compassion for people that is unique and assists me in life. I regret nothing. The only larger influence for me has been my faith. Proudly, I am a born again, bible believing Christian, who devotes my heart and life to Jesus. Hence, this blog is not a faith based one, it is a weight loss one.
It all started with a random post on Facebook. A woman, God bless her, posted in a keto group that I followed (for recipes) about her weight loss of over 200 lbs on a WFPB (Whole Food Plant Based) diet. I messaged her asking how long she had kept it off. She replied 2 years. She follows the Dr. Gregor diet which is vegan, excluding all processed foods including oil. My initial thoughts were how extreme, I would never ever do this. After all, I am an omnivore and I love meat, cheese and fish. However, the seed was planted and the thought stuck. I have always been a believer in eating whole foods that are not processed, especially plants. But how to make this work? Would it work? It had been 18 years since I had lost weight and at the age of 57, nearly impossible to lose (ask any woman over 50). Yet, I could add more veggies and maybe I could live without that sandwich at lunch. So, that was the first step. I brought a veggie stew that I often made and ate for dinner. It worked !! I could do it!! No more cold cuts or mayo!! It blossomed from there. I must add that due to my multiple dietary intolerances, I had already started eating more plant based meals with beans and grains. However, meat was never an option to exclude, or dairy or oil. Yet here I am avoiding it. Life is funny that way. It always changes and change starts with a thought, a seed.
Still and always a believer in eating Whole Foods, as God created for us, I am forging ahead. My standard, which I do not obtain, is to eat as close to vegan as possible, avoid processed foods as much as able. I am far from perfect. I cheat when I eat food I haven't prepared, such as when a guest or in a restaurant. I still have milk in my coffee, and eggs for breakfast with a piece toast. I am unable to change this at present. Its ok, I allow it, at least for now. What the years have shown me is to be good to myself, not be too critical, and just do the best I can as I can. So that is what I do. No big deal if I don't obtain my goals. Its ok, I will live, I am still living. Just keep moving forward, one step at a time. I do not know how much weight I have lost since I started this in early May, 2019, but my weigh in this morning was 297.6 lbs and I estimate a 25 lbs weight loss. People are starting to notice, which I like. Clothes are getting loose which is great, except that I will need to replace them eventually and I HATE to clothes shop. LOL
So here I plan to share my journey, my recipes and food. I plan to be perfectly honest in what I am eating, how much I lose (or not). Hopefully this will be the first of many posts and I will be successful. Feel free to comment and thank you for walking with me through this part of my life and all it entails.
Be well, and best wishes!!
A bit about me........
My weight loss journey started at a very young age and my life filled with diets until I gave up years ago when nothing seemed to help. In October 2001, at a weight of 406, I underwent gastric bypass, a Roux en Y procedure, with stomach stapling and a duodenal (intestinal) bypass. This has left me with a lifelong need of supplements for nutrition, and more importantly, multiple food intolerances, in particular to concentrated sweets and fats. The later, I view as a good thing. I lost 150 lbs within the first year then stabilized and slowly started to regain. I am not sure how much, but somewhere around 60-70 lbs. This was before I bought my current scale. I had lost weight in the past, but it always came back on and always took tremendous effort of abstaining and extreme exercise. The last largest weight loss in my early 30s included hiking 40 miles a week, jogging 2 miles a day before work and strict calorie restriction. That was my last real weight loss before my surgery. The lifestyle was unsustainable.
Never have I allowed my weight to keep me from accomplishing goals. I am well educated, a professional who has attained much in life. I am truly blessed and I truly believe my struggles and battles have strengthened me as a person and given me a compassion for people that is unique and assists me in life. I regret nothing. The only larger influence for me has been my faith. Proudly, I am a born again, bible believing Christian, who devotes my heart and life to Jesus. Hence, this blog is not a faith based one, it is a weight loss one.
It all started with a random post on Facebook. A woman, God bless her, posted in a keto group that I followed (for recipes) about her weight loss of over 200 lbs on a WFPB (Whole Food Plant Based) diet. I messaged her asking how long she had kept it off. She replied 2 years. She follows the Dr. Gregor diet which is vegan, excluding all processed foods including oil. My initial thoughts were how extreme, I would never ever do this. After all, I am an omnivore and I love meat, cheese and fish. However, the seed was planted and the thought stuck. I have always been a believer in eating whole foods that are not processed, especially plants. But how to make this work? Would it work? It had been 18 years since I had lost weight and at the age of 57, nearly impossible to lose (ask any woman over 50). Yet, I could add more veggies and maybe I could live without that sandwich at lunch. So, that was the first step. I brought a veggie stew that I often made and ate for dinner. It worked !! I could do it!! No more cold cuts or mayo!! It blossomed from there. I must add that due to my multiple dietary intolerances, I had already started eating more plant based meals with beans and grains. However, meat was never an option to exclude, or dairy or oil. Yet here I am avoiding it. Life is funny that way. It always changes and change starts with a thought, a seed.
Still and always a believer in eating Whole Foods, as God created for us, I am forging ahead. My standard, which I do not obtain, is to eat as close to vegan as possible, avoid processed foods as much as able. I am far from perfect. I cheat when I eat food I haven't prepared, such as when a guest or in a restaurant. I still have milk in my coffee, and eggs for breakfast with a piece toast. I am unable to change this at present. Its ok, I allow it, at least for now. What the years have shown me is to be good to myself, not be too critical, and just do the best I can as I can. So that is what I do. No big deal if I don't obtain my goals. Its ok, I will live, I am still living. Just keep moving forward, one step at a time. I do not know how much weight I have lost since I started this in early May, 2019, but my weigh in this morning was 297.6 lbs and I estimate a 25 lbs weight loss. People are starting to notice, which I like. Clothes are getting loose which is great, except that I will need to replace them eventually and I HATE to clothes shop. LOL
So here I plan to share my journey, my recipes and food. I plan to be perfectly honest in what I am eating, how much I lose (or not). Hopefully this will be the first of many posts and I will be successful. Feel free to comment and thank you for walking with me through this part of my life and all it entails.
Be well, and best wishes!!
Comments
Post a Comment