Diet Progress

Sep 2007 Stats

5'5"

BMI 22

Weight 132lb

Hips Size 10 UK(6 US)

Bust Size 12 UK(8 US)

This is my story of my fight against flab my attempts to diet and the final realisation that the word DIET should be used to mean a way of life not just something we do to lose a few pounds or more as the case may be.  If you still want to think of a diet in this way either read on with an open mind or don't bother. 

 

If you want a quick fix diet for the summer you will be 'dieting' every year and I'll bet that every year you will have to diet harder because you will have more to lose.  For traditional diet advice go to the bottom of the page for links (if you really must).

 

I'm going to be using the word diet a lot because that's what most people that land on this diet page will have searched for.

 

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July 2004 These are these are the pictures that made me realise I had to do something to get my weight down ie the dreaded word DIET.  They were taken in the Canaries July 2004.  I was still struggling badly with ME/CFS.  The only thing that kept me going was the swimming.  I took my instructors qualification in 2003 but several relapses  before during and after that   meant little exercise and the will to diet or should I say change my diet to healthier options was absent.  Here I am at my worst about 182lb or 13 stone.  I've never gone on a diet in my life before and here I am age 52 and I've only just realised that the weight has gone on gradually since my teens and quicker since I got ME/CFS when I was 45.       May 2005 I started a diet by simply cutting down shortly after that holiday and by May 2005 I'd made some progress.  As you can probably see in this photograph I am thick over the ribs and my tummy bulges like I'm pregnant.  Dieting doesn't seem to do much to alter my basic shape.  Bear in mind that I'm holding my tummy in here <grin>.  I am now about 147 lb 10 and a half stone.  By some people standards I'm not that bad but I know I was naturally VERY skinny in my teens and if I can hide my tummy people think I weigh a lot less than I do.     November 2005 The beginning of 2005 and I am starting to think about my diet more seriously.  It's not just about how much I eat but what I eat.  August 2005 I am about 140lb (10 stone) and finding it hard to keep up the weight loss.  I am exercising intermittently swimming regularly but hampered by frequent relapses with the ME/CFS.  I am beginning to see the sense of a low carb diet and I am aware that at 140 lb about 4 or 5 lb of that will go straight back on as soon as I come out of ketosis.  By November 2005 I manage to get to 128lb but that's while I'm ketogenic so let's call it 132lb.  I don't stay in ketosis for longer than 2 or so months at a time but frequent holidays mean weight gains and diets to get back to square 1.   And 132 lb is where I stay up and down with holidays but struggling to get much below that point even on a low carb diet.  I've cleaned up my act with food somewhat and a good vitamin C intake sees improvements in my health.  I've been dipping in and out of AbcBodybuilding and I'm beginning to take on board some of the stuff I'm reading there. Diet and nutrition begin to take on a whole new meaning and I start toying with the idea of weight-training.  No I don't mean I want to be a body builder but I'm beginning to see the sense of much of what bodybuilders do.  Taken at it's very simplest removing the competitive side of things aren't they doing what I would like to do?  Get rid of the fat get fit lean and healthy and here's the crunch understand how to achieve whatever goals you set yourself.   OK I'm a 55 year old grandmother and I can hardly compare myself with a 30 year old body builder (might like one as a toy boy -  oops hope hubby doesn't see this!)  BUT is there any reason I can't learn from them? August 2007 So here I am still 132lb and the last 2 years have been very mixed.  Ups and downs with my health but worst of all hubby and I have been SKIing better known as Spending the Kids Inheritance.  We decided that when Dave was forced to retire with arthritis we would take a couple of years out and holiday.  Great fun but not so great for the waistline. Low carbing isn't helping much now nor is calorie counting.  I'm now committed to the idea that exercise is the key to everything.  I've invested in a  new gym room which should be finished by Christmas. I have a multi-gym elliptical treadmill rower weight bench and crunch bench.  On the left is what my gym looks like at the moment.  Through the scaffolding is the stream and I have great plans for inside and out.  To cap it off I snapped a rainbow from that spot and if that's not an omen I don't know what is. I've read much of the advice on AbcBodybuilding and whilst I'm never going to go for big muscles I think I've learned enough to keep me from losing muscle when I drop this stubborn last few lb of fat.  I have a good grasp of what I need to do to achieve my goals.  Can I do it? My big problem is going to be the 5 weeks holidays I have planned between now and Christmas and of course Christmas itself.  My plan is to rev up my metabolism and try to hold even while I'm away.  Luckily my first holiday in September is with my sister and she wants to lose some fat too.  October I'm in Egypt with my husband and December with hubby and my brother.  If my vertigo improves I intend to scuba dive.  A quick note here for anyone with ME (CFS/CFIDS.  Don't ever let anyone tell you you can't do things like diving.  There are loads of places that will offer you one-to-one tuition and guiding in the quiet times and you don't need to carry tanks EVER.  You can kit up in the water where the tanks are weightless.  YOU CAN DO IT!     September 2007 Tummy Aaaargh Love Handle Thigh Calf Upper Arm So now I bare all well not quite all in the interests of total honesty.  I am asking the guys on AbcBodybuilding to help me estimate my body fat and give me some advice. I feel very silly wearing the skimpiest thing I can find. I think I have my diet worked out.  I am going for a 1000 calorie deficit each day on average 500 from calorie restriction 500 from exercise.  I'm calorie cycling so my body doesn't go into starvation mode.  I'm eating 5 'meals' a day protein in every meal with no carbs late at night and avoiding carbs and fat together.  I'm still keeping lower carb than the bodybuilders as my activity levels will be nothing like theirs. I am wearing my Polar heart rate monitor for a while.  This has been my rock in getting out of the 'I have ME - I can't exercise' rut.  I've used my heart rate to guide me as to when I can do stuff and when I am in danger of a relapse.  It rarely lets me down whereas stopping when I feel tired and carrying on when I feel OK can be misleading. I have a new model that measures under 90 beats a minute and it seems to give me a very accurate result on calorie expenditure over 24 hours.  Last year I logged all my food in Fitday for a while and used my Polar to record my calorie output.  Weight loss and increases were mathematically as calculated. The last few days I have been trying to rev up my metabolism.  I love the Pump-it-up DVD with the Eric Prydz stuff but I can only manage 5 minutes before my heart rate gets to 170.  I need to build this up slowly.  Even so my daily calorie expenditure as of September 1st is in excess of 2400 a day.  I calculate my sedentary figure to be about 1400 that's when I'm on a downer with the ME and about 1900 if I'm active but not exercising regularly. So my average calorie intake is going to be 1400 when I'm not on holiday.  My output is going to be a minimum of 2400 more when I'm on holiday.  That's the theory anyway and so far my Polar says I'm getting there.   Week Target Weight Actual Weight Sep 2 Sep 9 Sep 16 Sep 23 Sep 30 132lb 130lb 128lb 128lb (no loss while on holiday) 126lb 132lb Oct 7 Oct 14 Oct 21 Oct 28 124lb 124lb (no loss while on holiday) 124lb (no loss while on holiday) 122lb   Nov 26 122lb (no loss this month due to operation and 4 weeks recovery)   Dec 03 Dec 10 Dec 17 Dec 24 Dec 31 122lb (get back in shape) 122lb (no loss while on holiday) 122lb (no loss while on holiday) 120lb 120lb (no loss Christmas)                         Info. for women from other sources   Diets - For losing weight quickly dieting the right way.   at "So Feminine" .co.uk • Losing weight the easy way • The McKeith diet • The diet calorie counter • Which sport for weight loss? • Which diet will suit you best? • The anti-diet weight loss plan! Part 1: Getting in shape • Anti-snacking solutions • Get savvy with sweeteners • Bikini countdown: SOS beach diet • Potatoes: your secret weapon for weight loss • Lose your winter weight! • Sporty or sedentary? Weight-loss plans for everyone! • Weight loss by age: your needs • Sugar starch and fat: friend or foe? • Introducing the Forking diet • Losing weight as a family • Drop a dress size without dieting • Weight loss for your body shape • Why have you put on weight? • Diet soup recipes • Anti-calorie tips • The keys to weight-loss • Streamline for summer • Zoom on diet meal substitutes • Your diet analysis • Don't go it alone: find a diet buddy here • Is your diet balanced?

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