Whoo hooo! I am no longer 100+ pounds overweight!

Only 99 to go, and I've lost almost half my excess weight, at -69.

Geez, hard to believe my excess weight alone equaled my recommended weight plus an additional 33 pounds - 168 excess pounds. Sobering.

My BMI has gone from 48.9 to 37.8. With no co-morbidities, I no longer "qualify" for this surgery by most insurance standards. Wow.

Still huge at 5'6", 234 lbs, size 22/24, at least I am no longer wearing 30+ pants. There are actually clothes in my size that do not include elastic, lycra, or stretch knit!

My newest interest is metabolism. Since I no longer diet, I am looking for ways of eating (WOE) (not sure I like that acronym - lol) that are nutritious and also feed my metabolism, which has undoubtedly been suppressed after years of dieting.

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Some interesting things I have read (where have I been all these years?!?!) - for what it's worth. Does anyone REALLY know if this works? lol

1. Calorie intake should not be less than what your basal metabolism requires, or the body goes into "starvation" mode. Basal metabolism is the number of calories required simply to keep you alive at your current weight - breathing, heart beating, bodily functions. Basal metabolism is determined by your height, weight, and whether you are male/female. www.fitday.com shows your basal metabolism under reports "Calories Burned", "Where am I burning my calories?". At my current weight, my basal metabolism requires 1783 calories. With my sedentary lifestyle, the total calories I burn each day should be 2586 - so meeting my basal metabolism calorie requirements gives me a deficit of 703 calories everyday. A pound of fat = 3500 calories, so I should lose a pound of fat every 5 days.

Your basal metabolism should be reviewed every 10 pounds.

2. How do you kick-up your metabolism?

Eating-wise: Spicy foods (ginger, cayenne pepper), dark greens like broccoli, celery, spinach, Water,WATER,WATER (look up "thermogenic foods")

Body-wise: build muscle - muscle is the #1 burner of calories

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I don't know if all the above is true, but I will say that earlier this week when I started kicking-up my calories, 2 pounds came off right away. I also have not been eating refined/prepackaged foods or starches/sugars (except for my morning Protein drink, which I imagine must be considered "refined").

In my mind, there is definitely a fine line between "dieting" and "WOE" - this is something I struggle with. I think I am finally coming to terms with the fact that it is the mindset that makes the difference between "dieting" and "WOE". With dieting, certain foods are forbidden, no-no, wrong, bad, restricted, etc. With "WOE" you CAN eat anything you please, you just may choose not to eat certain things most of the time. Knowing that you have a choice, and that whatever you choose is absolutely, positively OKAY! has made it much easier for me to choose mostly nutritious foods.

Reading more and more about what happens to your body when sugar/refined carbs are consumed makes me less and less inclined to eat them, even though I adore chocolate and bread and rice and Pasta and mashed potatoes smothered in gravy, and pizza and cake, and donuts... (you get the picture - lol). Knowing that my insulin is spiking, running around converting calories to fat, plastering it to the inside of my arterial walls, creating plaque and changing my body composition to an acidic state gives me pause. I no longer worry about gaining weight with these things, I worry about my HEALTH. Wow - I was never worried about my health before, only my WEIGHT. I was willing to do anything, no matter how dangerous to my HEALTH (actually, the more dangerous to my health, the more appealing the approach ), just to lose weight.

So, armed with ever increasing knowledge, my appetite held in check by my beloved buddy the band, I am finally choosing a WOE for life, a WOE for health (emotional and physical). Don't think for one minute that I'll never have my sugars/refined carbs again - they will always be among my choices in my WOE - but they no longer seem to be a mainstay in my lifestyle.

I'm not quite sure, but I may be having a break through moment...

Peace and joy to you all on your journeys, and wishing everyone joy, love and happiness through the upcoming holidays, and beyond.

Wow

Thanks for the info:D

I was just at the doctors getting my 2nd fill and we were talking about metabolism, how when you eat less the body wants to store it as fat instead of energy, why I'v been feeling tired.

Insulin spiking....Glucose index was another thing we were talking about and I want to learn more of both of these issues.

Thanks again and Conratulations on your wonderfull weightloss.

Donali, Congratulations! I'm so happy for your and how far you have come in your journey. Your post was extremely thought provoking and I think I would too like to research more about the effects of metabolism.

Vera, there is a wonderful book call the Insulin Resistance Diet I bought when first diagnosed with IR. The basic tenant of the book is that you need to eat protien to balance your carbs which helps with the high fluctuation of insulin when we eat carb only foods. I've found and continue to find that milk was the perfect food for me as it has a natural balance of protien and carbs. Studies have also confirmed that a diet high in dairy products (low-fat of course) helps us to lose weight. I don't remember then name of the substance in dairy from my biochemistry class but I remember finding it fascinating.

Anyway I am so happy this is not a diet...I'm two weeks and two days out and am down 21 lbs!

If your interested pick up the Insulin Resistance Diet as it is a very sound way of eating and works to provide you with the reasons behind a balanced diet. Not a diet book in my mind...more of a "this is how you should eat and why" book. It was very helpful.

Anyway kids...I have a condo showing today so everybody say a prayer it finally sells! Gotta get cleaning.

Donali, I am so happy for you! How exciting! You shold be proud...

I, too, want to learn more about the metabolic issues. I think it is playing a big part in my lack of "serious" weight loss.

Donali, just wanted to say woo hoo for you!!! :banana :banana :banana - what a fantastic goal to have reached! I have to lose pretty much the same amount of weight and on a totally selfish level it's brilliant to see someone get closer to the end of the road, especially someone so generous with tips and advice! You are such an inspiration honey!

And wow about the non-elastic clothes! My god, could there BE a future without lycra?!!

On a more serious note, I have read some info about the metabolic thing too and really agree with the water, spices and veg - I cannot tell you all how great I feel since surgery - now I know it's only been 4 weeks but I have not consumed fast food, white bread, diet coke, candy or alcohol since a few days before the op and I can't believe how much more cheerful and energetic I feel! I get hungry, usually at the appropriate meal times but I pretty much have whatever I want - I keep telling myself, "if you want the whole tub of Ben & Jerry's you can have it, just after some protein and veg or fruit or whatever" and then I am so satisfied after the meal that I never want the icecream! There is a tub of icecream in our freezer for so long now that they are people coming to make a movie about it - "Caramel Chew-Chew - A Survivor's Story"

I know, I sound like an evangelist but WOW - I love this band - hope I feel like this in a year!

Anyhoo Donali - congratulations on your brilliant achievement - I'm so happy for you xxx

Thanks for the congrats, all! Bright, thanks for the chuckles - you make me laugh out loud.

I'd love to read anything anyone else finds interesting about metabolism. I'm not 100% dedicated to researching it (I'm not 100% dedicated to anything, except maybe love...:knockedou :knockedou :knockedou lol), but do read anything that crosses my path.

My new low is 233 (forgot to change my sig line ) An even -70... whew!

:cool:

Donali, congratulations!! I so admire the progress you've made with your weight, but also in your approach to food (Hey, how about that for a substitute for WOE - ATF!). You continue to provide me with guidance and inspiration. You are doing so much more than losing weight. You are healing your obesity. You go, girl!

Nancy

Thanks, Nancy!

I like ATF much, much better than WOE, but I doubt I'll be able to remember what it means... lol

It is so strange to have this feeling of peace about food... My psyche is still not completely convinced that the diet rollercoaster is really and truly over forever, but I feel more and more secure everyday.

Thank you, band! Thank you, therapy! Thank you, support group!

Balanced Eating-Lifestyle Concentrating on Health?

Or, maybe:

Better Attitude Regarding Food?

Sue, I've been wanting to write a clever story using unique acronyms, but haven't had time. I love yours! Here are some I was toying with...

Food Aversion Therapy

Dabbling In Endangering Thoughts

Sudden Thoughts Of Puking

lol - I'll keep working on these. No, that wasn't a threat... lol

Congrats Donali! Do you still put mini goals for yourself. I know my goal is 5 lbs. at a time. I just wanted to mention that during Thanksgiving, I definitly ate more and since I was eating very slowly I had no problem with my meal. I also indulged in desert. So I was almost certain that the scale would show the gain. Much to my surprise I stepped on and had actually lost 2 lbs.

I sometimes have to remind myself to eat more and take in the calories. I think after years of dieting and cutting calories this has become such a challenge. My mind is still set on cutting calories when in fact I am supposed to take in 1200 a day. I think I am only taking in 700-800!

Mary

Hi Mary -

I never really "set" mini-goals, but I guess my personal milestones are:

1. Having less than 100 pounds to lose

2. Getting under 200

3. Losing 100 pounds

Once those three happen, I'm a little in limbo, I guess. 135 is not a concrete, must have goal, more just a reflection of what the weight charts say I should be at my height. I've never been 135, so I'm intrigued, but would be thrilled (for at least a while!) to be at 185, and then when I get tired of that, anything in the 145-160 range would be swell.

Of course, every time I drop into the next 10 pound range I feel like having a party! And although I did not lose weight over T-day, I didn't gain any either - how cool is that? And I got to eat some of everything, and was full and satisfied. Okay, overly full...

Right now I consider the surgery a success. Even if I never lost any more weight (God forbid!! lol), to know that as long as I keep my band and restriction I will never weigh more than what I do now is a huge emotional relief.

Hi Donali,

You are so grounded and well balanced.!!! :cool:

Regarding metabolism, you are very correct about trying to manipulate metabolism by occasionally adding calories to your diet. If you get a chance, you may want to read the manual they can loan you at the gym called Curves. The guy who started Curves has an approach to increasing caloric intake and then doing a sort of Atkins like induction everytime you gain more than 3 pounds. He believes that the time it takes for you to gain the 3 pounds back decreases each time you increase and reduce caloric intake until you are able to get your metabolism back up to a 2000 calorie level without gaining weight. I am hyperinsulinemic, so I don't do carbs very often. But I find if I do them once a week and have some kind of moderate gorgeout and then get back on the low carb wagon after a break of a few days, I am able to lose faster and more efficiently and I seem to drop oodles after I do this. I also now have less than 100 to go. This was a major victory for me to be able to say that I only need to lose 81 pounds instead of 154!!!!

Babs in TX

334/261/180

-73

6/23/03

Congrats!!

And I know you are absolutely right on the carb spiking thing - something I noticed back in junior high when I had been following Atkins super, super closely for months and months, and had stalled. I binged out on some Cookies one weekend, and dropped 5 pounds!!

I just haven't been scientific enough to figure out the exact ratio that that kind of spiking needs to be done in order to be effective and not detrimental. The manual sounds very interesting, and I may just become motivated enough to check it out!

Congrats again on your milestone - I can't wait to have less than 100 pounds to lose!

Congratulations!! I love reading your posts - they always make me smile and then think about thigns - I mean really think. As a new bandster I am reading all the posts knowing that knowledge is power and the more power I have the beter I will do!! Once again, thanks for the insight and shedding the light at the end of the tunnel!! YAY!!!!

Donali, may I say you are my hero? It's really a joy to read your posts, even if I did get to this one late.

Congratulations on your milestone!! :cool: :D You are well on your way to a different way of being in the world, and I am so thrilled you're sharing it with us. I'm newly inspired when I read your ruminations, so I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Enough of the mushy stuff. The basal metabolism thing is very interesting, and does sound like it makes sense. But according to Fitday my basal metabolism rate is 2045. Are you saying that I should be eating MORE than that to lose weight? I guess the million-dollar question is, how much more? The "lifestyle" element of my calories burned is 1330, bringing my daily total of calories burned to 3375. Theoretically, then, if I take in fewer than 3375 calories each day I should be losing weight, right?

I've recently been indulging a bit more in carbs, like eating a quarter of the bread that comes with my daily deli sandwich, because of the Fiber thing. But a life completely without carbs seems very unhealthy to me (and my doctor), so I don't think that's my problem. But I will try tracking my food on Fitday for a while and see what that teaches me.

Thanks again, Donali, and MORE POWER TO YOU!!! :D