Category Archives: getting the lard off

echoes007 via emily davis, trendingly.com

I’m finally seeing some progress in ending the Plateau from Hell. I did a lot of reading and found that plateaus are a given when you’re trying to lose weight. In a low-carb lifestyle, oddly enough, to get off a plateau they suggest that you eat more fat, drink more  water, exercise more.

I’ve made some changes and am seeing a difference on the scales. I’ve lost 44 lbs and 21 inches now.

Eleven months ago I was absolutely sedentary. My doctor was tactfully saying over and over again that I try to lose some weight. My blood test numbers, drawn quarterly for my thyroid, were high in everything. I heard myself telling my doctor we were trying to eat in a more healthy fashion and trying to lose weight. On the way home from that appointment in August of 2015, I finally decided I would either really try to lose the lard or would quit lying to my doctor.

I started a low-carb diet, trying to stay at 40 carbs per day or less, and 1200 calories or less. I signed up with MyFitnessPal.com to keep track of what I was eating and my exercises each day. I searched the net and discovered Dana Carpender’s low carb cookbooks. I bought one for slow cooker recipes and another for 15 minute meals. I did not get rid of all the stuff I shouldn’t eat because my husband didn’t especially want to lose weight and didn’t want to give anything up. I decided I would try a recipe and see what happened. The recipes were so good that my husband decided to eat what I was eating (and then anything else he wanted. He was sure that this would be yet another effort on my part that would be short-lived.

I dug out an old DVD that I call, “Walking with Annoying Leslie”, and use it almost every day. I’m also doing upper and lower body strength exercises with weights. So far, I’ve progressed from one set of eight of each of the exercises with 3 lb weights to THREE sets of eight with 5 lb weights. I also use my elliptical trainer when it’s not too hot or too cold in our garage. Finally, I grit my teeth and use our Wii Fit Plus. I now talk back to the lady who asks me, “Do you find you fall down a lot?” or “This seems to be a challenge for you.” I can hear my husband chuckle in the other room when I do. :0) I carry a pedometer just to remind myself to move more. The very best I’ve done in a day thus far is a little over 6,000 steps.

My husband tells me now and then that he’s impressed with my determination. He admires the fact that I’ve changed my lifestyle, lost weight, and regularly exercise now. He was impressed when my last blood test results were so good that I don’t have to take cholesterol lowering drugs anymore and my doc said my numbers were “disgustingly normal” – “better than his,” while grinning from ear to ear at me.

The fact that I’m 69 and was completely sedentary has been – and continues to be – a challenge. The fact that the weight loss and exercise has lessened the pain in my joints, allowing me to do what I’d like to do more and more, is a real motivation. It’s also really nice that my friends are saying nice things about how I look. I’ve come down three sizes in jeans so far. I can wear some things that used to be too tight, and have actually had to give away things that are too large.

Since I’ve tried – and failed – to get any taller, one goal is to shed another 30 lbs or so of lard.  I would like to be able to walk all over a park, or use the walking trail in our town without worrying about finding a bench. I would like to lengthen the amount of time I can work in the yard without being shot for the rest of the day. I want to do as much as I can to get and stay as healthy as possible for the rest of my life.

My mantra is,

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