Just over a week ago I was dreading a 4 week commitment to yet another diet. Today, I'm feeling differently.
Here's some background on my adult, body composition journey. There's a photo of me holding my eldest (daughter Erin, now living with her wonderful husband, Paul in Manhattan, NYC) in front of our first family home in Corvallis. I was 26 years old and hadn't exercised in any way after leaving college where I'd competed in track and gymnastics. I thought the photo processor had somehow morphed my body with a slip of the darkroom lens. I'm not THAT fat! But, I was. I was right at 200 pounds, after leaving college at 165. I started running that week.
In 1978 I ran my first marathon in Portland and in 1997 I ran my 11th and last marathon, also in Portland. I managed to wear out a hip in the process of running over 20,000 miles during that period. In those days, I could lose weight easily by kicking up my mileage without concern for my diet. I loved running and maintained a body fat as low as 4%. I'd hate to see what my percentage of body fat is right now, but I'm guessing it's probably closer to my age than to 4.
I've tried low carb diets and low calorie diets. While I'd find I could lose weight on either, I was ALWAYS hungry and always craving something I wasn't supposed to eat. I'm not big on deferring satisfaction and didn't stay with any of them for long. When I found LG, I found (among other wonderful things) a partner in my appreciation for good food, wine, cooking and eating delicious meals wherever we went. While we found this a wonderful bonding activity, it was more than our culinary horizons that were broadening. By last Sunday, I was once again hovering close enough below that 200 pound level that I had to duck my head. Keep in mind that I'm only 5' 9".
All week long I've been telling my blog readers how much food I'm eating, that I'm never hungry and that I can eat any of the authorized foods if I were ever to get hungry. I've been mildly concerned that I've been overdoing the intake and not really doing enough exercise to earn any fat loss. On the other hand, I've felt...leaner? It seemed my jeans - which had been demanding I button them a little lower on my waist each month - were crawling back up in the direction of my still-too-deep navel. I'd read that this diet can have a positive affect on joint problems. My right wrist had been complaining athritically for the past couple years each time I asked it to do any real physical work. Yesterday I spent 3 or 4 hours in the garage - lifting, grasping, pushing and twisting...no wrist pain this morning! If I'd been eating this way throughout my adult life, I might not have an airport metal detector-alarm-causing hip today. I know it sounds like I'm prosthelytizing, but I'm just telling it like it is...just the facts, ma'am...and sir. I simply want to express that this has been an amazingly educational, painless and fun journey so far. Not to mention, healthy.
So, without further ado, the scales this morning tell me I have painlessly lost 5.2 pounds this week! I'm frankly as surprised as I am delighted. I've eaten at least as much food this week as any of the previous weeks this year - just different kinds of food. I'm feeling darned happy today and not the least bit intimidated at the prospect of continuing this approach to food consumption.
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