WeightLossthoughts.com - A Weight Loss Blog

I feel so virtuous, so pure, so…so much like a damn rabbit.

I had a salad for dinner. My body, which is used to something more substantial like steak and potatoes, hasn’t quite forgiven me for the change yet, but I think I could get into this salad thing. First, lettuce, celery, carrots, and their cousins are all low cal, a good thing if you’re trying to get the weight off.

Second, they take a little while to eat. Think about it. I can scarf a steak down in under five minutes, but chewing all those individual little lettuce leaves took work…and time. By the time I finished the last bite, my body was sending me signals that it had had enough to eat, thank you.

Third, even a kitchen moron like me can make a salad. Throw a handful of lettuce into a bowl. Add a few refinements like like carrots, peas, celery, walnuts, raisins, or peppers. Perhaps an itsy, bitsy handful of grated cheese or sliced meat. A dash of your favorite salad dressing–but only a dash, you don’t want to give the thing more calories than a Big Mac–and serve.

There. I’ve done it once. Now I just need to keep doing it. My goal for the week is to eat a salad in place of one of my usual meals every day this week. My nose is twitching in anticipation already.

Last week, I talked about the factors that caused my weight gain. In that post, I mentioned that I really, truly loved food. Always have, always will. So, why try to lose weight? Why not live life fat and happy?

There are two key reasons.

1. Comfort. I’m currently at a weight that is not comfortable to me. I don’t fit into chairs. My knees hurt when I stand up. My hips hurt after an ordinary day of activity. My feet and ankles are swollen. I can’t walk more than a block or so without developing agoninzing back pain. I want to lose weight so I can be comfortable in my own body again.

2. Health. In an earlier post, I mentioned my numerous health problems including diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure. My weight also puts me at risks for other problems like breast cancer and heart disease. I don’t want to be one of those unfortunate statistics that dies in her forties from a heart attack.

So, off I go along this weight-loss path that I need to walk but don’t want to walk.

How am I doing so far, you ask? The answer is so-so. I haven’t gained any weight since I started posting, but I haven’t lost any either. Every time I swear today will be the day I change my eating habits, the phone rings and it’s a friend asking me out to a fabulous restaurant or wanting to talk about her latest romantic woes over an ice cream cone. And so far, I’ve been the girl who can’t say no.

In my next post, I’ll take a look at the stages of change and where I am on that continuum.

Until then, be healthy!

Okay, folks, this is my first picture. I’ll post another one at the end of August, and we’ll see if there’s a difference. (Fingers crossed.)

In the meantime, I’ve been thinking about the factors that led to my weight gain. I’ll blog more about that later this week….

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I wish I could show you a picture of me. In fact, I’d planned to do so, but my camera and my computer are being uncooperative. So, I’ll post the picture when I get everything up and running.

For now, let me tell you about me. My name is Debra Stang. I’m a medical social worker and a novelist and freelance writer. I’m 5′6″ and weigh 294 pounds. Yep, you read that right. Not 194. Not even 249. 294.

I wouldn’t mind my weight if we were only talking about looks. In fact, there are many fat women I find extremely attractive. But the truth is, being fat is harming my health and stopping me from doing the things I want to do with my life.

My blood pressure is high. My cholesterol is high. I’m diabetic. My feet are swelling. I can’t even gather up a load of laundry or walk half a block without huffing and puffing like a steam engine. I don’t fit into some chairs or airline seats. My doctor has told me that at my current weight, I could easily suffer a heart attack or stroke and die…or worse yet, spend the rest of my life incapacitated. I believe her.

But enough of “poor me,” because I’ve decided to do something about it. Over the next two years, my goal is to lose half my body weight to get down to a weight of around 145. I can’t afford chefs to cook my meals for me. I can’t afford weight loss surgery. So I’m going to have to do it the old fashioned way–that means some big lifestyle changes.

Along the way, I plan on reading books about dieting and talking to doctors and nutritionists–I’ll share their wisdom here. I’ll talk about what works and what doesn’t and each month–camera willing–I’ll post a new picture of myself and my current weight.

I suspect many of you reading this are in the same boat as I am. So let’s start this long journey together, you and I, fighting an uphill battle to health and fitness.