Let's Eat: Week 10

May 11, 2011

Watching My Weight Wednesday

I have been eating a Low Carb Diet for several months now. Since January 1st of this year I have lost 10 pounds. I feel SO much better about myself, but, I can't stop now. I have got at least another 3 pounds until I reach my goal weight, but, I could probably stand to lose a couple pounds beyond that.

I have never been obese. Most of my life I was able to manage my weight thoughtlessly. Actually, in high school, I tried very hard, unsuccessfully, to gain weight. Crazy. I know. I got married at 19 years old weighing about 97 pounds soaking wet. When I got pregnant I weighed about 107 pounds. I had my first child a couple of months before I turned 26 years old. Within weeks after her birth I was back into my pre-pregnancy clothes. I gained 29 pounds in that pregnancy and delivered a 7# baby girl at 38 weeks. Two years later, my second child was born after a total weight gain of 39 pounds. No, he did not weigh 10 pounds more than his sister. He was 2 ounces bigger than his sister, born also at 38 weeks. Regardless, I quickly returned to my pre-pregnancy weight pretty quickly. Like clockwork, two years later I delivered yet another baby, but, I only gained 19 pounds, proving to myself that when you're pregnant you're not really supposed to "eat for two". He was my biggest baby, at 7#9.5oz born at 38 weeks.  My third child was born weeks before my 30th birthday. The weight didn't magically fall off as it had the two times before, but, I certainly wasn't overweight by any stretch of the imagination. I had managed to hold on to a few extra pounds this time. But, after about a month or so of doing "Weight Watchers" I found myself super skinny- like, size 0 skinny. Let's just say that my love for food did not let me stay at a size 0 for very long. By the time I got pregnant for my fourth child, I was at my highest non-pregnant weight of 120 pounds. (I'm short, people! It looks worse than it sounds. Trust me.) I was already starting out heavier than I would like, so, I was careful and only gained 18 pounds. This baby was my smallest at 6#12oz, also born at 38 weeks. I weighed 138 pounds at delivery, came home at 128 pounds and stayed that way for 3 years! The weight took up permanent residence on my body! How does that happen? I just don't get it. Okay, so maybe the fact that I was 34 years old when she was born had a little something to do with it. Who knew that your metabolism actually reverses after 30? 

It has certainly not been easy or quick in losing those extra pounds. I have occasionally been hungry, unable to satisfy something in my head or my taste buds or wherever. I have had to be creative in "curing the craving". But, I am proof that it can be done! It just takes a little determination. I have four kids who are in an active love affair with sugar and all things delicious and fattening. I have a husband who can lose weight so much easier than I can. (And frankly, he looks perfectly fine to me just the way he is.) They love rice and gravy and all those other Cajun Carbs, too! I have found a way to adapt my eating habits without imposing on theirs. My kids know that there are a few food items in the house that are "Mom's Diet Food" and are off limits to them. (Trust me, they have plenty of other options.) The weight has been slow in leaving. But, I am not torturing myself in the process. Every few months I will allow myself a cheat day. But, more times than not, I still resist most things that are heavy in carbs, with few exceptions. This is a lifestyle. A change in habit. Yes, some days are harder than others. But, if you get really creative, you CAN absolutely push through with success.  

"Where's the recipe?", you ask. Okay. Okay. How about a simple lunch idea. I will often open a can of tuna, boil a couple of eggs, throw in a little mayo and mustard, grab a fork and forgo the bread. It's especially yummy if you dice up some raw onion and add it in as well.  Sometimes, if I'm especially lazy hungry and on the verge of fainting because I've gone too long before eating, I will open up a can of Armour Chicken Vienna Sausages and manage to get them down my throat. They are 0 carbs, and it's better than passing out. Plus, I will usually finish the "meal" with a tablespoon of Skippy Natural Peanut Butter, which is only 3 grams of carbs.

"You say, 'Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food.' This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them."1Corinthians 6:13

"Those who think it is all right to eat anything must not look down on those who won't. And those who won't eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them." Romans 14:3