Back to the Beach

I've known for quite a while that I needed to get on the ball and get serious with my health goals/weight loss efforts again. I've let it go for too long. Robert and I both had real success with the South Beach diet last year - before we got lazy and lost focus. And before we knew it old habits were creeping back in and the pounds were creeping back on.

I will admit that I was skeptical of South Beach when it first came out. The name alone sounds very fad-ish and made me wary of it. I don't get fired up about a whole lot, but I really despise all the "lose weight quick" gimmicks. So many people seem all to willing to take a pill or drink a shake and wait for the pounds to magically disappear. Come on! Get a grip. The weight didn't appear overnight... and it's not going to disappear overnight either. Whatever happened to sensible eating habits? Healthy changes in diet and exercise? No, it's not easy, but it works and it's what's going to work for the long haul. Okay, off my soapbox now. :-)

Back to South beach... as I said, i was skeptical at first, but when I read up on it I was impressed with the 'science' behind it. It made sense to me. It's not about cutting out all carbs and eating all the fat you want. It's about learning to eat the right carbs.

Anyway, after my doctor's appointment last November and the results of my blodd work were discussed, I made a deal with my doctor. Let's take no action now. No meds, no tests. Instead, give me 3-4 months to lose some weight and then we'll do more blood work. If the numbers come down, I'll continue on with my healthy eating/weight loss efforts. If not, we go from there. I know Dr. C was skeptical but she went with it. She even suggested that I drop in periodically to weigh on their scales so they can track/cheer on my progress. I think she imagines I did not take her seriously and that I will blow this off. And, boy, is going to feel great to prove her wrong. I even plan on sending her notes periodically to update her on my progress. :-)

I'm not even doing this alone, which is a bonus. Robert said he was getting back on track, too, and Ashley said she wanted to lose some weight as well so we all three started together last Monday (January 9). That weekend we went over the plan basics again, I made up menus and we all went grocery shopping together. I really wanted to get everyone involved and get both of them to take an active part in this. Not just sit back and count on me to know the plan, decide what was okay to eat, etc. They have a stake in this, too. Then on Sunday (the day before we started) Robert and Ashley went out and bought us a treadmill. We were all ready to go!

Since last Monday I followed the eating plan almost to the letter, have been drinking a lot more water (goodbye to my beloved sweet tea – sob sob!), switched to Diet Coke (but drink a lot more water than Coke), and got on the treadmill 4 times. And I actually did 30 minutes on the treadmill each time! Now, thsi may not sound like much to most, but I am sooo out of shape and I honestly thought that I would be lucky to make it 5 minutes my first time on the treadmill. I told myself ahead of time that I would just do what I could and not feel bad about it. And I would slowly work my way up as I increased my stamina. But I jumped right on the very first time and did 30 minutes. It's amazing what you can do. Even when you think you can't.

This past Sunday night (January 15) was our first weigh-in. Ashley lost 6 lbs. Robert lost 7.5 lbs. And me? Well, I was the “biggest loser” for Week 1 with a loss of 9.5 lbs!!!!! Wow! I was sooo thrilled and was happy dancing all over the place. LOL I really think it’s the exercise that is putting me over the top this time. I am so pumped and so ready to take on whatever comes. Something has just “clicked” this time and I’m rarin’ to go. I have a long way to go but I’m off to one heck of a start!