Weight Loss(es)

For most of my life, I never gave a lot of thought about my weight because i was always very active (as in hyper) and did not have a weight problem. Once my children were all grown, I became more sedentary and a few pounds crept in, a little at a time until I was about 20 pounds above my ideal weight. I found out I am a real sissy when it comes to expectations of weight loss! I don't have much patience with it.

To lose the excess weight, I slowed down on the fast food and late night eating habits, ate less sweets, plus added some walking outdoors, and after a while, it was gone. I didn't keep a weight loss diary and have no idea how long it took me. Over time, though, that same 20 pounds came back. Oh, it was subtle because it took a while and I basically gained a little all over from face down to feet.

Fast forward to February 2023, I started a program called Wondr. It was provided at no cost by my husband's employment. We both followed the plan and I lost about 20 pounds and kept it off except for about 5 pounds. He lost weight as well, but much faster! I'm currently working on that 5 pounds by using more "loving movement" as Flylady calls exercise. She says we are loving our bodies by taking care of ourselves. Flylady is someone I will be talking about later on. She is amazing. She is how I got my home cleaning and organization under control and made it easy.

Anyway, I'm combining more physical activity as I have mentioned in a previous post, with cutting back on excess food in general, less sugar, and eating more protein. The Wondr program had a lot of helpful videos and principles. The basic, main premise was that you eat slowly and mindfully, focusing on the texture and flavors, and giving your body time to know when you are full. I naturally eat a lot less that way. Other parts of the program tell you to eat way less sugar, and eat snacks that are around 100 calories in between meals if you get very hungry - those would be some nuts, some cheese, fruit, etc. that would just hold you until the next meal. I actually have maintained the principles as a lifestyle because it works for me.

You aren't supposed to let yourself get too hungry so that you go crazy eating, but I learned the good part of that is that your body is burning calories when you are hungry. When your stomach is growling, your body is burning fat! Yay! I remind myself of this when I'm waiting a bit to have my next meal, and it is really exciting to me to know that it is beneficial to wait. If you are wanting to gain control over eating habits, I highly recommend Wondr. I do not know how much it costs, but I do know it's available to the general public for purchase. It worked for me!

The main reason that 5 pounds was able to sneak back on me is because I went on about 10 cruises with my honey (see pic above) in the past year. Cruises are where temptation and I come face to face. I am about to be on a 14-day cruise starting next week and I am getting mentally ready.

We treat them like spa vacations. We generally get more physical activity there than we do at home. I'm up at 5:00am or before and go out on deck to walk. Later in the day, I walk more whenever I feel like it. We always take the stairs instead of the elevator. At each port, we walk everywhere instead of taking a shuttle or taxi unless it's absolutely necessary. There's also lots of relaxation that goes on. And, of course, lots of eating!

I have about 3 pounds to go!

Start dreaming again, my friend!