Weight Loss Challenge 4

Okay! So I did my weight challenge for about 6 months.  Sadly I did not lose any weight:

• I kept track of what I was eating
• I went for walking etc whenever I could
• I changed my diet to a high protein instead of a high carbohydrate one
• I limited my sugar intake to a minimum (that I could do)

But nothing worked. The first 2-3 weeks were the hardest on my digestive system. I ended up having mouth sores so badly that I could not even eat anything.  Once that was better then I got on track. I would have milk, salad, nuts etc all day and one meal in the evening.  The nutritionist would give me feedback as to what I should eat and what I can decrease.  Occasionally she would suggest some variety for the foods I was eating.  It did not help much as I am not such a big eater.

In any case.  My routine went on for 4 months. I had paid for 6 months.  After not losing any weight for 3 months, I contacted the nutritionist over the phone. She was not very friendly - in fact at some points she was just downright rude. That was not helpful.  When I did not lose any weight later also, then I contacted her again.  She then said that I should get some blood work done for certain key chemicals like Vit D and iron etc.  I got mad.  Why had she not done this before? Especially if she thinks this was important in weight loss. 

I did not remain quiet after this - I wrote her a long email chastising her about not doing her job properly and not advising according to my body type.  She just made a diet plan like she does for everyone and hoped that I would lose weight.  That was not the agreement.  She kept defending herself, but I was unmoved.

I went back to my beloved carbohydrates and within one week I lost 3 lbs!! So now I am convinced that one really has to see your own body type and then fix a diet.  There is no one fix for everyone. I went back to my regular diet, which really was quite rich in protein to begin with, but I added some more carbos to it. It really helped to improve my mood and made me feel better.  And the fact that I lost about 5 lbs after I stopped doing the "Weight Monitors" diet plan really put the skip in my step.

Slowly I am coming to terms with the fact that I may never lose the weight that has so lovingly attached itself to my body. So be it. I will keep doing what I do to have healthy lifestyle and not overeat on sugars.  But to hell with dieting and to hell with monitoring my food intake! I know when I am full and I know when I am overeating.

One last comment I would make regarding any dieting plan anyone undertakes to make sure that the nutritionist creates a plan just for you and not a generic plan.  The feedback should be more meaningful than "you need to include dairy product" or "you should have eaten only one cookie"  - you can see that yourself when you are writing the diary. I would not recommend the service I used to anyone as my plan was not personalized.  She did not get enough background information on me to guide me properly. Although in her favor, her feedback was immediate and she was very good in responding.  I also started including in my diet more nuts than I previously ever had. Overall my health has been fantastic.  The other major problem (second to not losing weight) was low energy level.

Someday my goal of losing the 15 lbs will happen and if it doesn't then I just hope to still be healthy and happy!

Weight Loss Challenge 3

So finally after I have decided to take some action. 

One was to enrol in a boot camp class - the Palm Beach Boot Camp. They were great! I could go for as many classes during the six weeks I was enrolled. I would go twice a week but later it turned out to be only once a week.  The boot camp was good, but I felt I was always behind even though no one was really looking, but still. The other thing was that I felt I was not energetic enough.  Although...it used to feel really good after a session but there were certain times that I felt physically sick from the hyperventilation.  The leaders were good, they did not push anyone more than their capacity, but I would feel a little embarrassed sometimes for not being up to par with their standards.  I would highly recommend this boot camp to anyone.  I learned some new moves and I will try and do them at home.

The second thing I have done is to monitor my diet. First I joined MyFitnessPal, where one can fill in all they are eating and see how many calories they have consumed.  It is quite comprehensive in the variety of foods it has. It covers a lot of Indian food and so many brand name foods.  It has helped me keep on target with how many calories I consume daily. 

But the major difference came from joining the second site: The Weight Monitor. This is an Indian web site monitored by a nutritionist from India.  She gives daily feedback on my daily intake of food.  It is something else when someone is actually monitoring what you eat.  You have to be a little bit more conscious of what and how much you are eating.  And it is better not to lie, because she is not the one wanting to lose the weight - you are!! So better to be honest and follow guidelines regarding her nutritional advice. 

So far it has been one week since I joined the Weight Monitor and I feel like I am doing well and feel lighter, my appetite has gone down, but not my energy.  It seems more like a eating lifestyle change than anything else.

So keeping my fingers crossed....hopefully I will lose about 15 lbs by the time I done with all of this....wish me luck!

Weight Loss Challenge 2

2012 summer brought on another 5 lbs of gift to my body. So now I have about 20 lbs to lose before I am my old healthy weight. 

Ever since I came back from India in 2011, I brought back some different ideas about eating. I got into juicing and sprouting.  My diet plan changed during the fall of 2011. I substituted my lunch for a salad of sprouts and veggies.  I just added a bit of salad dressing and croutons and made sure that it was not all a total of more than 200 Cal. That was my lunch from Sept 2011 - April 2012.  Dinner was my main meal. But it also never exceeded 400 Cal.  In between I would have tea and some snacks.  All of the eight months went by without losing one single pound. In fact I regained the 5 lbs I had lost in India during the summer of 2011.  OH!! What to do?

Nothing seems to be working. 

I added fresh fruit-vegetable juice to my diet. So 3-4 times a week I would drink juice instead of snacking.  No weight loss....

In February I joined an online website - Calorie Counter to keep a track of what I was eating. The website calculated that I had to consume about 1200 Cal to lose 1 lb a week. Sure I can do that. But did I lose any weight after 3 months of doing that? NOPE. Not a single pound.

In April I started getting ready for my summer travel to Kailash. So I started walking about 3 miles per day. In keeping with the same diet I had all the time, I still did not lose a single pound.

What is it about the body that it does not want to let go of that fat?? 

And then in summer 2012 I went back to India.  It was hot this time around as well.  I did not walk around as much as I did in 2011 but my diet was very different this year. I still had the good breakfast, but hardly ate any lunch or dinner.  And I still managed to gain 5 lbs.  This is getting to a point of annoying.

So now it is war!! I cannot back off now. So, I made a pact with a good friend that I had to lose the 10 lbs this year starting from September 2012.  Now that I have said it aloud to a friend, it would be embarrassing not to come through.

Weight Loss Challenge

For the past 6 years I have been trying to lose 10 lbs that I suddenly gained in two months.  I could see the pounds sticking on me but could not do anything to stop them! Why did I gain 10 lbs in two months? I don't know: maybe I was not feeling well, maybe it was my age, maybe I was stressed, maybe, maybe maybe....But whatever the reason, I have been trying to get rid of those 10 lbs ever since.  Before that 10 lb gain I was trying to lose the 5 lbs I had gained earlier on! So now it was a total of 15 lbs that I needed to lose. Darn!

It has been six years and I have not lost a single pound. Well I lost 5 but gained them back in one year.  This is an ongoing challenge I have in my life. I am so tired of carrying out these extra 15 lbs. And since this summer, I have added on 5 more! So darn it - now it 20 lbs that I need to get rid of!! The saddest part is whatever I put on just does not want to leave me!! What the heck is going on??

So here is what I have done in the past 5 years to lose the extra padding on my body.

The first try - The Gym: I have been an avid fan of the gym ever since I came to the USA. University of Toledo had a great new gym and I had lost 10 lbs of my body weight working out 4 times a week.  Oh those days were something else!! I continued going to the gym in Buffalo, Vancouver and then in Parkville.  I enjoy working out. It is very satisfying and I feel good about myself.  One hour is the typical amount of time I used to spend in the gym.

Anyway, so I joined the gym in Winchester also. It was a great gym called Anytime Fitness. I could go anytime and workout without anyone interfering in my routine. And since it was a new gym all the machines were new and there was hardly any crowd.  My teaching load was not much, so I started going 4-5 times a week.  My routine was a combined 40 mins of walking, elliptical or the stairmaster.  And then about 40 mins of weight training.  Since I used to have a personal trainer in Park University, I know how to mix and match.  After 5 months of this routine guess how much weight I lost - a big fat ZERO!! 

That was very disappointing for me.  But I had the membership so I continued to go but the enthusiams was not there.

The second try - The South Beach Diet: This is based on high protein and low carbohydrate diet.  Okay...I am a vegetarian, this would be hard for me, but I had to give it a try.  So much so I cut out all the sugar, which is the hardest thing for me to do since I had to give up my favorite thing - tea.  But I gave it up for 2 months.  I became creative in my cooking and very stingy in my eating. I developed a taste for Diet coke with lime which was my alternative to tea. As per the South Beach Diet plan, after 2 months I added little bit sugar to my diet - only in tea and in once a week dessert.  How much weight did I lose after 3 months of this routine? A big fat ZERO!!

Another big disappointment for me! But I knew there must be something going on in my body. So I got my hormones checked.

The third try - Thyroid + Gym: So it turned out I had a little, teeny tiny, hypothyroidism.  No problem. Bring on the drugs. I took some of the hormone and still went to the gym with the hope that the thyroid would help in boosting my metabolism. But no - zip - nothing.  My body was in love with the 10 lbs of fat.

It was time to move to Florida in 2009.  The first year was very stressful for me, buying a house, adjusting to the new college and new city. But I still managed to find time to go to my community gym.  As usual, I went but my fat did not. 

So comes around 2011 summer time, when I spent my two and a half month vacation in India.  It was the months of June, July and part August. It was bloody hot in India with only a fan in the room. No problem. It was my decision to go to India in the hot weather and I would bear the hotness.

I ate very simple food for lunch and dinner, but always had good breakfast. I had tea/coffee whenever I wanted. I did walk a lot during my first month of being in India and during that one month I managed to lose 5 lbs!! I was beyond happy!! Unbelievable.  This was awesome.  I never did lose the next 5 lbs. And the saddest part is that I gained those 5 lost lbs right back when I came back to USA.  So I think the stress my body went through during the first month of being the hot weather caused me to lose the weight but not sustain it.

All of this has been anticlimactic for me.  But my determination is not gone.  I am still on the path.....keep reading!