I am down 8 pounds so far. Which is insane, I've never lost this much weight in this short of time. I think that is a testament to how badly i was taking care of myself these last 2 (or more like 8) years. I've never weighed more or felt as unhealthy as I did at the start of the year.
So far nothing I've done is drastic nor unsustainable. I've eliminated a few things from my diet - pop, french fries, potato chips. Pop has been the hardest, but after a few days the really intense cravings went away. Other than Friday afternoon, I wanted a Mt Dew really bad. I've tried eating mostly chicken salads and dishes with chicken breast or fish and veggies. I've exercised every day, even if it was just 10 minutes in front of the tv doing crunches, squats, and lunges. Or a 15 minute walk over break at work. And I've cut my portions in half (which is really easy to track - just eating half of what I normally would). If I go out for lunch I only eat half of my lunch and save the rest for later in the day. I'm using half the salad dressing. I'm also consciously deciding how much I'll eat BEFORE I eat and then sticking to that. Last week we had pizza two days for a working lunch, and I set my limit at 2 pieces and to not eat the crust. And I stuck to that (okay, the 2nd day i had 3 pieces, but they were small pieces and thin crust). I've added an afternoon snack to keep the metabolism up (a healthy snack) and usually that snack is finishing the half of lunch I didn't eat at lunch.
But most importantly, it clicked in my head. I've developed a real loathing for myself. For how I look and feel, for how crappy a friend I've been, for how lazy I've been at living my life (couch and tv, every night), for how crappy a job I'm doing at work, for how anti-social I've become. Among other things. For people I've hurt recently. And I reached a point where I simply could not continue feeling hateful towards myself. It has been a downward spiral that that I felt was right on the edge of becoming out of control. In the last 18 months I've gone from 230 lbs to 257, and suddenly I could see 300+ as a real possiblity.
Loosing weight weight, being fit, and feeling healthier isn't the end all be all - in fact it barely scratches the surface. And i have a long ways to go before I am fit and am healthy. But I think it is something I can focus on and start to deal with right now. Losing those 8 lbs the last week and a half has been a confidence boosting God send. Time will tell if i can keep it up and see real progress or if I'll regress, but boy it sure feels good right now.
Thanks for letting me share.
Heath