50 x 50 Staying on Track

I'd heard it all before~~

Eat healthy, watch your portions, shop the outer perimeter of the grocery store, exercise...

...and I'd tried all of this before~~

Weight Watchers, Diet Center, NutriSystem, Jenny Craig, Curves, the gym...(sporadically)

At 6 months into the low-carb plan I embarked upon with my doctor, I can say that what I'd heard before has turned out to be the case, and the basis for my success!! I've lost 40 lbs so far, and I'm a month past my 50th birthday. I'm within the range, so I'm quite happy with my progress. I haven't felt deprived, or depraved. Eating healthier has become a LIFESTYLE, and I shop the fringe with no pull toward my old ways.

I keep fresh fruits and veggies on hand every week.

I do have a little sweet tooth even though I take a Chromium pill every day! I allow myself a few squirts of Reddi Wip every week or so. It's 15 calories for 2 TBS...I either put it on No-Sugar Jello or take aim right out of the can, as it was meant to be used!

My plan is low carb, no white stuff. My doctor pointed me to "Food For Life" brand Ezekiel Bread about 2 months into the diet, so I would not have total sensory bread deprivation. It's dense, and for my taste, it's better toasted. I have a sandwich (usually roast turkey/avocado/lite mayo and a little of my basil pesto) or perhaps an egg/tomato muffin every once in a while. For breakfast, toasted bread/lite cream cheese/smoked salmon/dill and a squeeze of lemon. The bread is made from sprouted grains rather than flour. I'll have an open face "sang-gwitch" to save some calories for a glass of wine or a vodka with diet tonic once or twice a week. A girl's gotta live!

The KEY to my success so far has been in making sensible food CHOICES and not being bound to counting points, exchanges or calories.  The body adjusts to the low carb diet without all that bother. I wrote everything down for 3 months, including the weather and my mood. Now I'm making automatic choices and I don't need the diary.

At the Greek Festival last night, I had a Kota Pita (grilled chicken, lettuce, tomato and a little tzatziki sauce) on a *gasp* pita. With a *gasp* light beer. It's the first beer I've had in 6 months, and I can't say I've missed it. I have allowed very, very little white flour bread in, too. Maybe a few pita chips at a party. Hummus doesn't taste as good on a piece of celery. I'm STILL on track...and I just operate within reason, given what's offered at festivals! I skipped the baklava sundae, with no problem.

The Food Saver has been a lifesaver as well!

I get good prices on bulk seafood and chicken, and I can 'foodsave' individual portions. It's easy to grill for that night's dinner, plus an extra portion for the next day's salad.

Exercise-wise, I'm still "playing" rather than sticking to one regimen. I mix it up with powerwalking, a blend of walking with little spurts of running, the 30-minute kickboxing workout at 9Round, riding my beach cruiser bicycle, and a little hula hooping. Now that I'm lighter, I find it so much easier to get in and out of a kayak. No grunting. 

I feel like my sparkly 'ol self. I'm shooting for the next 10 lbs to disappear by Thanksgiving. Halloween is approaching and I know this...I won't buy a bag of candy "for the trick or treaters" and sneak the Milky Ways and Three Musketeers' outta the bag the way I used to. No need.

Life is good. Level & Plumb.