My Weight Loss Journey – Healthy Diet and Exercise
This can take a novel to write about, but weight is on the forefront of many minds. I will just talk about my weight loss journey with it.
I used to be a pretty normal sized kid, but I gained weight in about junior high. I now know the western diet that we were fed wasn’t good in any way. Thankfully my mom didn’t do the fast food all the time, and still cooked a lot, incorporating traditional foods from her homeland. The fast food and junk food invasion did arrive to our house too, eventually. Candy was oh, so yummy. And soda, and cookies, and TV dinners in front of the TV – and so on. At some point all this ended up with my weight gain.
In high school, I was more conscientious of my weight, so I rode my bike a lot, played tennis, and was more active. I can’t remember if my food routine changed, but my activity level did. Exercise was important to me.
I went to college in Boulder Colorado, which is known for “natural” – and yes, I got caught in it. I found out about foods and benefits and had a healthy diet. I tried new types of produce. I was a fan of Pearl Street Market, a holistic grocery store, before Alfalfas and such. I also did more dancing, running, hiking, skiing, and toning stretches. I was quite skinny in those times and after college. I felt pretty healthy, though.
After working for several years, my weight would go up and down a bit, but not by a lot. Then the hours and commute made for a long day, and yes, the fast food and microwaved dinners began to show up. I tried to at least put a salad together for those “meals” – but yes, poor nutrition crept in. I worked a desk job and kept chips or candy corn at the desk to snack on – big mistake. Weight gain made me depressed, and I lost my motivation.
I’d always had a garden, it seems, except when I was in college, but Mom had a garden and I’d get the benefit of it anyway. Now I grow more nutritious crops – not as much of the produce that was familiar in my mom’s garden, though surely good for me, I never liked certain root vegetables until now.
I finally had enough of it, and I began to eat better. I gave up on almost everything with sugar. I ate organic produce. I researched the most nutritious ways to eat. I began using spices more, and I learned that US recommendations were really screwed up. I didn’t get sucked into the food pyramid. Later, I began to eat only game meat, fresh caught fish, and sometimes grass fed, organic meat. I had never been much of a meat eater at any point in my life. I realized exercise and activity are important.
I now eat organic produce, grow my own nutritionally dense garden, and eat organic or game meat. I have cut sugar out almost completely, no junk foods or sodas for years. I minimize carbs in meals, and don’t buy bread anymore. My healthy diet is making such a difference! I ride my bike, walk, and play with and walk my dogs. I stretch every day. I have lost over 25 pounds in recent times. I don’t have any issue with cellulite. I feel better now than in a long time, and fit into clothes I haven’t fit into, in a long time. I’ve had to take in other clothes or give them away. I can’t fit into my high school and college clothes – I can’t get to that size again, but I am plenty satisfied with where I am – and my doctor doesn’t want me to lose more weight.
I started walking every day – good for me and my dog. I did stretches. I jumped rope. I jumped on a trampoline. I rode my bike and in winter I set it up on a trainer.
The keys for me, to lose weight, are:
Be active and exercise
No junk foods or processed foods
No sugars or desserts
Plenty of produce, but more vegetables than fruit
Eliminate or reduce carbohydrates
Organic produce and grass-fed meats – usually game or wild caught
Real butter and whole milk or cream – organic, from grass fed cattle
Have fermented food or drink every day
Eat nuts to fill up on – only a palm sized amount per day
Cook meals rather than go out or fast food
Don’t look at the scale daily – maybe weekly
Slow and steady – take it a step at a time and get used to new foods and routines – don’t try to lose weight fast, but make real life changes
- Now I am within 5# of my college weight and my chiropractor mentioned that I am very toned. The journey just needs to begin.
P.R.
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