My Favorite Things...

Was thinking earlier about my favorite things that help when I'm losing weight. In no particular order:


Sugar-free/fat-free jello and pudding. Hard to find sugar- AND fat-free pudding, but I use fat-free jello puddings when I want something really sweet. Only 60 calories each (but you have to make sure you watch your carbs). The sugar-free gelatin cups are 5 calories each, and are really good - even the generics at Walmart and your local grocery store.


Barbeque sauce. There is a brand of barbeque sauce that is low calorie, and super-low in sodium, called Wing-It. One of our Walmarts carries it - look in the specialty area. It's great with chicken, and even in tuna.


Lowfat cheeses. Laughing Cow is famous for their lowfat cheeses, but Sargento makes a reduced fat line that is really good, especially the Colby Jack sticks. Their products are 50-60 calories per serving.


Arnold Round Sandwich Rolls. These are 100 calorie mini-buns, wheat or multi-grain. Another good choice is Nature's Own Whitewheat Hamburger buns taste like white, but are really wheat, and while not as fibrous as other wheat breads, they have the same calories, carbs, and sodium as the Arnold rolls.


Apples. PHC taught us that apples are a dieter's best friend. My favorite? Plain old Red Delicious apples.

The Prodigal Returns Home...

I told myself that I could eat pretty much what I wanted to through the holidays, and then, after normalcy returned, I would just "drop" the weight I had picked up. I'd always been able to do it before; my pattern for nearly 4 months had been to go up a little bit, but be back down to my 216 pounds by time for weigh-in. That worked for a long time... but after I got through the holidays, I realized that it wasn't just "coming off" like it had before. A few fast food biscuits here and there - stuff I knew better than to eat - a dessert every now and then... and I looked in the mirror and didn't like what I saw. Worse, I had pushed up to a weight that was close to a plateau for me in the past.

I had delayed a visit to PHC, because I was feeling the pressure to be "good enough" before I went back to see them. I was actually supposed to go the week between Christmas and New Years, but I couldn't go then - there was still too much dessert at home that I had to eat my way through! I got on the scales, and when I was pushing 236 pounds, I realized that I was at a turning point. My clothes weren't fitting properly, but I couldn't get rolling again.

I just had a choice to make of whether to let it continue, or go get some help. Honestly, I am not a "go-get-some-help" person. I am the stereotypical male who won't ask for directions, won't ask a store clerk where something is, and won't accept help for anything in my life. I chose to go back and get some help. So Tuesday afternoon, I went back to PHC.

Of course, the folks at PHC were very glad to see me, and they were not condemning or panicky at all. I found out later that Donna had been in a bit of a panic, because I had emailed her and told her I was up, and asked how much would they charge me to put me back on a plan. I got on the scale, and their reading was a little less than mine had been at home.

The bottom line is, my target weight for maintenance is 215 pounds. My official weigh-in had me at 231. Sixteen pounds to go.

For those of us who have been 100+ pounds overweight, sixteen pounds sounds like a drop in the bucket - a couple of deck chairs on the Titanic. But go the dairy section of your local food store, and pick up a gallon of milk in each hand. Or, to get the full effect, arrange the handles so that you are holding both gallons in one hand. THAT is roughly sixteen pounds. That's what I need to lose.

I have not stopped to think whether it's been emotional eating, habitual eating, or convenience eating. Probably a little of all that. I have documented my new-found chocolate addiction (which I have given up); overall, just too many carbohydrates and too much eating out.

Savannah put me on 1200 calories a day - 3 proteins, 3 dairy servings, 3 vegetables, 3 fruits, 3 starches. She gave me the dreaded "green sheet" - the food diary that I have to report with. I always hated filling those out, but the accountability is crucial. She took my blood pressure (which could not have been accurate - she came up with 167/110), and sent me on my way. Some of you who are reading this and are trying to lose weight, I would seriously re-consider the advice of those who are telling you to eat 2000-2500 calories per day. If you need to lose 200 pounds, a rate of one to two pounds a week is not sufficient, unless you think you can maintain a weight loss plan for three years. (I'm not a nutritionist or a dietitian , I'm just a guy who lost 140 pounds in 6 months.)

That night on the local news, they featured the founder of PHC in 26's "26 Women to Watch", a series of stories about women who make a difference in our area. In nearly every camera shot, there is either a picture of me, or our Biggest Loser team, or the posters they made up for our finale with our weight loss on them, or the T-shirt we all signed. And I realized that I have a lot to live up to, still! Hopefully their clients can find some motivation in seeing our stories.

I have not strayed from the plan, and so far, so good. I have lost 4 pounds in 3 days. And it's not "just water", because I was already doing all the stuff to get rid of water weight. I'm hoping to be around 225 when I go back to PHC - that will leave me with just 10 pounds to go, after one week.

Stay tuned...