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Fairfax Station
Member Since December 2007
My Story
I'm 63 years old, 40+ pounds lighter and 26 inches slimmer than I was 18 months ago, with 22% body fat--which I was thrilled to find out is "superior" for my age group :-)) Thank you Curves!! ...This is now...
Eighteen months ago that body fat was "fair," I weighed 167+, my blood sugar, blood pressure and blood cholesterol #s were going up, I was taking too many naps and spending far too much time trying to disguise my paunchy tummy. After a frank chat with my great primary care PA and a "pre diabetic" class, I decided I needed a serious lifestyle change--not just a diet and some exercise with a "start" & "stop" date. I WOULD lose weight and get a grip on my life and my shape!
Here are a few strategies that helped me carve out my new lifestyle...
EXERCISE -- Started walking and pounding the treadmill--my goal was 7 days a week, which I don't think I ever met, but setting a high goal helped me to do 4 or 5 days a week. A pedometer helped me track my progress around the neighborhood. The more "shape-up/diet" books I read, I realized I needed to add "resistance" training/exercise to my regimen, but shuddered when I thought about joining a gym and the thought of buying free weights or some type of universal gym AND learning how to use all that stuff correctly was daunting. This is when "Divine Intervention" intervened in the guise of my good friend Cathy, a Curves member. I became a Curves convert after my first hour--the cheery, positive, knowledgeable circuit coaches were/are amazing! AND Curves offered a short, mindless workout with detailed feedback each month... in addition to that nasty "Curves Smart" yellow light!
EATING -- I love to cook and eat and after keeping a detailed food diary for two months (and I didn't cheat!), I discovered my favorite food group was "saturated fat!" I also knew I was NOT willing to give up anything! (well, except those McDonald's double cheeseburgers on the road); I simply needed to eat less and eat a lot more of the good stuff--veggies, protein and fiber. I now eat five or six times a day, I really listen to my stomach--eat more slowly and just STOP a bit before I feel full. The leftovers become the next day's breakfast, lunch or snacks. I managed to 'manage' those fats by just eating less. -- Instead of two pieces of garlic bread, I'll have 1/2 piece...I cut bacon strips in half before cooking, so still enjoy a couple of short strips instead of the four full-sized strips which had been my norm. I still make potatoes au gratin with heavy cream--but instead of every 2 weeks, maybe every 6 or 7 weeks now. It took a full 6 months for my new cooking/eating regimen to become 'institutionalized' as my new life style, and a full year to lose the 40+ pounds and 26 inches--but the scale doesn't move much these days, those bad "blood" levels have gone down, I still enjoy "my favorite things" and the pudgy tummy is becoming a distant memory :-).