I ended my last post talking about my motivation for getting started on this LONG journey to lose 60 pounds. (If you didn't read that one, you might want to do so before reading on...)
After Kerri made her announcement, I immediately decided that I had to get busy. I knew those nine months were going to fly by. I had to get a plan. I visited with the registered dietician at my doctor's office. He gave me some good information. The best things that came from those visits were whole wheat bagels and smoothies. (more on that in a little bit) But he didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know. I mean, I've been fighting this battle a LONG time. I'm not stupid. I know all the stuff I am supposed to do and NOT supposed to do. It also helps that my sister is a registered dietician, so I have an inside line on what the pros say is good and bad. (side note: you really should check out her blog at www. healthywithasideofbacon.blogspot.com It is awesome!) I asked Kathy for some pointers...again...pretty much the same quetions I have asked her a BUNCH of times before. And guess what...she gave me the SAME answers! I knew what I had to do. It was just a matter of DOING it! The first month, I made two pretty significant changes. I started cutting back on Diet Cokes and I quit eating sweets. Now let me break that down for you.
Diet Coke (especially Vanilla Diet Coke) was always my beverage of choice. You know how coffee drinkers stumble through the day until they have had that first cup of java? Well, I hate coffee, but the same principle applied to me and Diet Coke. As soon as my feet hit the floor, I would go get a big swig of DC. I would then usually finish off bottle number one with breakfast. I would usually have another bottle sitting on my desk at school that I would work on all day. Then I would have another in the evening with dinner. Sometimes I would throw in a sweet tea just for a change of pace. So I was pretty much an addict. I had tried several times to quit, and as with most addictions, I was successful for a while, but then I would take that first sip and I would be right back to my three-a-day habit. For some reason, this time was different though. One of my best memories of this adventure was on our Family weekend in October. (All of Rog's family comes to our house for the whole weekend and we have a GREAT time) Anyway...after they all left, there were a couple of bottles of Diet Coke left in the fridge. I had not had one in a while, so I thought "what the heck". It sounded SO good to me. So I twisted off that cap and took a big ole swig. It was DISGUSTING! I took about two sips out of that bottle and poured it out. I figured something was wrong with the bottle. The next day, I decided to try again. Same result!! It tasted HORRIBLE! I couldn't believe it! And that was the LAST time I had even a sip of a Diet Coke. I kept the sweet tea for a while longer. So what in the world do I drink, you ask? This is the CRAZIEST thing. If you had told me a year ago that I would ONLY be drinking water, I would laugh in your face. I HATE WATER. I mean REALLY hate it. It's just gross to me. But one of the things that the pros tell you is that if you are going to lose weight, you HAVE to drink water. Kathy, bless her heart, tried SO hard to coax me into drinking 'just a TINY bit'. Because I didn't drink any...at all. It was Diet Coke or sweet tea or something with a LOT of sugar and flavor. I would literally gag if I drank a sip of water that was ANYTHING other than ice cold. So for me to think about drinking ONLY water, ALL the time was unheard of! BUT...I kept repeating my mantra "I WILL NOT BE A HEIFER AT MY DAUGHTER'S WEDDING". If drinking water was what I had to do, I would figure out a way. And I did. I added a splash of lemon and a packet of Splenda to my water, and guess what! It was pretty good! So now, everywhere I go, I have my tumbler cup with my water/lemon/splenda concoction in it. I don't even remember the last time I drank sweet tea. I can honestly say, I am a WATER ONLY girl now, and that is by choice. Nothing else tastes good to me anymore! I really think this change was a significant part of my weight loss, but maybe not as much as the OTHER big thing I did.
Check out The Big 5-0 Part 3 for that!
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