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<\/a><\/div>\nWhile I was there, the doc remarked about my significant weight loss. I was last weighed at the health plan office back in May. On October 12, my weight had dropped by 30 pounds. I knew I needed to lose weight, and the diet-and-exercise recommendation that we always hear is what did it.<\/p>\n
When I took my “summer vacation,” (that is, when I was laid off my job this summer before being offered a new one), I vowed that I wasn’t going to pile on the pounds, snacking away whilst whiling away the hours on a computer. I made a promise to myself to work at weight-loss with some of my “free” time.<\/p>\n
That’s hard for me to do, because I’m not a gym rat. I hate gyms. Ever since grade school where the gym teacher and classmates teased me incessantly for being a klutzy runt, I hated working out. But I knew, deep down, that’s what I needed to do. My twin brother-the-jock gently reminded me and encouraged me on this matter.<\/p>\n
I can’t stand to use weights or machines or whatnot related to workouts and weight loss. Call me cheap, but I will NOT pay for a gym membership. Fortunately, the benefits of being a life member of the alumni association of the university from which I graduated, I am able to use all of their recreation facilities for free. So I go swimming once a week. Unfortunately, that’s not enough, and I am not a runner, so running on the track was out. Unfortunately, I can’t get there during the week (open swim time for alumni is only in the evenings… too late for me.)<\/p>\n
So I began walking. At first, I would walk around my neighborhood. Then I began changing it up, and walking further down the road. I walked to my Aunt’s home, three miles away. I walked … and walked … and walked. My partner bought me a pedometer so I could count my steps. I “upped” my steps from an average of 5,000 per day to, now, an average of 20,000. That’s ten miles, more or less. I walk up and down stairs instead of using an elevator. Each morning at home, I walk the full length up and down three flights of stairs in my home for about 20 to 30 times. (No “stairclimber” for me! I do it for real, and make good use of the steps by carrying stuff, like rearranging my boots from my upstairs closet to my basement storage room.)<\/p>\n
Diet-wise, that’s always a challenge because of my severely restricted diet due to chronic conditions I must live with. I can’t eat most vegetables, salads, beans, tofu, tuna fish, yogurt, or such. Facing multiple “runs” to the bathroom when I eat such things, I decided to forgo eating lunch instead of eating “healthy” crap that would make me sick. I now have a small breakfast composed of a plain (home-made) roll w\/o butter or margarine, and orange juice. I drink about six large glasses of water throughout the day — on hot days and when working strenuously, I double that. Then I prepare a regular, but sensible dinner for my partner and me. Dinner isn’t diet junk — it is real food, such as chicken, beef, or home-made, light pasta. But I limited my portion sizes and left off the condiments, such as mayo (a weakness), since I can’t use mustard or ketchup, relish, or anything else. Salt & pepper add to taste, and I even keep those in moderation.<\/p>\n
Most folks, including me, need a caffeine shot in the morning. Not being a coffee or tea drinker, I might have gone for a soda. I was finding that diet sodas, even Coke Zero, gave me the trots–must be the artificial sweetener. So I just went “cold turkey” and when I really “needed” caffeine, I drank caffeinated water that my partner found for me in the store. I don’t like to use bottled water, but in this case, one-half of a bottle of caffeinated water in the morning would stave off the caffeine withdrawal headache.<\/p>\n
All-in-all, this worked for me. I dropped 30 “real” pounds. I think I finally found a weight-loss plan that works for me, and I intend to keep it up, because it’s part of my regular routine now. When I get a craving, I drink water. It fills me up and I lose my hunger pangs. <\/p>\n
Life is short: manage yourself in ways that work for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I went to see a surgeon the other day to arrange to have a hernia repair. Yep, I have a small hernia which will require surgery to fix. I got it from all the friggin’ work that I do around … Continue reading