“I just ate less…”

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**DISCLAIMER** 

This whole series of posts (and I believe there are only six) are generally for older women (over 60) who want to lose less than 50 pounds.  I imagine it would apply to all women…but if you are younger, you can try it also.  It will just work quicker…

This is NOT a guide to eating healthy or a guide to “healthful eating/living”.

This is simply how I have lost almost 14 pounds in 6 months (beginning last October) and am still on track to lose 11 more pounds by November.

So, if you need to lose 100 pounds or if you are looking for emotional guidance as you lose weight or if you believe you can actually lose 15 pounds in 2 weeks…STOP READING!!

**END OF DISCLAIMER**

For everyone else…

One day last month (May) I was chatting with my 46-year-old daughter.  I am 75 going on…

I mentioned to her that I had lost 13.5 pounds since last October.

She actually stopped what she was doing…she was eating a piece of her excellent homemade cinnamon roll…and looked at me.

I was really surprised because she normally doesn’t pay much attention to anything I say…you know how busy these young people are…

“How did you do that?” she asked me…in a TRULY interested voice.

And…she really wanted to know…

“Well,” I answered slowly, “I just ate less…”

“And I tried to walk a little every day.”

“Huh.”   She said thoughtfully…and I was so encouraged by this outburst of interest and excitement that I thought that maybe I should share my weight-loss process with others.

My goal here is to tell you what happened to me and I don’t see why it can’t happen to you.

My blog is mainly for publishing my short stories…not for giving out weight-loss advice…but this is really good stuff…so I hope it works for you (it will)…and you can also search around and read some of my short stories if you wish.

So, as my delightful 11-year-old granddaughter said recently before giving a very impressive speech to a large group of people, “Let’s just dive right in and get started.”

 

Just the facts…Post #2 of “I just ate less…”

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  • I am 5’3″ tall and as previously stated…I am 75.
  • I have never been overweight until now.
  • I have mostly weighed around 110-115 pounds…less in my teens and early twenties.
  • I have never dieted.
  • I have one child.
  • I am Caucasian and of Swedish descent.
  • I am in good health for being 75…whatever that means…
  • I am not Type 2 diabetic.  (Although it appears that most of the world is…)
  • WEIGHT LAST OCT. 2018:  147.8 (And yes…I had a big belly…sigh…)
  • CURRENT WEIGHT:  134.2 as of June 7, 2019
  • NOTE:  LOSS OF 13.6 POUNDS…YAY, ME!!!!  ALSO THERE IS BELLY SHRINKAGE.
  • GOAL:  To weigh 125 pounds by November 1, 2019
  • PROCESS:  Lose 1/2 pound per week or 2 pounds per month.  (Did not seem like a big deal, right?  HAH!!!  I was so wrong.)

In the very beginning, I couldn’t lose any weight at all…WE ARE TALKING ZERO POUNDS.

I even skipped meals.  Not a good idea…ever…okay…once in while we all do it.

I spent over a month trying to figure out what I was doing wrong because it was painfully obvious I was doing absolutely nothing right…when I gained 2 pounds!

And, of course, having a metabolism of dry paint (which is what you have when you reach age 75) doesn’t help.

Plus…when I was skipping breakfast and lunch in a wild attempt to lose SOMETHING…ANYTHING…my body thought I was stranded on a desert (not dessert) island and in danger of starving to death…so it decided to store my fat.  Thanks a lot, body.

I tried counting calories.   I used the “Lose It” app.  It was fine and good but I really did have better things to do with my dwindling years.

Plus…everyone knows 10 barbecued chicken wings have more calories than one stalk of celery…UNLESS you dip the celery in lard.

I clearly had no idea what I was doing…but I wasn’t giving up.  There had to be a way…and there was…BUT it wasn’t easy.

It was just plain simple.

P.S.  I’ve looked at other weight-loss blogs and they have very pretty pictures and really great recipes.  I apologize in advance (in case you hadn’t already noticed)…there are no pics and no recipes.  (But I did put this notice in green…so there’s that.)

What I discovered…Post #3 of “I just ate less…”

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 BULLETIN:  Weight today #133.6..”Woo-hoo”!!!

  • The metabolic rate is much slower when you pass 55 or 60…even slower in your 70’s.
  • After menopause, God is basically done with you and you will gain 5 pounds just by looking at a chocolate cake with buttercream frosting.  No.  Don’t argue with me.  It’s true.
  • If you smoke (like I did) the pounds will appear after you quit, but it’s still worth quitting.
  • Retirement means less structured work.  You have more time now for socializing…more opportunities for eating out…perhaps even having extra glasses of wine…or chocolate malts.
  • Living the good, retired life; sleeping late and lovely naps in the afternoon…all can equal weight gain…but so slowly…you hardy notice…until you do!
  • If you should move from a house to an apartment…there is generally less work to do.  And that means less routine burning of calories just by maintaining a certain “house-owning” lifestyle…like gardening, mowing, snow, leaf and twig removal…you know the drill if you have ever owned a house.
  • Question:  Do you really want to pay money to stop eating the foods you love and eat special food that tastes like crap?  Really?
  • Question:  Do you really want to help the U.S.  $68.2  (update)…$70.3  (NEW update…) $72 BILLION  weight-loss market increase their net worth?  Really?
  • Question:  Do you really want to take some probably unsafe/useless, non-FDA approved drug so you can lose 50 pounds in one week? (I’m exaggerating a little here..)  Really?
  • Do you really want to exercise a LOT and even sweat?  Do you really want to lift weights…and…you know…sweat?  Do you really want to pull on those resistance bands until one day you accidentally let go of one end and it snaps your eye out?  Really?
  • Do you want to pay good money (is there bad money??) to a fitness center to have some weight-loss/fitness expert who is probably 12…just kidding…give you a look…when you tell her you gained a pound or eaten half of a doughnut  that morning?  Really?

Yup…I totally agree and am impressed with everything I just said…SO, HERE IS WHAT I DID.

To find out, send $25.00 in unmarked bills to...

HAH!!!! GOTCHA!!!  I’m just kidding….

The Eating Part…Post #4 of “I just ate less…” comes tomorrow!!!!!

 

The eating part…Post #4 of “I just ate less…”

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A note before I begin:  I’ve been poking around “weight-loss” and “dieting” blogs and I found out that a lot of people suggest that “just eating less” won’t do it…you have to do a lot of other stuff to lose weight…plus you are going to be hungry and not feel satisfied.  Here is what I say:  Do you want to lose weight or not?  Okay, I’m done.

  • I love to cook, so I wasn’t going to stop cooking my fantastic food and buy crap  “diet food”.  So…I just put a little less of everything on my plate…every single night…except when I made pizza…or we had pizza delivered.  For every rule there should be one exception and this is the one I’m making.  I think this equals god mental health…I think.  I also think I really love pizza.
  • I love sugar with my coffee…so I just put a little less in my cup.
  • When my beloved furry friend, LuLu the Cat, died in 2015…I started to have a whole Hershey bar…every night after dinner for dessert.  I stopped doing that.
  • I have 1/2 to 1 whole can of 3.2 beer with my dinner every night.  (NOT Lite.)
  • I stopped making popcorn with butter every night.  Now I have it once a week. At first it was really hard but then I discovered popsicles!  I have 2 (halves) after dinner every night.
  • I really look at my plate when I am putting food on it.  I mean…really look at it.  I now know exactly when I should stop ladling the gravy over my mashed potatoes…about 2 ladles does it.
  • If we are eating a food that has pieces…like French toast for example…skinny husband will get 10 little squares…and I will get 6…plus butter, of course and maple syrup.
  • I still bake cookies and cakes and buy all sorts of delicious baked goods because my husband weighs 122 pounds…yes, that is exactly right…
  • Occasionally, if I want…I will take a bite out of whatever I am giving him…and then get a popsicle out of the freezer.
  • Christmas was hard this past year.  But instead of eating 3 or 4 warm cookies right out of the oven…I had a half of a cookie.  I had lost almost 3 pounds by then and I didn’t want to screw up…I knew I was on to something.
  • I kept thinking of that children’s book, “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.”  I felt like, “If You Give Tina Half Of A Cookie…she’ll be happy!”  And I was.
  • I still go to Dairy Queen once a week and get a small chocolate sundae.
  • I try to get to White Castle once a week where I order 2 sliders and a small REGULAR Coke…or McDonalds for a Filet-O-Fish sandwich and a small REGULAR Coke.
  • That Coke is the only pop/soda I drink all week.
  • I have never drank diet pop/soda…I tasted it once…
  • I cook with butter.  I cook with whole milk.  I love meat…red, lovely meat.  AND I LOVE GRAVY…as previously mentioned.  I like chicken too…in case you wondered…with barbecue sauce or gravy, of course.
  • I never eat anything labeled “lite” “diet” “fat-free” or my favorite…”tastes awful but it only has 3 calories”…kidding on the last one.
  • I love potatoes in any form.
  • I seldom eat breakfast.  I just have coffee with sugar, no cream
  • But…I almost always have a good lunch.  Sandwiches made with ONE slice of white bread…tuna, chicken, ham, egg salad or peanut butter. I always use Mayo.  I love Mayo…full strength…not lite.  There is always cheese on my lunch plate because I love cheese.  Grapes and strawberries are also there.  And then I add 3 crackers.  My current favorites are Breton Originals…and Better Cheddars.
  • If I do feel like breakfast, I will have a small can of tomato juice or an egg fried in butter.
  • We do not eat out a lot but when we do…I just leave food on my plate if the portion is too large.
  • IMPORTANT!  Do not go to bed hungry!  Every night I read before I go to sleep so I have 3 or 4 crackers and 5 potato chips…and 3 LUDEN’S  cough drops.
  • Odd little observation:  Before I began this bedtime snack ritual, I used to have a little acid reflux.  It was really bothersome.  But now I never have it…go figure.
  • I NEVER deny myself anything because with this plan…I don’t have to.  Except excess…I deny myself excess…that’s fair to say.
  • I eat everything and anything…I just eat less.

So…that’s the “eating” part of my weight-loss process.

I know it is pretty simple but it really worked and obviously is still working since I just lost more weight yesterday!

P.S.  I am never hungry (except before dinner and, really, who isn’t) and I am so very satisfied…

The “Walk A Little Every Day” part  comes tomorrow.

The walking a little bit part…Post #5 of “I just ate less…”

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It really is amazing how quickly you can amass over 5,000 steps in a single day…which is my goal…not always achieved…but nevertheless…my goal.

  • As I have said, I am 75 and recently bought one of those walkers with all the bells and whistles.  I use this when I go walking distances or if I am going to walk for more than 30 minutes or if I am going to walk to the grocery store.  
  • I especially like the seat feature in that I can always find shade in the summer and warm sun in the winter.  The little basket is a great place to put small purchases and toss in water, a sandwich your cell, etc.
  • I always walk down to the lobby to get the mail and packages.
  • I sometimes just walk down to the lobby…for no reason…not even the reason that “it is good for me”.  Hmmm…I think there’s a story there…
  • When I shop at a large grocery store, I always take a cart even if I am not buying a lot of items because I feel more comfortable…and then I can also walk down a couple of extra aisles…browsing as I go.
  • I always park a small distance away from the store entrance when I am out shopping.  Those few extra steps really make a difference.
  • I am not trying to impress anyone with my walking…distance matters nothing to me other than the simple calculation of how far I have walked on a particular day.  I never talk about my walking…or ‘not walking’ for that matter.
  • We live on the ground floor and I always walk up the stairs from our parking spot in the underground garage after I have been out.
  • If I have a couple of light bags, I will carry them up with me.  Skinny husband will bring up the heavier bags with a grocery cart and use the elevator.
  • I take naps 2 or 3 times a week.  I have lunch in bed, read my  book and then sleep for an hour or so.  Pure pleasure.
  • I never do Yoga nor will I.  Too old…no matter what they say…75 is 75.  Walking is the best.  I did Tai Chi for a year a long time ago…but that was enough.
  • I got a Fitbit for my husband but I use it mostly and I average about 5,000 steps a day.  I have done 11,000 on some days and I have also done 700.  It’s no big deal.  It’s like a watch that does a little bit more…there for my convenience to see what’s up.
  • I DO NO FORMAL EXERCISING!  Don’t even ask if I swim…
  • But I am very active and I can feel it if I have sat too long…maybe pouring over the morning newspaper…and it feels crummy.  That old adage, “Use it or lose it” really does apply to us oldies…and to everyone…actually.

Nike says, “Just do it.”  I say…”Just move it…”  It’s the best thing anyone can do at any age.

The weighing part & a little more…Post #6 of “I just ate less…”

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Here we go…the “bottom line…”

  • Buy a scale that shows not just pounds but ounces as well…as in 125.2 or 125.6.  Mine cost about $35.00…Amazon, of course.
  • This process is a very slow BUT steady one…and you will be thrilled when your weight shifts from .8 to .4…trust me on this…thrilled.
  • In the seven and a half months that I have been doing this, my weight has only increased a couple of times and that was only an ounce or two…not pounds.  99.9% of the time my weight has either decreased or stayed the same.
  • There have been days when I would weigh myself and it would be the same as it had been for the last 7 or 8 days…and then BOOM…down it would go…and stay there…until it went down again.
  • Don’t think for one second that this is not working.  If your weight stays the same…just wait…don’t get nutso and eat a whole blueberry pie heated in the microwave and topped with vanilla bean ice cream out of frustration.  (I think I’m hungry…)
  • Weigh yourself everyday at the same time.  I recommend in the morning right after you get up…go to the bathroom first.
  • And…then record your weight.  Do this every day.  You can also write down anything different or unusual…anything that might help you to understand what you are eating and what you are doing and why you have lost 6 more ounces.
  • I always do a little “happy dance” when the scale goes down…every single time.
  • This will take a long time.  BUT every pound/ounce you lose will be gone forever.
  • THIS WILL WORK!!!
  • After I had lost 4 pounds, I took a four pound bag of sugar and put it on the counter.  Then I picked it up a few times.  It was heavy!  That was the weight I was no longer carrying.  I did the same thing when I had lost 8 pounds…do you know how heavy two 4 pound bags of sugar are?  HEAVY!!!
  • I didn’t do 3 bags of sugar (or 12 pounds).  That was too much for me to pick up.  Exactly.
  • Remember…it took you a long time to gain those unwanted pounds…it will take a long time to lose them…especially if you are an “oldie” like me.
  • BE PATIENT!!!  Don’t give up…it will take your body a few days to adjust to your new changes…but it will adjust and you will start to lose weight.

    The  little more …

Last fall when I weighed 147.8 pounds, I knew I would reach 150 pounds during the winter if I didn’t do something.

I read weight-loss articles, did research on the different programs, ate some horrible diet food, seriously wondered about those diet pills and other junk out there that promised “QUICK WEIGHT LOSS” and knew I would have to figure out something on my own.

So what you have just read is what I came up with…and obviously, I am not done…I still have a way to go.  I should weight 125 pounds by November 1…this year.  I will let you know.

BUT…I feel that this is really a good plan for women over 60…but, of course, for anyone as well.

Most of us have worked really hard all of our lives and we shouldn’t have to go through this whole “weight gain/belly fat” bullshit.

We shouldn’t have to deny ourselves good food…or hot dogs…

(When I say “good” I don’t mean “healthy”…I mean…a cheeseburger with fried onions from Five Guys…and a small order of fries, please…to go…

We shouldn’t have to pay money to have other people tell us what to do at some club or weight-loss clinic…and maybe make us feel bad.

We shouldn’t have to start “running” or do “resistance training” or do “hot Yoga” (what is that anyway?) at age 60 or older…unless of course you’re partial to doing so…

In Minnesota, we have about 3 days when the weather is perfect for walking outside…so I have to gear up in the winter.  I know I look like some 14th century Swedish field worker when I walk outside and the temperature is only 10 degrees…but hey…it’s who I am.  Plus…everyone smiles at me.  I know…I know.

When the weather is really awful…too hot, too cold, too icy, too rainy, too sleety…I just slap on my headphones and walk the hallways of my apartment building…up and down…up and down.  This is really relaxing until people try to stop you to chat.  Then I smile and point to my headphones and mouth, “I’m on the phone…” and just keep going…works every time.

If you live in Minnesota and own a home with no hallways…I recommend buying a treadmill.  I had one when we owned a home and you can accomplish the same results as I do by walking the halls.  There are some really inexpensive ones out there…I know…I bought one for my daughter who was into “training for something” when she was fifteen.

We shouldn’t have to be punished because we ate a few too many cheese burgers or doughnuts a few years ago.  there should be a friendlier, more gentle way to lose those extra pounds and I believe my way will do the trick for most women…well, for everyone, really.

I have always loved food.  I love to cook and I love to eat.  I know that I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life (such as it is) passing on delicacies such as chocolate cake with fudge frosting or…say…lutefisk, swimming in butter…I did mention I was of Swedish ancestry, didn’t I?

I hope you give my way of losing a few pounds a shot.  I truly believe it will work.  It did for me and I am nothing special…trust me.

Thanks for reading.  Now go have half of a chocolate chip cookie…and begin.

And, good luck!!

“I just ate less…”

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    “BULLETIN…”

                                                          NEW WEIGHT…132.8

Have a nice day…