Back to counting...

Calories that is! This post is long over due. I've only mentioned it a couple times, and I think that's because I don't generally like to toot my horn, but I lost 20 pounds last year. I have about 15 more to go. I fell off the horse around the end of summer and it's been so hard getting back on. But I am back on as of today. I decided that if I wrote it here, it would give me one more element of accountability if that makes any sense.

I feel the need to sort of explain what we (hubby and I did) to lose the weight. I at least know of a couple friends who are interested. So please, if you are not interested, it's okay to not read on. I don't want to be preachy. Weight loss is not an easy thing. And I have a feeling I may get a bit long winded. So really and truly, decide now if you want to read on. I really believe in this method, but it's not necessarily for everyone.

So how did I lose the weight? Good old fashioned calorie counting, for the most part, with the help of this book: The EatingWell Diet: Introducing the VTrim Weight-Loss Program, by Jean Harvey-Berino. It requires keeping a daily journal on what you eat, which truly is a must. It holds you accountable and also shows you what your eating patterns are like.

And how do you know how many calories you can intake? Well, it's actually pretty simple. (Doing it is not simple, but the equation part of this is simple.) The book helps you figure out what your weight should be and helps you set your goals to get there. To stay at your current weight, take your current weight and multiply it by 12. This number is how many calories you should take in a day to maintain your current weight. Okay, now one pound of fat equals 3500 calories. So in order to lose say one pound a week, you would reduce your calorie intake by 500 calories a day. In my husband's case, he actually reduced his calories by 1000 a day to lose two pounds a week. Make sense so far?

This diet doesn't tell you what you can and cannot eat. It's not about eating any one kind of food or not eating any one kind of food. It's about watching the numbers and eating to your best interest. I can still have my dark chocolate. Maybe not as much as I would want, but it's not forbidden. I buy it in bite size pieces, 37 calories a piece to be exact. The thing is, when you start watching the numbers, and believe me it gets scary to see what we are eating, you begin to eat more efficiently. It's about fueling your body well. It's about learning to eat well. Because when you start to watch those numbers, you learn very quickly how little calories vegetables have, how maybe fruits, although certainly good for you, can sometimes be a bit higher in calories than you would expect, and how all that milk that you so love to drink can really add up! And the Coke. Man oh man, the Coke - and I'm talking about the real stuff, not diet.

(Please don't read if you're not ready for the numbers...) Food for thought, so to speak, about my favorite combo meal at Carl's Jr. On the diet, I can have 1200 calories a day (which is also the lowest number of calories you should intake). A Western Bacon Cheeseburger and fries is 1170 calories. So in one meal I've eaten all my calories for the day. Sad, but true.

And how do you count the calories? Well, you read the packaging labels and you use a food scale, like this one. Yep, a scale. It's kind of fun actually and this is the one we use.

It sounds like a lot of work, and you know, it sort of is. But you get used to it once you start. And after awhile, you become aware of what you are eating. You start to know what the numbers are without having to look them up. You also use your journal as a reference.

Where did I fail last time? Well, just like my starting point today, my daily calorie intake got as low as 1200. That isn't much and it's really hard to maintain. We also got really busy with life stuff - birthday parties, vacations and such, and we had a hard time getting back into the program. I finally have to add exercising to the equation too. I'll admit that I wasn't exercising (much) the last time and it should have been part of the equation. But now I'm at a point where if I want to continue losing, I HAVE TO exercise. So I hopefully am. I'm walking with a friend three days a week and I need to figure out what to do on the other days of the week.

I figured I should share some pics of my hubby and I before and after our weight loss. Unfortunately, I couldn't really find much of just us. Aren't we usually with the kids in photos? And these aren't the best. But hopefully you can see the difference. You'll mainly see it in our faces.

Last April, before we started the program in mid May:


This is me in July, at about 15 pounds lost.

This was the first time I could see my weight loss in a picture. I was stunned. Other people were telling me and I was wearing smaller clothes, but this picture made it very real for me.

And my hubby, also in July, at about 30 pounds lost.


Unfortunately for my husband, he has gained at least 2/3 of it back. My husband is a HUGE snacker and is also a big fan of having two dinners. I have somehow maintained the 20 pounds lost.

So we're back on as of today. On that road once again. But excited, knowing that we can do it. And we will.

And that's the story of our weight loss. If you are at all interested in the program, the book is excellent. And here's the link to the Eating Well website. Thanks for letting me share about this. Hope it wasn't overload. There is so much more I can say, but that's the jist of it.

Take care!