Let's start with this:
Hi, I'm Raenell, and I'm a PEPPER, preferably the kind from Dublin, TX that's still made with real sugar instead of corn syrup.
Truthfully, I have never been thin, nor do I expect to be. When I was a kid, I was generally heavier than most of my classmates, at least in my own eyes. In reality, when I graduated from high school 20something years ago, I weighed 150-155 lbs, which, according to the charts that were out at the time, was anywhere from 15-25 lbs overweight, but I my clothes were 10s & 12s. Current weight charts indicated that a healthy weight for me is 145-155, based on my large, albeit short, frame. My ultimate goal is 155. Less than that and I suspect I would go from thin to SKINNY, and that is not what I want.
I am starting at 255, as of this morning's report by my scale. and size 22/24 jeans/pants, with size 18/20 shirts in most cases.
Back in February, one of my friends & coworkers learned she was pregnant (happy happy joy joy for her & damned glad it's not me). Suddenly, within a week or so, my ankles and feet were swellling every day. Ok, I told her that apparently I'm getting the puffy feet in this pregnancy, and just tried to make sure I was drinking more water and natural juice, and taking in less sodium and caffeine. It was pretty much under control, combined with sleeping with my feet elevated and some OTC water pills.
Last week, on Wednesday, they seemed a little puffier, but by Thursday, there was a marked difference in my left and right ankles, and my left leg hurt, so I went to the doctor, cardiovascular disease runs on both sides of my family, and ultimately, my mother lost one leg and couldn't withstand the surgery to amputate the 2nd one several years later as a result of Peripheral Vascular Disease. Ok, major swelling and pain in my legs are NOT ignored. My blood pressure was up a bit, not high, but higher in the normal range than it usually is. The NP called in a prescription for a mild diuretic, hydrochlorothiazide, and a new prescription for my happy pills (wellbutrin). That day, on the doctor's scale (and again on my scale at home) I weighed 267, which is the highest my weight has ever been. Within 48 hours on the diuretic, I was down about 7 lbs, and in the days since, I've dropped another 5 or so, to get me to my starting point.
My weaknesses:
- bleu cheese dressing - yep, I eat some moldy cheese. I've been spoiled of late by a friend's homemade dressing recipe and the only commercially available variety that I will spend my money on is the bulk version from Central Market, and I doctor that up a bit, adding more seasoning and cheese crumbles
- bread - especially soft gooey, just barely cooked all the way through bread
- cheese - I love a variety of cheeses, and have, in the past year or so, virtually eliminated 'pasturized cheese products' like good ole American cheese slices and Velveeta from my diet. I have developed a tendency to buy my cheeses fresher and in greater variety at Central Market. I've found that buying richer cheeses gets me the satisfaction of having some cheese with a smaller portion to begin with.
- red meat - I try to make sure that I don't have it every day, but I do have more servings per week than I should.
- potatoes - preferably with LOTS of butter and cheese
- Totino's Pepperoni frozen pizza, with extra pepperoni & cheese
Changes that I've made already that have kept me from gaining in the past year, though I haven't lost much.
- Bison - I was already spending extra money to have the leanest cuts available, even in ground meat, and I've discovered that the ground bison is not really much more expensive than the leanest hamburger. I buy very little beef these days
- Eliminate highly processed pre-packaged meals from my kitchen and pantry as much as possible.
- Buy fresher fruits and vegetables, in smaller amounts so I can actually eat them before they go bad.
- Buy fresher bread from the bakery, and only keep out a few slices at a time, the rest in the freezer so it won't go bad before I can eat it, because let's face it, no single person can eat an entire loaf of bread in 3 days.
- Ground Turkey is my friend if I want meat in my spaghetti sauce.
Challenges to getting everything I need:
- Fish-all kinds of water dwelling creatures and my body do NOT get along. It's not really an allergy, it is more of a sensitivity. I've never been particularly crazy about any of it, and I just plain don't like the texture of most creatures that have more than 4 legs. If I eat a single filet, I will smell it for at least a week coming out of my pores
- Pork - I'll eat it, but I am not crazy about it, well, unless it's bacon, and then it's ON! Ham has too much sodium for my taste, and I've never been a sausage eater, other than kielbasa, pepperoni, or salami.
- Veggies/fruits that I just don't like and am not going to eat: beets, cooked spinach, cooked carrots or cauliflower, broccoli, raw onion, asparagus, most peppers.
Other Challenges:
- Laziness - yep, I admit it, I am generally lazy.
- Poor time management - I want quick and easy to fix, and I'm learning to make things ahead of time that I can have quick and easy later, and to keep more fresh fruit/veggies for quick and easy.
- I spend way too much time on the computer at home instead of going to the gym, or doing a yoga DVD
- I am tired much of the time. Hopefully the new prescription of happy pills will help me stay awake enough during the day to actually sleep through the night, so I'm not so tired all the time
- Lack of good motivation. I have periodic motivation to make changes, but I suck at following through. I know this, and I'm working on that.
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