Gooaaaaaaal!

It took me long enough, but I finally hit 179 (179.7 to precise). So I have now lost 120 pounds and according to my BMI I am no long obese.

I can now have sweets again while I maintain this weight for the next 30 days, while I consider my strategy for the remaining 30 pounds. (Only 30 pounds left! Un-fucking-believable!)

To celebrate a bought a cute LBD (That's Little Black Dress for the men out there).

Pictures to come...

Diet Myths That Keep Us Fat

I just finished reading Diet Myths That Keep Us Fat by Dr. Nancy Snyderman. It was surprisingly good. It was grounded in common sense and had lots of useful information. I really liked what she said about junk food, "Giving up junk food is easier than you think. Whole, fresh food offers sensual delights that fast food could never match. If you think about it, it's junk food that's tasteless, requiring large amounts of salt, corn syrup, and trans fat to make it palatable. If you forget about the war between fats and carbs and focus instead on nutritional value, you'll have a diet than is not only healthier but more delicious."

There are a few of my pet peeves in there. As I believe I have bemoaned before - so many of the books written by someone who has lost weight have only lost less than 50 pounds. If you have 50 pounds to lose you are probably in the overweight/low obese range. It is different when someone is morbidly obese. The least of which the time it takes to do it. But that is a subject for another post.

She is also promoting her "Treat Yourself Diet". That always annoys me. If you have a name for it it's a diet - not a lifestyle.

Regardless, I'll still give it 4 stars.

Overdue Update

As I had feared the big loss was not permanent. I have learned through the past 100+ pounds that I have to lose every pound at least twice. It sucks, but I'd rather lose it twice than not at all. So I am back to the post-vacation 183 and now I hope and get to that elusive 179 (for the first time, at least).

Vacation Results

I'm back from my vacation to Europe. The morning we left I was up at 190 (I blame the bachelorette party). During the vacation I drank beer and wine. I ate pizza, pasta, and gelato. The morning I got back I lost 6 pounds - because I walked. I walked about 8 hours a day. I walked uphill, downhill, upstairs, downstairs, uptown, and across town. That is one of the best things about Europe - you walk everywhere.

Even better, it's cranked my metabolism into overdrive. For several days I've lost a pound a day and I could tell when I did my weight training on my legs that they are stronger.

As of this morning I am at 181. So so close 179 and the end of obesity.

Slowing down

It's been really frustrating lately. I'm working really hard at the gym 6 days a week and eating well, but the scale has slowed down. I know it's because I've reached a plateau and I just have to work through it. I wanted to hit 179 by Valentines Day and not only did I not hit it, it's mid-April and I'm still 5 pounds away.

However, on the positive side I'm leaving for vacation soon so I'll be maintaining - that may knock me out of my groove. Also, I'll be walking practically everywhere (like one does in Europe) so that may help too.

I just hope something does.

Slogging Along

I don't really have much to report. I've hit 184, which means I've lost 115 pounds. (Yay). But I am still 5 pounds away from my current goal of 179. I really wanted to hit it by Easter. It's possible, but I'm not going to hold my breath... that doesn't burn a lot of calories.

Fat Acceptance

I feel conflicted about the Fat Acceptance movement. On the surface I agree with it. I don't think fat should be a negative word. It is just a adjective to describe stature. It's not a synonym for ugly - as it is often used. Although it's also possible to be fat and healthy, it think it's rare.

However, I have many issues with Fat Acceptance. I think many people in the movement use it as an excuse to accept their less than healthy lifestyles. It also seems that many people in the movement make the mistake of blaming their genes: Actual obesity caused by a genetic disorder is extremely rare. It's more likely that you share the same lifestyle of your parents. But speaking of DNA, Stanford did a study with interesting ramifications. I need to point out that all of the diets involve reducing calories.

There also seems to be a lot of intolerance of people from the community towards those who are trying to lose weight. Many are holding onto the belief that changing ones diet won't effect ones weight - despite all of the evidence to the contrary.

I guess I believe that a person can accept themselves and still try and change for the better.