Losing weight and getting fit or how the weight loss fairy failed to materialise.

Another 2011 resolution - lose weight and get fit.
When your youngest child will shortly turn 15 you have to face the fact that you can't claim your excess weight is just "baby" fat. It may have begun that way, but after 14 and a half years, it should not still be there. I was fat and unfit. Stairs would leave me puffing and I was certainly not as limber as I had been. I had tried a couple of times to lose weight. Joined a gym and loved it. I felt fit and a lot happier. The weight slowly started to move but I found I was having to spend longer and longer at the gym and my 3 days a week for 1/2 an hour was turning into 5 days for an hour and as I often didn't leave work until 5.30 that was cutting into my family time, getting home starving at 7.00 to cook something quick and simple like pasta. I couldn't sustain it. The kids were suffering lack of attention and I was missing that lovely evening time when I pop into my garden for 15 minutes or so to water the plants and just "power down" for a bit.
I tried shakes and limited calorie diets. A few of the girls at school had had great results. Once again success for a while but I love good food and enjoy eating and was so bored with it. On the shakes I constantly craved carbs and it was an effort not to sneak a spoonful of mashed potato or a slice of bread and eventually when I fell of the wagon, I felt great! The limited calorie diets were just a pain - two little quirks I have - I prefer not to read instructions and I don't weigh and measure (except roughly when I make cakes!)
Lately though, no matter what I did the weight kept creeping on. I ate less and less, felt perpetually lacking in energy at felt pretty rotten about myself. Still I did nothing about it apart from cutting my sugar intake. I was waiting for the weight loss fairy to wave her magic wand!
A trip to the doctor after some routine blood tests woke me up. My normally quite happy and accepting doctor was quite stern and basically "read me the riot act. She didn't mince her words - Another reading like this and you'll be classed as a diabetic. We talked. I talked about the issue of irregular meals and putting everyone else before me when it came to exercising - basically giving her a whole range of excuses. I'm not sure what I was thinking - perhaps that the weight loss fairy would pop out of her desk drawer and say "Oh Sharon. You've explained yourself perfectly - of course you can't lose weight. But I know that you are a good person so I will wave my magic wand and you will be thin." The weight loss fairy stayed resolutely hidden. Instead my doctor suggested things I could try. Join a support group, see a nutritionist, she knew of a weight loss centre that had been quite successful. She wanted me to have a blood test in 2 months time and we would see where we were. I thanked her and left feeling pretty depressed.
I did a lot of soul searching and decided no more excuses. I would put myself first and DO something about it. I want to be an old lady. I want to be a very old burden to my children!! Two days later I popped into the centre my doctor had mentioned just to make inquiries and as with many other things I jumped in with both boots.
That was the best thing I have done for myself. A lot of discussion about why I wanted to lose weight, what my goals were and who I could enlist as support people, an explanation of the eating and exercise plan and some very embarrassing photos and measurements later, I was ready to start. I couldn't start the circuit immediately as they needed a waver from the doctor, but I did start the eating plan and I ate and ate and ate. 3 meals and 2 snacks a day! Piles of food.I ate food that I had never eaten (except illegally) on a diet before - bacon, cheese, cream, avocado, mayonnaise! I ate mountains of spinach, zucchini, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. How could I possibly lose weight eating this amount? But I did.
I wondered how I would manage the no grains and no potatoes, particularly as they formed such a large part of my diet. I love bread, but haven't really missed it (apart from when I smell really fresh bread). I still serve pasta, rice and potatoes to the skinny members of my family, not as often as in the past. I just bulk my meal up with veges - spinach, zucchini and asparagus being my favourites. I have learned new ways to thicken stews and sauces. Have experimented with different foods (I am enjoying tofu for the first time in my life)
Some 3 months down the track I have lost 10kg and over 30cm. I have muscle tone in my arms and legs again and can see my old face emerging! I have a waistline again! My nails are strong and healthy and my skin looks a lot healthier. I can jog again and am enjoying exercise. I still have a long way to go. I am at 20% of my goal but this way of living is do-able, in fact enjoyable and I am in no hurry. I know there will be times when I will not lose weight and even put some on. I have faced this already. I have enjoyed morning teas, meals out, birthdays and Christmas (and we still have Christmas cake in the fridge untouched!) I am happy to keep up this amount of exercise and I can happily eat in this fashion for the rest of my life - it doesn't feel like a diet as I don't keep looking at things thinking I can eat you again when I lose weight.
On reflection maybe the weight loss fairy really was in the doctor's drawer that morning. She just needed me to join her as an active partner before she waved her wand.