Paige's Progress

My friend Paige needed to lose 100 pounds quickly. Undaunted, she set out on a vigorous plan to do so. Since, due to health reasons, she couldn't exercise at first, she attacked her diet with a vengeance. By cutting out carbs, most fatty foods, and sugars, sugary drinks in particular, she has lost 30 pounds in about two months.

I'm very impressed!  30 pounds in two months!  Way to go, Paige! In about three and a half months, I have lost a little over half that much.  I didn't even try to do an extreme diet like hers. I knew I wouldn't stick with it, but Paige is and the plan is working for her.

I have to resist the urge to make comparisons, and just do what is working for me. My goal, at least for now, is to lose 75 pounds.  At the rate I'm going, that's going to take a while. However, I hope that what I am doing is something that I can continue to do for a lifetime.

I measure portions and set up a whole meal at once. Instead of eating 8 ounces of hummus in one sitting, I put an ounce or so on my plate with some vegetables and one piece of toast or a handful of tortilla chips.  I no longer eat out of the bag.  I will serve myself a nice meal and eat it. If I am hungry after that, I get a small snack, and that can hold me for hours.

I do a few extra things like trim the fat off my meat, but generally I don't worry too much about margarine on bread or dressing on a potato. If I'm eating less potato, I'm naturally going to get less dressing along with it.

I try to remain aware of my body--not snacking because something looks good, but eating for hunger satisfaction and nourishment.  I could take off in six different directions here--now I have some ideas for future posts--but I'll try to stay focused.

My main point of focus is that you have to do what works for you.  My exercise program would not work for Paige. Her food program would not work for me.  Our bodies are different, our goals are different, and our plans are different, so our results are different.  Yet we are each achieving what we want to achieve, so we can each call it success.