Day 115 My Clothes are Starting to Get Baggy!!

WooHoo!!! My pants are getting loose! Normally I don't wear a belt to work, but I'm gonna have to start now! At least until its time to pull out the smaller sizes. That is such a good feeling.

The best feeling though is knowing that I'm doing the right things to help me be healthier. It's knowing that I'm not hurling myself down the pathway to diabetes. It's knowing that I'm reducing my risk for heart disease and stroke and cancer.

My father-in-law had a stroke shortly before I met him. And he also has diabetes. Consequently, him and mother-in-law spend a great deal of energy talking about, planning and worrying about what he can and cannot eat. Ironically, it seems like they do more talking and worrying, than making good choices, but that's another story. The point is, they are in "damage-control" mode now. It's unlikely that they will ever be able to do enough in order for him to eliminate his diabetes, and obviously, the stroke is a done deal. Now, its a matter of coping, and trying to prevent further damage.

My mom has been a smoker and a lousy eater her entire life. No events, not my dad's cancer or heart attack or triple bypass, have caused her to stray from her path. She eats junk and smokes like a chimney. And her health is falling apart before my eyes.

I don't want to be them. And I don't want hubby to be them either.

And I don't want our kids to feel in 20 or 30 years, what we feel today: I'm dreading having to watch the three of them get sicker and sicker, knowing there isn't a damn thing I can do about it.

But I can do something about me. And that's why I'm so happy that my clothes are getting baggy. And that I'm not drinking my "bucket of sweet tea" from McDonalds that would give me headrushes and make me feel queasy sometimes. And I'm not the least bit interested in a Super-Size Fries anymore.

I haven't lost the cravings for pasta...I'm still working on that. But I haven't had a fried potato in ......can't even remember! And that makes me feel hopeful that as I continue on this path to getting healthier, I look forward to the time when I have very few cravings for the unhealthy crap, and what I do eat doesn't make me feel miserable.

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So, even though I was really busy this weekend and didn't really post much, I'll do my best to recap what I did eat and drink.

Picking up where I left off on Saturday night: Lean Cuisine Beef tips and steamed broccoli, 160 calories. (yuck!) I'm done letting hubby talk me into these!

Sunday was a B-day celebration day.

We went to a brunch buffet. I had a plate-full of fresh fruit: strawberries, blue berries, raspberries, pineapple, oranges, watermelon, cantelope, honeydew. Also had 3 slices of bacon, one biscuit, 3 Tbsp sausage gravy, 2 glasses of cranberry-orange juice, coffee.

No lunch

Dinner: 4 ounces filet mignon with mushrooms, steamed asparagas.

lots of water.

Monday: had a banana and an orange for breakfast, coffee and water.

No lunch, as we were out running around all afternoon, on this day I'd taken as vacation (to spend some quiet time with hubby), that turned into snow-day for youngest child, which then turned into chauffer her and her friends around so they could go sledding.....groan. So much for our quiet time...

Dinner: I made my chicken tortilla soup (without the tortillas) I put tons of peppers in it this time, so there's more "body" to the soup. I put 2 each of red, yellow and orange bell peppers, a couple of Anaheims, a couple of Hungarians, several seranos, 3-4 habaneros, plus two containers of fresh "medium" salsa, and two sweet onions. Also put in 4-5 diced chicken breasts, 2 quarts of chicken broth, and cumin, salt & pepper. Had a bowl of that last night for dinner, topped off with about 1/4 cup shredded mexican cheese.

Lots of water yesterday.

I've not counted my calories yet. I need to punch everything into Nutrition Data and see how I did. I'm sure I was withing range yesterday, but probably not on Sunday. But today I'm on track.

So far: coffee with coffee-mate and 2 tsp sugar, 60 calories. (I've cut my coffee calories in half!!)
One water so far.

Day 111 My Eleventy First Diet Day

Hehe! Wouldn't we all like to have an Eleventy-First Birthday Like Bilbo Baggins, as long as we are healthy in both body and mind?

Imagine being that age! And healthy to boot!?!

That is one of the reasons why I want to lose weight. I want the rest of my life to be healthy and as pain-free as possible. I have watched numerous family members of mine suffer countless illnesses as they age, many (if not most) of which could have been prevented or significantly reduced if they had had a better life style, had eaten healthier, had been at a healthier weight. The growing mountain of evidence from the medical community tells us that most heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes....is caused by poor diet, meaning too much food and all the wrong kinds, and lack of exercise.

All very fixable.

I like the idea of still having adventures as I get older. I want to spend my later years being happy, enjoying friends and family, going places and seeing things.

And the inside of the doctor's office isn't what I want to be seeing. Nor do I want to spend my days talking about what "this doctor said" or "that nurse did". Every time hubby and I visit with my Mom or his folks, that is the number-one topic of conversation: doctor's visits. They talk about which doctor's they are seeing, what each one said, the cost of prescriptions, medicare, insurance, when their next appointments are, what's hurting this time, that medicine makes them itch, this one makes them tired, that other one makes them constipated, blah, blah, blah.....

It is soooooo depressing. And I get that its depressing for them as well. Which makes it all the more frustrating when I see them continue to make the same bad decisions that got them in this physical condition in the first place. And you can't tell any of them a thing! None of them listen, and I've grown tired of having the same conversation over and over and over again, all to no avail.

I wanna be the happy old lady, still cutting her own lawn, active, fit and rarely at the doctor's office....when I'm 80. I want to be planning my vacations with the knowledge that hubby and I require no "special assistance" in order to get on or off a plane. I want to be planning visits with my great-great grandkids.

That is why I want to lose weight. That is why I want to be healthy. That is why I am drinking 83 ounces of water a day and counting out 1200 calories and showing up here every day to write it all down and get you guys to hold me accountable. That is why I come here every day and read your stories too. To see how you are doing, encourage you, learn from you.

I never thought I could be a "blogger"....now I wonder why I ever thought that...?

Thanks for reading, and thanks for the comments you leave! They mean a lot! Really.