Just want to say that I am doing the happy dance. This whole
weight loss journey has been going on since December 20 (10 weeks today).
First, I notice my son, Michael, had gained weight fall term. He has always
been really skinny but things changed in the fall:
- He went
from a community college that required walking to and from classes and bus
stops and PE classes to animation school that required sitting in a chair 40+
hours a week.
- He stopped growing at 6 feet 6 inches
- His dad was making baked goods galore
I have been the healthy eater in my family. My dream
was to never have my kids eat unhealthy food, but my husband introduced them to
junk food, sugary cereals, and homemade baked goods on a consistent basis. I
just don’t bake that much because I don’t need the extra calories. I just have never been able to fight his need
to have these kinds of things in his diet. He has never struggled with his
weight. So, it hasn’t hurt him to eat those things. (Except a triglyceride scare
did cause him to eat more healthy once, but the next blood test was normal, and
he went back to his old diet.)
When he wanted to make the fifth sugary and fatty
dessert for the week last December, I finally told him enough was enough! It
used to just be me that was hurt by his baking (I know I can resist, but it is
better for me to just not have it there as an option), but now I noticed it was
my son too, and my mama bear came out and said STOP SABOTAGING! I so appreciate
that he cooks, but he needed to support his son and his wife!
Since that confrontation, he
quit baking altogether. (I also like having my kitchen back, he tended to take
it over.)
I also had the kids join SNAP
fitness. My old gym was too expensive for us all to join ($140 a month!). I had
done the free trial throughout November, and then had them join when I joined
in December. The amount for all three of us was the same as one person at my
old club! (George gets a deal at the university because he is faculty.)
Here are the results of a
healthier 2013:
- Michael has lost 10 pounds! He goes to SNAP at
least five times a week!
- George has lost 7 pounds (that is the most he
needed to lose) and is eating more like me! It is weird to have all my healthy
things disappear from the cupboards and refrigerator. He also quit drinking
coffee and is drinking all my tea up! I am not used to sharing my healthy foods
(except fruits and veggies – he has always eaten those).
- I have lost 22 pounds (I only “had” to lose 7 to
get to a 25 BMI and the top of my range, but I am more comfortable at the
middle of my range where I am now).
- We have saved a ton of money – part of our
weight loss has been that we determined to save more money in 2013 (George had
a 25% pay cut on top of the 40% reduction that we already had from his HP job
when he went to the university). I don’t stop by to get something at the coffee
shops and meet my friends there (we take a walk instead). I don’t eat out
except on special occasions (a friend or family birthday) or if we have a gift
card. We don’t pick up pizza to satisfy Paul (He LOVES pizza and would eat it
every night, but he has no weight problem because he gets a lot of walking in
at the college. We were averaging 1x a week.). Saving money AND losing weight
is great!
- Our blood work will no doubt be stellar next
time we have it! I am speculating here, but my LDL’s and blood sugar were
higher than they have ever been. Might have been because I was sick that week
(my friend Kim, the dietitian, still thinks I had nothing to worry about), but
I still was determine to lose at least 7% of my body weight and keep it off to
lower all those risk factors. I have done everything I can do now. George had
some blood work cautions too, but I cannot remember what they were. We will see
what our blood works says next October!
So this whole journey has been good for my entire
family (even though some of my boxes are empty when I go to eat some of my
favorite healthy foods!).
