With this blog I thought I'd share with others that even if you can't get gastric bypass, even if you can't always afford "healthy" food, even if it's hard / difficult / impossible to exercise -- you can still lose weight. I've lost 65 pounds and I'm so happy. Another 15 lbs and I'll have gone from super obese, to merely morbidly obese.
Not everyone will understand how I'm so pleased to be morbidly obese; many, I'm sure, would rather be dead. That's OK. I own my size, and I'm getting smaller.
Every post I'll share how close I am to my 200 lb ultimate goal, a general idea of what I've eaten, and what kind of exercise I was able to do.
I'm only 50, but I've got several medical diagnoses that affect my life negatively. They are: Fibromyalgia, lymphadema (swelling / lymph fluid retention) IBS, chronic knee and back pain. Not at all a complete list, but enough to share! Ive been unable to work since February 2009 and am now on Social Security and Medicare. Medicare no longer pays for gastric bypass and on a fixed income I certainly can't afford it. Well, if I severely cut into my budget maybe in 3 years? But by then I plan on being at my goal weight.
I've been either fat shamed (by parents & some relatives) or considered fat (by society & now outdated medical guidelines) since maybe age 12. And at age 12 I weighed 150, which with a height of 5'7" is now considered normal weight. I'm an emotional and stress eater and I just plain like to eat. Loving high-calorie food sure can make weight loss difficult! I could eat carrots when stressed, but a bag of chips sounds better. Much, much better!
I also am close to having insulin-resistance syndrome. What does this mean? If I only eat carbs and fat at a meal, I'll likely gain weight and I'll be incredibly hungry. This means budget-friendly foods (pasta, bread, potatoes) aren't something I can eat very often. I limit my intake of these foods by not having them around (good bread and potatoes) or only limited amounts (pasta). Regardless, every meal or snack has to include protein or I'll be hungry within an hour.
The last couple of months I've been using a smart phone app for myfitnesspal.com. It's an amazing site; you enter your food and exercise each day and the site calculates calories in and burned up and your projected weight loss. It's a great tool if you are willing to put your food and exercise down each day. I have an idea of where I'm at with calories, sodium, and protein after each meal. Convenience foods can really throw off your daily sodium intake; but some days that's one thing I can cook and eat.
I'll share more in my next post because right now my back is killing me and I need to lie down.
First post done! Yay me.
