I know you have heard it before. Last summer I went on a diet, a meal plan. I lost some weight, I patted myself on the back and I moved on to gain more and more. It was never anything of a problem I told myself. I mean I needed new pants and the comfort-fit waste band was a cool invention. I really didn't think much about my growing stomach until a child ask me if I was going to have a baby. Even when James Gandolfini died a day before my 48th birthday I knew I had to get my weight under control but that soon faded. I remember from June to July of last year I went from 224 pounds to 218 and had a party. By the end of August I was again at 223 and by December I was stable at 227. That was what I was, stomach, comfort-fit and that cringe when I saw a picture of me from the side.
In July I registered at 231 and my blood work was a mess. My doctor was not happy, and frankly neither was Dianne and Noah was all over me. So I downloaded a simple ap called My Fitness Pal at my Doctor's suggestion and started monitoring my intact of calories, sugar, fat etc. and keeping track of exercise or the lack there of. It was immediately educational. I plugged in some numbers and it gave me an allowance of calories etc. to follow. A huge database of food allows me to know precisely what I am taking in and I did the one thing I never did before. I bought a kitchen scale to see exactly how much of stuff I was eating. It is remarkable. When I went back and looked how much I was eating I was well over 2500 calories a day. Now I am between 1600-1800. I don't skimp on what I eat, as anyone who reads my other blog knows and I just eat less and I am not hungry. It is quite revealing. I think sometimes I just ate for the joy of eating. But now I eat a limited amount at each meal and I am still happy. I don't feel like I suffer.
Oh and I have started losing weight. From 231 in July I have now found myself at 210 and still losing. People have started to notice and say something and and old friend recently said I am looking like my old self. I feel better, have more energy and move around better. What is remarkable is that for years I have resisted the simple act of watching what I eat. When I was a kid I could eat anything at anytime and was always skinny. I am glad that I am taking this route and glad that I can make it work for me through technology. I am grateful for the opportunity and the challenge of making food that fills me up and tastes good that doesn't make me compromise.
Oh and just so you know I am not a zealot, I still have days I eat 15 chicken wings and a mess of potatoes. I still love Dianne's fried chicken, and Noah's recent birthday we all had a great cake with butter cream frosting. But I know that eating is a life time venture and like keeping kosher it is about awareness and choices. I plan to continue. I plan to continue to lose and I plan to be with us for a long time as Noah asked me to the other day. I hope this is the last time I write this.
In July I registered at 231 and my blood work was a mess. My doctor was not happy, and frankly neither was Dianne and Noah was all over me. So I downloaded a simple ap called My Fitness Pal at my Doctor's suggestion and started monitoring my intact of calories, sugar, fat etc. and keeping track of exercise or the lack there of. It was immediately educational. I plugged in some numbers and it gave me an allowance of calories etc. to follow. A huge database of food allows me to know precisely what I am taking in and I did the one thing I never did before. I bought a kitchen scale to see exactly how much of stuff I was eating. It is remarkable. When I went back and looked how much I was eating I was well over 2500 calories a day. Now I am between 1600-1800. I don't skimp on what I eat, as anyone who reads my other blog knows and I just eat less and I am not hungry. It is quite revealing. I think sometimes I just ate for the joy of eating. But now I eat a limited amount at each meal and I am still happy. I don't feel like I suffer.
Oh and I have started losing weight. From 231 in July I have now found myself at 210 and still losing. People have started to notice and say something and and old friend recently said I am looking like my old self. I feel better, have more energy and move around better. What is remarkable is that for years I have resisted the simple act of watching what I eat. When I was a kid I could eat anything at anytime and was always skinny. I am glad that I am taking this route and glad that I can make it work for me through technology. I am grateful for the opportunity and the challenge of making food that fills me up and tastes good that doesn't make me compromise.
Oh and just so you know I am not a zealot, I still have days I eat 15 chicken wings and a mess of potatoes. I still love Dianne's fried chicken, and Noah's recent birthday we all had a great cake with butter cream frosting. But I know that eating is a life time venture and like keeping kosher it is about awareness and choices. I plan to continue. I plan to continue to lose and I plan to be with us for a long time as Noah asked me to the other day. I hope this is the last time I write this.
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