If you have read my earlier posts, you know I began doing the ELEM-6 diet on November 20th of 2008. On that day I weighed 243lbs. I set a goal of getting to 175lbs by my birthday--May 23. To do this I'd need to lose about 10lbs per month--or two-and-a-half pounds per week. I figured this was doable if I didn't mess around and really did EL and EM. I missed it by 12lbs. It took me two more months to get to 173. The log book I kept (Are you keeping a weekly weight log?) shows me I reached that weight on July 27, 2009.
By then I was on a roll. I had been walking in the morning for at least an hour--more, if I could squeeze it in--six days a week and being careful to maintain strict portion control. The portion control thing was--still is--a pain for me, one who can really pack it away! And although geeting up at around 4:30a.m. was, at first a gastly prospect for me, aoon that first hour of the morning, from 5 to 6 had become my favorite hour of the day. Nonetheless, those first blurry-eyed 10 to 15 minutes are not by any means cheery--especially if it is real nippy outside. I have a thermometer right outside my door and always check it as I set out first thing in the morning. I have learned that, for me, the dividing line between "brrr-c-c-c-cold" and "it's a bit nippy", is right at 50 degrees. Anything under 50 and my ears and fingers complain. Oops--I see I've gotten a bit side-tracked... where was I? Oh yes,..
I kept up the ELEM-6 diet and continued to lose about 1 to 2 pounds a week. I reached a real milestone when I broke into the 160's in September of last year (2009). I further surprised myself by getting to 157 in late October. I have already mentioned that folks I hadn't seen for some months often said they almost didn't recognize me. A number of people were even expressing concern and telling me I must stop losing weight. Well, that was not an issue with me because I knew I had definitely not lost my very-hearty appetite and could begin eating more at any time. I certainly didn't want to go back to my old way of eating. Now my challenge was to stop losing weight and learn to eat and exercise in such a way that I'd maintain my new normal body weight. This would, I supposed be nearly as difficult as losing those original 80 pounds. I was right. For almost 5 months now, I have stayed within 5 pounds of my ideal weight. Some weeks I am up by a pound or two, and on others I'm down by about the same. It has been a struggle, but I continue to learn a good deal about myself--especially how/why I'd managed to get so overweight and how I can now maintain my new more ideal weight for the long term.
Next time I'll try to give you some useful tips on maintaining "normal." I am still learning and still have to struggle not to kick over the traces and eat like I, for so many years, used to eat. To help keep the pressure on myself, I post my weight every week in the right-hand column of this blog.
Until next time,
Walk with the Master and let him usher you to a life of joyful obeidence!
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