So That Happened

I am fat. I'm not putting myself down, merely stating a fact. I don't care for all the other terms; plus-sized, fluffy, overweight, etc., etc. I am obese, I have been for a long time. But like many fat people, I was healthy. My doctor told me that that losing weight would be good for me, but really, I never had any incentive. Now I do. I am what's known as pre-diabetic. My sugar levels are elevated. Mildly, yes, but still. If I don't do something about my weight and continue on my current course, eventually, I could become diabetic. That is NOT the future I want for myself. I have seen my cousin and my best friend's sister struggle terribly with the effects of diabetes on their lives.

Recently, like two months ago, I removed wheat from my diet again. I've known for years that wheat bothers me, it upsets my stomach and if I eat too much of it, I get migraines. Too much wheat for me is toast, or bagel, or cereal for breakfast; sandwich, or soup & crackers, or pizza for lunch; maybe some sort of pasta or bread with my dinner. After a couple of days of wheat with every meal, migraine! I was missing work because I couldn't see to drive across town, my head hurt so much. I stopped eating wheat and what do you know, the headaches went away. And I have had no problem with finding other things to eat, there are so many gluten-free products now. Plus fresh fruit, veggies, meat, fish, poultry and dairy are all gluten free. No matter if one is a carnivore or herbivore, one can be gluten-free.

Since I have had no issues with going gluten-free, no cravings that I wasn't able to handle, I knew that cleaning up my diet the rest of the way wouldn't be as big of an issue now as maybe it would have been in the past. Plus, I have my friends who are roping me... er including me in their workouts and walks. One of the tools I am currently using is a website called www.myfitnesspal.com. You can track your food and exercise for free. It really does help me to write down everything I eat, that way I can't lie to myself or forget. And yes, I even put down the two small Tootsie Rolls (they're gluten-free!) that I had with my lunch and the two I had after dinner. I have also started getting up and walking away from desk, taking a quick stroll around the office a few times a day. I do that more for the stretching of my muscles and loosening of my joints that I get. The older one gets, the harder it is to sit on one's ass all day. It surely makes my body ache all over.

Exercise also makes my body feel better. Yes, I get sore from working out, but it's a different sore. I have been working out with Ofelia on a semi-regular basis. Just a note on working out when one is obese. I cannot do everything that Ofelia can do, simply because I am 150 lbs heavier than she is. But I can do more now than I could do when I started. And when I think that it's too difficult, I realize that I am already strong just from lugging this weight around and the weight is actually working for me because it takes more energy/calories to move this weight around. Instant motivator!

So my doctor wants me to start Weight Watchers and is sending me to a nutritionist. I think I will wait to start Weight Watchers until I speak with the nutritionist. If she is happy with how and what I am eating, then maybe I'll continue this way and see what happens. I am returning to see my doctor six weeks after my initial visit. She wants me to be 6 lbs lighter and I have already dropped 2 lbs. Yay!!!

One more thing I am going to do. I am going to add this blog to my FB page. I've never told anyone about this blog, but now I taking everyone along for the ride. So sit down, strap in and hold on. There could be turbulence ahead. Or it could be smooth sailing. That's what's so great about the future. We create it as we go.