Positive Health Steps

This week's weigh-in has shown no weight loss at all. I really don't think it is a weight loss plateau that I am experiencing, more of being so close to my weight loss goal the harder it is to actually lose weight.

I can tell you that the way I feel is so good. I can actually run again without feeling like a jumbo elephant pounding along the pavement. My clothes are all one to two sizes too large. I really do feel twenty years younger. (Glad my brain hasn't gone back twenty years also.)

I now look for food which is low in calories yet high in nutrition. Salads, vegetables, chicken and fish are my favorite foods. I know this has to be a life style change and will keep this type of eating regime for the rest of my life, which probably has been extended with each kilo I have taken off.

So here is this week’s result:
Last weeks weight - 77.75 kilos or 171 lbs
This week 77.75 kilos or 171 lbs
No Loss. No Gain.
Weight loss to date 19.95 kilos - 43.89 lbs

Very happy with this weeks result where the scale shows a weight loss of 0.75 kilo which is 1.65 pounds. A very pleasing result for the week and this now gives me an overall weight loss of 20 kilos or 44 pounds.

Now I am only 2 kilos from my goal weight of 75 kilos. Not far to go now!

During the week I used a weight calculator on the Biggest Loser website and for my weight and height I am still classified as being overweight. I have to get under that 75 kilo goal to be classed as normal.

The calculator tool is very handy but it does show some strange findings such as my normal range would be from 55 kilos to 75 kilos. Now I can imagine how anorexic looking I would be at 55 kilos. At least I am off the "obese" scale and getting close to becoming "normal" again.

Now I can really work hard to reach that goal soon.

Not much news this week as the weight is virtually the same as it was at last week's weigh in. The only thing that has changed is our weather, which has been downright nasty, enough to keep us indoors and away from the walking track.

There is absolutely nothing we can do about the weather, but we can still maintain a healthy eating diet, counting those calories so the weight is maintained at the current level without exercise. This is good in a way because it shows that the changes we have made to our diet can be life lasting changes from now on.

So goodbye to that pudgy fellow that I once was. You will never return again!

As I stated at the begining, not much news this week. :)

There has been no loss again this week, perhaps 100 grams, but nothing worth reporting. I am not unhappy though as there was no weight gain and that's the real bonus.

As I am nearing my weight goal, just 2 kilos to go, it is important to start living life as normal. With Easter there were many temptations, not the least those yummy chocolate Easter Eggs. If you realize the calories that they contain and adjust your eating to suit the overall calorie intake, you can indulge yourself with a treat and trade off those calories somewhere else during the day.

For example, I did eat an Easter Egg that was 500 calories. For dinner that night I had a simple garden salad that would have been no more than 100 calories and cut out coffee totally for the day. The trade was made. I enjoyed the chocolate yet didn't eat any more calories than normal.

To maintain weight this is the approach you must make in everyday eating decisions. Sometimes you can indulge and go over your calorie limit, but trade it off in longer and harder exercise to work those unwanted calories off. As long as you stay mindful of the total calories you consume, you can adjust your living and remain at a healthy weight range.

I will never go back to being fat. I have learnt a lesson that I can now apply to the rest of my life, which will now be a lot longer and happier without all that excess baggage.

For the third week in a row my weight today was spot on 77 kilos, so again this week there has been no weight loss. Perhaps I have plateau and need to keep doing what I have learnt over the past 6 months and believe it will happen.

Which of course is the only way to tackle the job of losing weight, you must believe that you will lose weight and I know that I can and know that by having lost 20 kilos so far.

Learning how to live and maintain weight is one of the main objectives. It is so sad to see people go on a weight loss diet and lose a considerable amount only to put it all back on again and sometimes more. I met an old friend the other day that had lost over 15 kilos the last time I saw her some 6 months ago. Unfortunately all the weight plus a little more was back on again.

My friend lost the weight following one of those milk shake type diets developed by a chemist. The problem with that type of diet is that you don't learn good eating habits so when you stop using their product, old eating habits return and so does the weight.

My friend became quite depressed when she saw how I had lost weight without a fad diet, while she had been there and put it all back on again. I tried to reassure her that as she was able to lose weight before, it is more than possible again if she counts calories and becomes aware of the food she eats. I also emphasized the benefits of regular exercise.

Counting calories and moderate exercise is a sure winning formula on a weight loss journey.