Two months ago I wrote a blog celebrating my good news... at that time I had lost 41.8 lbs, my cholesterol was down to 89, my A1c was 5.7, and my nerve conduction was improved by 15%. Another couple of weeks and I guess it will be time to repeat some of that lab work to see where I stand now. But I have continued to work at chipping away on my weight. As of this last Monday (Monday's are my weigh-in day), I am now down 74.2 lbs!

Many of you have been very encouraging to me and have offered supportive words. But when someone is trying to lose weight themselves and is struggling to lose a single lb or stuck on a plateau, news like mine can be a little disheartening, I suppose. And everyone wants to know how I have done it. Because I would rather inspire than discourage... I feel I must make some confessions. First... my pic that I chose to use for my avatar... it's... ummm... not really current... it's a little old... like 10 years old. I am considerably heavier now. I have to confess this because you know that the more a person weighs, the easier the weight comes off. I fully expect this weight loss battle to get harder and meaner before I reach my goal... and I expect one day I will be the one asking others, "how did you do it, what worked for you?" But for now, I'm embarrassed to say that I have a considerable distance left to go before that even becomes an issue. Those of you who are much closer to your goal weights, I realize you are having a much harder go at the weight loss battle. One of these days perhaps I'll work up enough courage to post a more current photo... but for now, I really hate how I look and it only depresses me.

I wish I had some words of wisdom to help you who have asked. It's really no secret how I have done it and I'm happy to share with you what has worked for me. I have found there are no magic pills, no magic "diets", no quick or easy fixes. I've done it the old fashioned way... with discipline and changing eating behaviors and exercise. I've lost weight before... only to gain it back along with a few more lbs. So I am hoping that by building better dietary "habits" and making real lifestyle changes, I will be able to put an end to the yo-yo phenom. This website has been a valuable tool for me in terms of learning all sorts of things about good "super" foods, not so good nutritional choices, diet tips, etc. I've even tried a few of the recipes. But there are a TON of other good sites out there also that can be a help to people trying to lose weight.

So... I started by getting serious... I mean SERIOUS... not just wishful or hopeful, but willing to pay the price serious. Then I got honest. One of (if not THE) first things I did was to start a food journal. I wrote down EVERY THING that passed between these lips. You might be surprised at what that reveals about your eating habits and to learn exactly what or how much you are actually eating day in and day out! Nearly 8 months later, I STILL keep my food journal. I can look back and see EXACTLY what I ate in the past that worked for me and what didn't work so well for me. In addition to what I eat and how much I eat, my journal breaks everything down into Calories, gm of total Carb, gm of sugar, gm of fiber, gm of Protein, gm of Fat, cholesterol, sodium, and even other vitamins and nutrients. (There are lots of online journals that help you do this.) For me, in terms of weight loss, Carbs (not fat!!!) seem to be the key ingredient of the weight loss equation. If my consumption of carbs starts to increase much above 35% of my total calories, weight loss screeches to a halt or at least slows to a crawl. 35% of total calories... that works out to be what would be considered a low carb diet. You would think that eating low carb would automatically make BG control easier... but turns out that isn't necessarily true. (I was surprised!) Most of my carbs come from veggies, fruit, dairy, legumes, very small amounts of whole grains. I have given up "white" foods all together... lots of research out there shows these foods to be not so good choices... for ANYONE, least of all diabetics... it's just my personal choice. Eating fewer carbs and eating better carbs has helped my A1c, I have to believe.

Regarding calories, I think lots of people go wrong here. I started out in January SEVERELY restricting my calories... and my metabolism shut down. I did not lose a lb!!... even though I was literally starving myself!! So I did the really scarey thing for anyone trying to lose weight... I significantly increased my calories... and the weight started coming off. I haven't found a calorie calculator that actually works for me... they all give me either more calories than I could possibly eat and still lose weight... or they give me too few calories which slows my metabolism. I just sort of had to figure out the calorie level myself... the level of calories where things are balanced for me and the weight comes off. I figure when the weight loss stops, it's time for another decrease. I will say... quite happily... that the calories I eat are more than what I thought I would be able to eat and lose weight!! It is sooooo tempting to fall into the trap of thinking that if a certain number of calories works well, then even fewer calories will work even better!! I know first hand that doesn't work. Lol.

This is just a little of what has worked for me. I don't know if it will help anyone... but there it is.