From Fat to Fab

It’s been five or six weeks now and I’m down 10 pounds from where I started.  Not bad, but still about 20 pounds more to go.  Now when I tell you “I am solid” don’t laugh! At my start weight (and size 12) I registered as obese on the BMI scale.  Losing 30 pounds will amount to a size 6-8 when all is said and done.  Not too shabby, but the question is –when the hell can I eat an entire chocolate cake!?

Just as my last post indicated, I felt like a million bucks after I kicked the sugar craving.  I’m still not eating sugar or white foods (flours, grains, pastas, potatoes) – but have added in back a few starchy veggies like carrots or corn from time to time.  To be honest, at this point I”m a bit afraid to add back in fruits and breads.  I feel better, probably look better, and have more energy (outside of the killer cold/allergies I’ve got).  WHY in the world would I add back in sugar?  I think that’s staying out of my diet, but except for one or two times a month when a scoop of ice cream or piece of cake is in order.  Still on the fence about grains – whole grain, whole wheat, no bleached flour – there is a lot to learn before I make a decision.

One thing I hadn’t though of was how I’m going to deal with changing sizes and not investing too heavily in transition clothes.  My closet was cleaned out years ago of all single-digit jeans and skirts.  All I have left is my current size clothing.  Scratch that, I now have a closet full of “old” size clothing.  I just realized today I have been walking around picking up my pants from falling every 34.6 seconds and it’s annoying.  Besides, I can’t very well go around in professional clothing with the backside of my trousers sagging down.  Belts don’t seem to help either.  Yes, they hold my pants up, but there is also a huge gathering of material gaped up all over.  Not very attractive.  I have never shopped at a second hand shop (trust me, the clothing I purchase is cheap/inexpensive enough as it is…) but I think some research and a shopping trip is in my future.  Not sure if the clothes I just outgrew are decent enough to sell on consignment.  Thinking back to where I buy my clothes and the fact I keep them until 1) they fall apart 2) they are stained beyond help or 3) don’t fit any longer – I couldn’t face the rejection of the shop owner when they don’t want my wardrobe.  Goodwill it is!  The fact of the matter is, I hate to spend money on clothes.  HATE IT.  High end clothes shopping for me is Target or Kohl’s.  On sale.  Post season.

How am I going to survive not only foregoing a chocolate cake binge, but having to revamp my wardrobe three times on the way to my healthy size and weight?  The stress of that alone is enough to make me just want to eat a dozen bagels and call it a day.

First Day of My “Diet”

First Day of My “Diet”

DietHere is where I let it all hang out. I just bought a pair of Spanx last week (they are amazing and worth every penny) and realized I need to do something, fast.  No worries, I will not subject you (yet) to the before pictures, but they are comin’. Today is the first day of my fatblogging.  No Wikipedia entry for it surprisingly, only Google references to Joseph Jaffe (someone I worked for early last year at crayon) and blogging support groups.  If I had more energy (or time) I’d start the damn entry myself.

Anyhow, since my mom is with us during the week, and for dinners during the week, she and I have decided we need to slim down.  Well, honestly she’s always talking about dieting, or always on a diet, but hasn’t hit success yet.  Me?  Well, the baby is 10 months old now and it’s time.  Ten months in / ten months out I said then time to slim down.  Besides, Kidlette started second grade today and without her around during the day to tempt me with Pop-Tarts, I have a better chance.

Why South Beach you ask?  Why not Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers or Slim-Fast?  Jenny Craig is great (I tried it once before having any kids) but the fact is, I don’t enjoy eating meals at home that come from a microwave box and that are different than what my family is eating.  The cost for one week of food JUST FOR ME is equal to what I spend for a week to feed three adults and two kids.  Weight Watchers was okay for me, but even with their plans, and points, and books, and support, I hate thinking too hard about what I can eat (or how much).  Slim-Fast, well, I can’t live on chocolate shakes and snack bars – besides their website sucks and I have not forgiven them for it yet.

About five years ago I gave South Beach a shot – and *IT WORKED*.  Maybe it is my body type / eating habits / genetics in combination with the diet change – but wow!  I went from a size 16 (Hear that sound? That was me hitting the floor!) to a size 8 in about two months.  Nothing crazy about how it works – read the book – except I cut out coffee cold-turkey.  Even years later my husband’s flight response kicks in when he thinks back to the first week of caffeine withdrawal.  Now I realize I could have had the coffee and not gotten the migraines.  The cravings were unbearable last time around, but only for the first five days or so.  Granted, my diet was MUCH worse back then, I had a toddler and the stress of running my own retail scrapbook store to deal with – and M&M’s, coffee, and Coke was about all I consumed.

When I realized that I dropped half my jean sizes, I was amazed.  I honestly hadn’t noticed.  Living in yoga pants around the clock lets you gain (or lose) weight without noticing it much.  This time around I’m not quite as big, and I’ve got my mom to do the diet change with.  She and I cook dinner together during the week, so we can both learn new cooking and eating habits.

I guess to be on board with this whole fatblogging deal, I should maybe post pictures, weights, and measurements.  I will, but not right now!  My excuse – the baby has been taking a 2 hour nap and I don’t want to disturb him!  Seriously, I’ll see about doing all that and adding it to this post tonight, and get my mom to keep her own statistics (not on the blog though).

[tags]South Beach Diet, fatblogging[/tags]