Monday, February 3, 2014

My 2 year weight maintenance anniversary- 70 pounds gone & feeling awesome!

  2 YEARS!!!!  I'VE BEEN MAINTAINING A 70 POUND WEIGHT LOSS FOR 2 YEARS!!!!!



Let me just list some of the good things that eating grain free and mainly processed sugar free has brought during the last two years. Low inflammatory, real foods. Protein, Fat, Carbohydrates from non starchy veggies. Yes, a Paleo-ish template with coffee and some 85% chocolate thrown in there.
Best weight maintenance tool ever for me.  40 years of trying to find the right thing. That's a long time.

Being tough, not moderate has been the theme of the last two years. It's a lot of work in some ways.. planning my food, cooking, prioritizing my work outs and walking. It's sustainable, do able. The right problem solving. That's it. Problem solving and priories. 

 It's so, so worth the work. The work pays back in a MAJOR sort of way. Here's what's working:
  •  Maintaining a weight loss of 70 pounds, two years
  •  37% of my body weight, gone. 
  •  Lower blood pressure (92/62)
  •  0.4 hs-CRP
  •  Migraines are GONE. 30 years of migraines
  •  Physically stronger than ever in upper body strength
  •  Thinner than I was in high school, just saying....
  •  Size 4 little black dress is waiting for my 30 year high school reunion, just saying...
  •  Feeling 27 and not 47- think... fountain of youth,
  •  Eating LOTS of plants, animals raised humanely , and coconut oil, avocado, olive oil,  spices,  sea salt
  •  3 meals a day
  •  No crazy sugar/carb cravings or getting the shakey due to good food fuel!
  •  No Sugars, No Grains (BOOM, y'all!!!)
  •  Walking over 10,000 steps, through out the day
  •  Much better skin (AKA- much less acne)
  •  Almost 0 menopause symptoms
  •  Sleeping great
  •  Almost 0 emotional/binge urges.
  • Support when I need it
  • Daily weighing in and data tracking

What didn't work in the past:
  •  Trying to use my weight loss plan in weight maintenance
  •  Trying to eat moderate grains and sugars 
  • Trying to sooth myself with food
  •  Trying to get support from people who did not support abstaining
  •  Stopping trying.. this kept me stuck for years.
  •  ANY, and I do mean ANY 100 calorie pack... seriously...what was I thinking??!!
  •  Listening to weight loss advice that was based on poor science (Dang that Ansel Keys!)
  •  Listening to weight loss advice that was based on big food ( that heart healthy whole grain thing, might as well have been red skull and cross bones for me.. follow the MONEY!)
  •  Counting points or calories without regard to food quality and binge triggers.
  •  Eating nuts, so sorry nuts.. you're out of here!!
  •  Not listening to my gut instincts (no pun intended!)
Celebrating the 2 years, food sobriety, my support bloggers, my support group,  the frequent comments on the blog, real life people who have cheered me on, JR. family member,   those people who have interviewed me over the last 2 years so that I can share my story with more people = pure awesomeness!!! 

THANK YOU!!!!  I would do some cart wheels in the side yard, but it wouldn't end well. ;)

I have no doubt that I will be maintaining in a year from now. Here's to our safe travels over this year.

Weight Graphs, for the geeky: I always weigh more in the winter and less in the summer. More when I don't strength train, less when I do. I'd say this is pretty normal maintenance mode for me. I'm 5'1 and weigh 116.6 currently. I'm 47 years old and in my first year of menopause.  I'm pretty happy with my weight and health. I feel better in this weight range. Super glad I still hop on the scale. The data is very, very valuable to me and the process of long term weight maintenance.


24 comments:

  1. Karen, congratulations on 2 years of maintenance! We all know the statistics when it comes to keeping the weight off and therefore this makes your 2 years even more of an accomplishment. STANDING OVATION!!!
    Your bullet points stress that it's so important to "know thyself" and find what works for our individual bodies ... and minds. Finding a pattern of eating that eliminates all the guilt from not being able to adhere to a conventional, "all things in moderation" diet is a huge relief.
    One of your points ... Trying to use my weight loss plan in weight maintenance ... interests me. Have you ever done a post about this? Can you perhaps expand on this if you haven't already?

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    1. Karen, yes! I will blog about my weight loss plan being different from my weight maintenance plan. Always has been. Even now with the paleo-ish template, my weight loss plan would be different from maintenance. I'll plan a post for the next 2 weeks or so...

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  2. Also, I'm so happy that you're still blogging while in maintenance. It's important for those of us who haven't as yet reached our weight loss goals to see how successful people are handling the new challenges that come along and to see what works ... or doesn't.

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    1. Karen, I am happy to still be blogging in maintenance. I was like you, I needed to read about others in long term maintenance so I could form my own plans and test out certain things. There are so many long term maintainers that I CANNOT relate to. In the past, I tried to model after the ones that moderated. I need to be tough, not moderate. Finding the right support group was key this time to my own plan.

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  3. Congratulations, Karen! You are so important to me: such a beacon of what is right and true in nutrition!

    Amazing re the bp; when mine is that low, I get equilibrium issues. Glad you can handle it. :)

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    1. Thank you Gwen. I think it's a family thing on the lower blood pressure. I think when I'm eating low inflammatory, that my pressure is naturally low. When I'm sick the doc says "has any one told you they have a hard time finding a blood pressure" I tell them to ditch the automated cuffs and go for the old fashioned.... plus.. I'm still able to talk to them.... Ugh! I've got a question into the Paleo Nurses team about Sea Salt vs conventional and my lower blood pressure. I'll blog about it when the Paleo Nurses answer the question on their podcast.

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  4. Fantastic. I follow a similar diet and I love it. People think I am strange for not eating wheat!

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    1. I get less crap about stopping attending my local church than I do excluding wheat! Seriously, it's more controversial in my very non-controversial world than religion. Craziness!!! :0
      Gluten is not a food group! LOL. People seem more concerned about my nutrient profile and my ability to poop than to pray. I do both by the way...... I think I have a future blog topic... ;)

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  5. HOORAY!! Finding your blog for the first time back in... late 2011, I want to say?... has been such an encouragement to me. Your mostly unsentimental view of what it takes to keep weight off is unique, practical, and precious. Having gone through a 6-month-long-plus dark night of the soul in my life, I am so grateful for the anchor of blogs like yours and Vickie's. Gave me the strength to try again when I honestly was struggling to care about myself and my body at all. Thank you!! All the best to you in this next year of maintaining!

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    1. Hils, I was voted most practical and resourceful in my 5th grade class... I think I was shooting for smartest. Thank you for your kind words. Life is dynamic and tough as much as it is joyful and fun. It's not always easy. Keep those anchors close and life will cycle to more light. Hang in there. Keep up the good work. Keep going.

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  6. Congratulations, Karen - well done! Thank you for sharing your journey with us - your knowledge and thoughtfulness that you share are wonderful gifts for us here in blogland and for you and jr. family member. Way to go!

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    1. Thanks, Jess. So exciting to have year 2 down. I know year 3 will bring as much learning and good as it will hard work, learning and the ability to balance life.

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  7. Feeling awesome and you are awesome .... inspirational to.

    Well done indeed

    All the best Jan

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    1. Thank you for your frequent comments, Jan. I always smile!

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  8. all I can say is ... SPECTACULARLY well done!!!

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    1. Tess,.... thank you. Auto-immune is always tricky. Thank you for your blog and your topics. :)

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  9. Ditto your list today Karen! I'm two years in approx June this year and like you, I know I'll make it year after year now. I'm never going back to fat and sick because make no mistake - for me it was the weight initially that made me change but realising that in doing so I could become well has become the real motivator.

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    1. It's so fun to be with other bloggers who are on the same path, time wise. I agree it's weight that started me out. I had no idea the massive great impact on my whole overall health. As another year of weight maintenance goes, it's as much about weight maintenance and almost more about bone health, aging... all those things. Thank you, Lynda!

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  10. Replies
    1. Thank you, Caron. Knowing you've maintained 9-10 years made me know I could do this !!! Glad you are blogging. :)

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  11. Cheering you on for the last 25. My last 15 was the slowest and I had to really start to address my emotional/binge eating. And get my maintenance plans under tight control! Not easy, but worth the work. Keep going! You will find what works.

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  12. Congrats!

    I say of myself, any ONE of the benefits, on its own, is worth the effort.

    So everything I did, and continue doing, was worth it to get rid of my migraines alone.

    Ditto with acne, sleep problems, female problems, inflammation/joint issues, asthma, etc.

    And I got them all.

    Your list shows you got them all too.

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    1. Vickie, so true... just one thing- the Migraines. Had them for 30 years. Gone! Glad you are sharing your story. I figured that I tackled the big one- emotional eating, I might as well go for total health. The same things that keep my weight in check also keep me in overall good health, so why not? :) It makes the day-to-day much easier, let alone money savings from buying over the counters and seeing the doc.

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  13. I love the term food sobriety. Yes what worked and weight-loss just not necessarily working weight maintenance that is so true

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