Friday, June 4, 2010

Struggling With That Extra 15 Pound Weight Gain...

Dear Blogging Friends, I want to share with you that I have been struggling with a small, but unsightly 15 pound weight gain. I have a spare tire around my waist, which will not go away. This is all new to me, as I have never struggled with my weight. I have pretty much eaten what I wanted and never felt deprived of my favorite foods. I'm very thankful for this, but perhaps I have lacked a bit of sensitivity toward those of you who have not had it so easy in this area of your life. I want you to know that I am beginning to understand the difficulty of losing a few pounds and the disappointment for not looking quite so attractive in certain pants or outfits. So what am I going to do about this? Well, first I want to have the right attitude. Having a healthy body is truly the most important thing. You see I have not regularly exercised for years. So, I have decided to exercise 20 min. every other day on the treadmill. The second thing is to eat healthful food, which I crave and enjoy. What do I crave? Avocados, Adam's peanut butter, black licorice, Swiss cheese, salsa, turkey, and olives. I make sure these things are always in my home. I love Fresca. It's my favorite soda, but I rarely drink it because it has sugar substitute in it. I've chosen this lemon lime seltzer instead. It has the fizz I love and no high fructose corn syrup or calories. I have taken high fructose corn syrup out of my diet My favorite guacamole is super super easy to fix. I dice an avocado and mix it with about a half cup of really good fresh purchased salsa (or my own canned from garden). When I was younger and thinner I homeschooled three children and I cared for my baby Garrett. I carried Garrett up a flight of stairs at bed time and nap time quite often, even up through his toddler years. My legs and arms were strong. During these years I rarely sat down. I was moving all the time. I went from room to room sweeping, loading and unloading washer, dryer, dishwasher and groceries, and making copies of school work for my children. I took my children on walks and to the park. We pulled weeds together and made beds together. I kept a clean tidy home and was quite content. I no longer homeschool my children. I don't seem to rush around and work as much. I find myself sitting at the computer for long periods of time. I snack all through the day. I have come to realize something: I have discovered that it's much more fun to eat when I am really hungry. The food tastes better and I have a satisfied feeling in my whole being. Here is something I wrote to my sister about my recent struggle with losing that extra 15 pounds:
The cravings are coming back. I buy these for the kids' lunches. It's hard for me to look at these. I'm want to eat them.
For myself I bought this black licorice because I do crave this and it is natural. The other flavors they make have high fructose corn syrup, but the black is natural. If I have 4 pieces with a cup of black coffee it's 130 calories. I can stretch these 4 pieces from 12 noon to 2:30 pm. with a black cup of coffee. In this way I will stop eating soon enough that I will still become hungry for dinner. I decided to do this yesterday afternoon and I hid the cookies. The craving was gone and I was happy.
This is my favorite peanut butter and honey toast with black coffee. Have started every morning like this for the past 30 years. I use Adam's not Skippy or Jiff. I look at it this way; the calories and fat are the same, but the type of fat is not. It would be like stir frying your veggies in Crisco rather than olive oil or peanut oil Get it? Some fats are so good for your body and they help your cholesterol levels in the right way.
This morning I am sore. I only ran once yesterday, but the reality is I am sore. the soreness my body feels and this old gray day makes the newness of the treadmill wear off.
" Lord Jesus, help me to be faithful and strong in the commitment I made with You to take care of my body and to exercise." Okay, pep talk and feeling sorry for myself is over. The truth is, I am out of shape and I am still young enough and strong enough to get out there and work hard, so off I go.... "Thank you Jesus..."

8 comments:

Sue said...

Kathi, This was for me today! Thank you so much for sharing.With the Lord's help I am determined this time to finish this journey.
Hugs,
Sue

Lady Farmer said...

Hi Kathi~
I haven't been here for a long time, but just wanted to encourage you on your exercise/weight loss journey! I have been walking (about 1 mile up a very steep hill, I might add) two to three times a week for exercise and have really been trying to watch not so much what I eat but how much I eat. Though I have only lost about 5 pounds, I do feel better. Boredom is my greatest advarsary. If I am outside weeding or mowing grass I am ok so that is what I try to do.
We love that licorice and Adams p.b. too. We just need to keep encouraging each other. So keep up the good work.
Blessings!

luvmy4sons said...

Hubby and I laugh all the time at the fact that as we age we have to exercise more and eat less because our metabolism slows so much. Sounds like you have a wonderful plan going. I give myself one day a week on Friday nights where I eat the fillet(the gooey center) of the brownies! I bike on my stationary bike 6 days a week. I have to watch my aging bones and joints with degenerative disc disease...so you are not alone. I think my mainly vegan diet helps but it is a constant day to day choice to make healthy choices and to get on that bike...which by the way I need to do now. Blessings Kathi!

onlymehere said...

Good luck on your quest. I hope you achieve your goals. I too like this licorice. I like to suck on it to make it last as long as I can, lol! I struggle with just maintaining the weight that I am (and it is quite overweight). I'm hypothyroid and once a pound comes on it's pretty much there to stay. I'd give anything to be as beautiful as you but God didn't intend that for me. I guess my trial in life is to be my constant struggle with weight. On a 10-day hospitalization once my doctor was truly amazed that I was gaining weight. He said "it's just fluid from the IVs" but it never went away. I ended up in a University learning hospital extremely ill after this. Life sometimes isn't kind and weight seems to come with age. I truly hope you meet your goal but just know that you're beautiful just the way you are even if the weight doesn't come off!
Cindy

Rose of Sharon said...

You look great Kathi. I know your pain though. It's really tough to inexplicably gain weight and to not feel yourself, not fit your clothes and not like what you see in the mirror. You are on the right path here. I wish you luck!!!

Love, Sharon

Jan Parrish said...

Good luck on your diet. Sounds like you are on the right path. :)

Elena said...

Oh I know that feeling. I never stuggled with my weight until I had Mary. Now I have got a spare tire too. I am cutting back and summer time is great for me as it gives me an opportunity to work out in the yard:)

as always starzie said...

Hi Kathi,
I know exactly what you are going through. When I was around mid fourties, a little before the change, I had gained around an extra 15 lbs. also. Well, nothing I did would get rid of these extra 15 lbs. I was like you, I never had a weight problem.
The good part is that once I got a little older, and my hormones got in better balance(I only took natural hormones) the weight just melted away! So just hang in there. Sometimes these things just correct themselves with time!

Hugs,

Darlene M from Calif.

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