Nitty Gritty Details

I made it through a day! Woohoo! I was mighty hungry going to bed last night, but I knew that I could make it once I fell asleep.

I thought I should record my stats, so we may see some progress in this experiment.
I weighed 181 lbs in the evening yesterday with clothes on (no shoes). I will continue to weigh in the evening clothed so that the measurements are accurate. I am using a "real" scale at the gym I work at, so it is reliable. I am 5'2"--don't expect that to change of course, but just recording so that we can know that I am in the OBESE category. Other things of interest, I am an "apple" shape--big abdomen and thick waist, but legs and hips not that large in comparison. I had gestational diabetes during my first pregnacy, but not the second one. I am told that I WILL get diabetes type 2 if I do not lose weight. One doctor went as far as saying that when I hit that scale number like I did in the first pregnancy, that is when it will happen. I know that's somewhere around 190ish when I was diagnosed with the gestational diabetes.

My health history: I was underweight as a child. I gained rapidly in puberty--so much that I got stretch marks. I weighed about 120 lbs as a sophomore in high school, but graduated high school at 108 lbs. In college, I gained some freshman weight, but after my first major boyfriend breakup, I lost down to 100 lbs in my college sophomore year. Wow, come to think of it, I lost all that weight by eating one dinner meal a day, plus a few saltine crackers. I graduated college at 115 lbs and was very toned and trim from activity and regular exercise. I fluctuated up and down quite a bit after college. For the first few years, I stayed between 115-125lbs. After that period, I stayed around 140 lbs. I maintained the 140 lbs for years and was still pretty active in dancing, jogging, and regular exercise. Even though 140 lbs is not exactly fit and trim for someone my height, I looked pretty good I guess--never was at a loss for dates. The big weight gain happened around 2000. I left my home town to move in with my soulmate, my husband now. When I moved, I left the dance club I was active in, the gym, and I had left a good job so money was tight. I did not know many people to do anything with and my activity level went to almost nothing. I quickly gained up to 174 lbs in about a year. I know the number exactly because I am still shocked by it. It is what I weighed when I got pregnant with my son. I ate like a pig during the pregnancy, got gestational diabetes. I weighed 210 lbs at delivery. However, breastfeeding was very good to me and I lost down to 150 lbs very quickly! My second pregnancy, I ate more intuitively and did not gain that much and I also did not get gestational diabetes. After delivering my daughter, I got to 144 lbs eating intuitively. Then, I gained 30 lbs in 3 months in the fall of 2006 when my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It was a stressful time and I ate. He is doing well now, but I am still struggling with the 30 lbs, which had gotten to 40 lbs before I got a grip on life. As far as my recent past, I lost down to 164 lbs in February--I actually won a contest online and won $113. As soon as the contest was over, I let down my guard and gained it all back sadly. Now, I am where I am today. Last week, I was 185 lbs, so I am on the downward swing at least.

I am a very typical sugar addict. It is a "friend" and I am sad without it. Yet, I am depressed and moody when I have it. I have always been someone who never wanted to be addicted to ANYTHING. I do not like pills, never tried drugs, alcohol never had any hold on me, I do not even drink caffeine or pop. And yet, I find myself addicted to sugar. It angers me. It is so accepted that I cannot even find anyone local that even believes that sugar addiction exists. I live in rural West Virginia--obesity reigns here. Right now, I am still on my "drug". Here is the plan:

Week 1 and 2: Eat one meal a day--anything goes. I extended this to week 2 because we are going on vacation. Short work out 10-15 min 5 days a week.
Week 3 and 4: Phase out white sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Work out 20-30 min 5 days a week.
Week 5 and continuing: Phase out white flour. Work out 35-45 min 5 days a week.

I may also phase out dairy because I think I may have developed some lactose intolerance or allergy to it. I will also add in weight training at some point.

This post is LONG! Oh well, the "nitty gritty" had to be recorded.