Well, it's day two of my new lifestyle change (I refuse to call it a diet!) and so far I'm doing pretty good if I do say so myself.  After doing lots of reading and researching, and a long history of failed diet attempts, I'm trying to simplify things this go-round.  My dietician is really encouraging me to go the protein - low carb route, which is super hard for me, but I'm actually managing pretty well.  The doctor has given me a long list of recommended foods, including sources of protein, good carbs (which are unlimited) and acceptable carbs like fruits and starches that I should limit.  Problem is, I don't eat many of the vegetables on the 'good carbs' list and all my favorite foods are either not listed at all (hello pasta!?) or listed on the limited carb list.

   The doctor is encouraging me to eat three balanced meals a day, along with two snacks.  My main problem so far is getting enough protein at breakfast.  I've never been a big fan of breakfast, and it seems like I'm stuffing myself on this diet, trying to get in enough protein.  I'm supposed to be aiming for 500 calories at each meal, with two 100 calorie snacks.  In the past, I'd easily eat more than 1700 calories in a given day, but now that I'm trying to stick to the list of foods, It's a struggle.  This morning for breakfast I ate scrambled eggs (1 whole + 4 whites), one slice of whole wheat toast with 1 tbsp. peanut butter and a small clementine orange along with 8 oz. of skim milk so that I could take my vitamins.  It seemed like a huge meal!  I'm also supposed to be eating protein at snack time also, which pretty much limits me to boiled eggs or the low fat cheese sticks.

   So far I'm doing okay on the low carb thing, and hopefully it will last.  I usually weigh myself every morning when I wake up, which is kind of pointless because in a given week I could fluctuate 7 lbs.  I'm trying to keep myself in check and will only be weighing in on Monday mornings from here on out.  Looking forward to at least SOME progress on Monday!

    As for exercise, this is a touchy subject.  Last October while walking in a charity walk, I got a very bad case of shin splints - because of my cute new hot pink tennis shoes! - which caused a pinched nerve in my left leg, around the knee.  Because of this pinched nerve, I've been dealing with a condition called "foot drop" for the past 3 1/2 months now.  Let me tell you, this is NOT pretty!  Foot drop affects the muscles and nerves on the outside of your lower leg, causing your foot to drop or drag when you're walking.  After being in a walking cast for 2 months, then graduating up to an ankle brace, I'm now able to walk most days without a brace, which is a miracle!!  Most people end up requiring surgery and lots never recover.  While I'm super thankful for my current range of motion, my foot and ankle are still very weak, which makes walking fast for long distances difficult.  Prior to my injury, I would walk 2 miles with my dog every morning.  I haven't had the courage to attempt a 2 mile walk yet, because I'm worried about tripping & falling or spraining my ankle again.  I recently bought a Tony Little Gazelle, and have been using it for 30 minutes the past two days while watching old 'Will & Grace' reruns :o) and so far things seem good.  I have a treadmill and plan on getting out tonight and starting back on my walking program.

  I'll probably have to start out super slow (like 2.5 miles an hour), but I'm hoping that if I can keep doing it regularly I'll be back up to my old speed of 3.5 in no time.  I've got the first three seasons of 'True Blood' on dvd and am dying to be able to build up to 40 minutes on the treadmill so I can start watching them!

 

    Anyway, I know that was pretty long-winded, but I'm hoping that by writing things down on my blog I can one day look back (when I'm a svelte 145 lbs!) and see every step that it took along the way!  I know that I'm trying to do a major overhaul all at once, which most people warn against, but I try to remember the old saying about aiming for the moon & landing amidst the stars.  I've come up with these four rules that I'm hoping will guide me over the next 12-18 months:

 

    1.  No fast food!  (this is a biggie for me!)

    2.  No cokes

    3.  No white bread / pasta / refined carbs

    4.  No sweets

    5.  Walk 15 miles every week (2 miles / day and one long weekend walk)

 

  I know that these seem a little harsh, but I'm hoping that if I can get by most days even adhering to four out of the five rules I'll be doing a million times better than I have in the past!

 

As always, wish me luck!

~ Amanda

   All-rightey then, taking a deep breath.  I've been overweight for my whole adult life, and despite several attempts and failed fad diets, nothing seems to be working to budge the scale.  I briefly tried Weight Watchers and in the few months on the program I realized that for me, weight loss is a very personal and private struggle. I am at least 100 lbs. overweight, however somehow I feel that if I don't talk about it, people won't notice it.  Very funny, huh?

    Even when whatever I'm doing is working and I lose about 20-30 lbs, I still get humiliated and embarassed whenever someone notices and comments on it, because I know I still have a long way to go.  I'm hoping that online weight loss support group will be the push that I need, with still that safe cushion of anonymity that I need.  Hopefully I'll soon have lots of friends on extrapounds.com to help me out -- I really need you guys!

  Thankfully, my husband knows what a struggle I'm having and how I feel, so he never ever comments on it.  He just sits back and watches me try and fail different things, but our marriage is still really suffering because of my weight.  Because of my size, I have absolutely zero self-confidence.  With my friends, I'm this great, witty and fun girl to be around, however when I'm around strangers I am so shy I can hardly stand social situations.  My grandfather passed away last week, and the visitation at the funeral home friday night was a total nightmare for me.  Being stuck in a room with lots of people and forced to make small talk is my idea of hell.  I can't help but think that if I lost some weight and made some kind of headway towards my ultimate goal of 140 lbs, alot of my shyness and this self-concious attitude will wear off. 

    The recent Christmas holidays have not been kind.  I weighed this morning and weigh 260.8 lbs.  As I mentioned earlier, my ultimate goal is 140 lbs.  With my muscular build, this will be a stretch, but I honestly would be tickled to death to be 160 lbs again - back to my college weight.  I'm naturally big-boned and muscular, so I've never been skinny in my life.  Even in highschool, I waivered between a size 10-12-14.  I know that I'll never be supermodel thin, but my ultimate dream in life is to be a size 8.  Curvy girls like Whitney Thompson and Tyra Banks are my role models.  I'm trying to focus on being healthy, instead of stick-thin. 

    Truth be told, I don't even know how I got to be this size.  It seems like the jump from 200 lbs. to 260 lbs. happened overnight.  When I got married 8 years ago, I weighed about 180-190 lbs.  Since then, I've gained 70 lbs!  I don't know how it happened, honestly I don't.  My husband James has gained about 40 lbs, but he was on the thin side to start with, so it's not having as much affect on him.  I know that my main problems are fast food & television.  Sometimes I think that if I cut up my debit cards & cancelled my cable I'd be able to buckle down and actually lose weight.  I have very little willpower.

     I've started seeing a dietician, who is pushing me towards a low-carb, high protein diet.  This is the worst possible thing for me.  I have never really had a taste for sweets, but breads, pastas & potatoes are MY LIFE!  I'm not a big fan of meat, unless it's in a McDonald's quarter pounder, so this diet plan is going to be super tough.  Add to my love of carbs an intense hatred of vegetables and I'm really screwed.  My doctor is prescribing Phentermine to help me with my hunger, and I'll be starting it tomorrow.  I'm also starting back to school tomorrow, so it's likely going to be a stressful day.  My favorite fast food joint in the world - Raising Cane's - is directly across the street from the college, so I'm going to really be in a bind.  Wish me luck!

     Anyway, here's a little info about me.  I'm 31 years old, and will be turning 32 in a couple of weeks.  I live in southwest Louisiana, where it's hot and muggy 10 months out of the year, yet I am horrified at the thought of wearing shorts.  I've been married for 8 years, but the past 5 haven't been great.  I'm worried that continuing to be overweight is putting a serious strain on our relationship, and the spark has died out (to put it gently).  We have two lovely, spoiled dogs but no children.  I recently quit a career in insurance to go back to school and achieve my dream of becoming a teacher.  After 9 years in the corporate world, I needed a little more satisfaction out of my life, and I feel that becoming a teacher will achieve that.  I've got one full year of college to finish my teaching degree, and I'm currently not working so I can focus on school full-time.  My husband's job has recently transferred him to Houston, TX.  So we're in the process of selling our house in LA and moving to Houston.  I love Houston, I was born and raised there, and my husband was born there also.  I am so excited to be re-locating, but I'd really like to see this as a new start for me all-around.  Kind of like going off to college is a chance to start your life over again, I'm hoping that the move will help me wipe the slate clean and start a new life.  Here's hoping that my weight loss dreams come true and that I can truly make-over my life.

  Day 1 starts tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it!