Friday, July 16, 2010
This Saturday I did it: I burned the bridges, sank the boats, cashed in the return ticket. I've made some serious progress towards my weight loss goal, which is great, but it has also left me with serious wardrobe sizing issues. Last summer I could not comfortably button slacks with a 38 inch w...
Congratulations John! I had a very similar experience this past January. I too saved all my skinny clothes in my guest room, where they've sat for quite awhile. As I went from a 41 inch waist down to a 35, I found myself moving my "clown" size stuff into the guest room closet.
Then I read a a little book on organizing, where the author pointed out that, by keeping those clothes, I was telling myself that I had better save them, just in case I gain all that weight back. The assumption was that it would happen. That's a self defeating way of thinking.
So, like you, I took it all to the goodwill. What a great feeling! Since then, I feel more confident than ever that those "clown" days are behind me.
That is an impressive drop off the waistline! I bought my first pair of 40 inch jeans right before I was diagnosed because I couldn't find any 39's and couldn't button the 38's without inhaling sharply first. I am now just barely into 34's and hoping to settle around 32 by the year's end. What are you doing to keep the weight off?
When I met with my doctor for "the bad news", all my numbers were out of whack. My A1C was 8.3. I have an underlying thyroid problem and was on the wrong dosage for over a year. So, I asked the doctor, if we got the thyroid issue taken care of, how long would he give me to take care of everything else without additional medication. Although he put me on metformin for a time, he gave me three months to work on my weight, cholesterol, etc.
I started walking about 45 minutes a day, and haven't stopped. In doing a bunch of internet research, I found a lot of data that showed moving to a vegetarian/vegan diet would greatly help my numbers. It took some getting used to, but I've been a vegetarian for a full 12 months now. Over that time, my A1C has consistently been 5.5 or 5.6 along with the 65 lb. weight loss. As we know, this may not happen to every person, but the promised results did take place for me. I've blogged about my experience at www.makingallthingsnew.com.
All right, I've joined the discussion. I have been diabetic (type 2) for over 40 years with control with diet excercise and meds(20 years) since then. Am now 66 and weigh 143 instead of the 130 doc wants on my 5'5" frame. People say I dont' look fat but I know I weigh more than is right for me. Broke my arm a year ago and stopped exercise but am fine now. Unfortunately, not moving a lot in all that time put on the weight and has caused my blood sugar to escalate greatly. Doc wants to add insulin to the Janumet and glimepiride I now take. My A1c is up to 9.0, a number I've never seen (normal under 7 for many years). I'm afraid but am also tired of pills (also take crestor and benicar).
Has anyone ever just quite taking meds and done it with diet and exercise? I actually hate food now and wish we could just stop eating but that's not possible. I know my age is a problem. I need encouragement!