This is a re-working of a post I wrote a couple of years ago, on my last cycle of dieting. In the time since, I maintained the weight loss for a good long time, at least nine months. Weight gain crept up a little after that, but not much. Since I'd gotten well below the "overweight" line, I really did have some wiggle-room built in.
Though I got interrupted a few times, I pretty much kept to Atkins, and continued to exercise several times a week. A year after losing over 30 pounds, I was still down over 20. Not great, but not fat. Over the next eight months or so, I wandered up another five, and that put me right at the edge of normal/overweight. From September of last year to now, I've had a series of de-railing events from the flu, to Thanksgiving, to a stomach ailment, to vacations to Oregon and Iowa, and of course Christmas and New Year's. Well, that did it. After more than two years, I'm right back at square one. And that means 180-182ish (my scale is kind of flaky). And since I'm back at square one, here's that original post, which was written in May of 2011, a false-start of sorts. Though it began a period of very regular exercise, I didn't couple it with a diet, and so my real weight loss didn't begin until September of that year. From May, 2011, with updates:
Have you ever met someone who is so good looking, they're almost intimidating? I'm not talking about sexual attraction (though I wouldn't rule it out), I just mean that they're so attractive, it's inescapable. There was a client who comes into our office from time to time who meets that description. He's dark haired, blue eyed, and has an intense gaze. He has the look of a superhero, like Superman or Captain Marvel. He's got this reputation of a real womanizer, and I'm really not surprised about that. The first couple of times I saw him, in addition to taking all that in, I did notice that he was carrying 15-20 pounds around the middle that he could stand to lose. But the way he looked, he really pulled it off.
The next few times I saw him, I thought he probably should lay off the pizza and beer, because his 15-20 pounds had grown up to a good 30 or so. And the last time I saw him, he was pushing 45-50 more than he should. Only now, he's been carrying extra weight long enough, his hands and face are getting plump, along with the belly. Suddenly, he's not so intimidating anymore. Now, he's just starting to look like the rest of us! And I'm beginning to realize that if I could stand to lose 30 pounds, my estimates of him and others just might be low-balled quite a bit.
At the age of 47, I find that without a great deal of effort, I quickly and easily go down the same road. I've gotten an unfortunate blend of genes from my family: skinny genes and weight gain genes. If that seems like a contradiction, it's really not. I grew up a bean pole, literally able to eat as much and as often as I wanted, and never gained an an ounce. As I've segued from decade to decade, the metabolism has slowed down, and my "idle" weight has increased incrementally. I'm still a beanpole, with skinny arms, skinny legs, small chest and shoulders. But I've got the beans now too, with fat collecting around the stomach, butt and face. If I'm not dieting and exercising regularly, I get fat in those areas, and quickly.
At 20, my idle weight was 140. At 30, it was up to 150. At 40, It could be from 160-170, and now at 47? 180-and up. Seriously. I don't have to eat a lot, I just have to eat normally and not exercise, and boom, tubbo. And like the good looking guy I mentioned, if I stay fat long enough, my hands get fat enough to change ring sizes, and my face--where the weight goes first, and leaves last--gets rounder, and rounder. My friends and family (except for my brutally honest mother) always say, "you're not fat," or "you don't need to diet." But I know better.
Probably not for the last time (but who really knows), I'm hitting the Atkins Diet and the exercise again. Last time, I'd tipped the scales at about 185 (I didn't really want to know), with only a couple of pairs of pants fitting. For a guy who wore a 28" waist in college, growing out of 34"s is just embarrassing. So, I'm back to the gym, and/or walking 4 miles, and as in the past, I'll be doing that 5-7 days per week. I'm back on the low-carb diet, being careful to stay in the 20-grams-of-carbs range, and also trying not to do the low-carb treats, or overdo portion sizes. I've got a ways to go, but I'm already down a few pounds, and I just really started again on Thursday. It comes off a lot more slowly than it goes on, as everyone knows. I doubt I'll ever get down to 140 pounds again without a horrifying disease, but I will get down to less than clinically overweight, which for me is about 165. And though I'll never be so good looking that I'm intimidating, I'm kind of doubting that the guy in my example will again, either!
Here's hoping that it works as it has in the past, and that I can increase the time I keep it off, so that I don't have to start over again for quite some time. If you are starting a similar plan, I'm pulling for you! I'll publish updates, and will be republishing a bunch of Atkins recipes in the next few weeks, along with any new ones I discover or invent. Here's to the un-fattening!
Though I got interrupted a few times, I pretty much kept to Atkins, and continued to exercise several times a week. A year after losing over 30 pounds, I was still down over 20. Not great, but not fat. Over the next eight months or so, I wandered up another five, and that put me right at the edge of normal/overweight. From September of last year to now, I've had a series of de-railing events from the flu, to Thanksgiving, to a stomach ailment, to vacations to Oregon and Iowa, and of course Christmas and New Year's. Well, that did it. After more than two years, I'm right back at square one. And that means 180-182ish (my scale is kind of flaky). And since I'm back at square one, here's that original post, which was written in May of 2011, a false-start of sorts. Though it began a period of very regular exercise, I didn't couple it with a diet, and so my real weight loss didn't begin until September of that year. From May, 2011, with updates:
 |
| In a fair and just world, this would be my "before" and "after" pictures. Though I think I do look better than Ryan Reynolds in a fat suit. Not saying I do, I just think I do. |
Have you ever met someone who is so good looking, they're almost intimidating? I'm not talking about sexual attraction (though I wouldn't rule it out), I just mean that they're so attractive, it's inescapable. There was a client who comes into our office from time to time who meets that description. He's dark haired, blue eyed, and has an intense gaze. He has the look of a superhero, like Superman or Captain Marvel. He's got this reputation of a real womanizer, and I'm really not surprised about that. The first couple of times I saw him, in addition to taking all that in, I did notice that he was carrying 15-20 pounds around the middle that he could stand to lose. But the way he looked, he really pulled it off.
The next few times I saw him, I thought he probably should lay off the pizza and beer, because his 15-20 pounds had grown up to a good 30 or so. And the last time I saw him, he was pushing 45-50 more than he should. Only now, he's been carrying extra weight long enough, his hands and face are getting plump, along with the belly. Suddenly, he's not so intimidating anymore. Now, he's just starting to look like the rest of us! And I'm beginning to realize that if I could stand to lose 30 pounds, my estimates of him and others just might be low-balled quite a bit.
At 20, my idle weight was 140. At 30, it was up to 150. At 40, It could be from 160-170, and now at 47? 180-and up. Seriously. I don't have to eat a lot, I just have to eat normally and not exercise, and boom, tubbo. And like the good looking guy I mentioned, if I stay fat long enough, my hands get fat enough to change ring sizes, and my face--where the weight goes first, and leaves last--gets rounder, and rounder. My friends and family (except for my brutally honest mother) always say, "you're not fat," or "you don't need to diet." But I know better.
Probably not for the last time (but who really knows), I'm hitting the Atkins Diet and the exercise again. Last time, I'd tipped the scales at about 185 (I didn't really want to know), with only a couple of pairs of pants fitting. For a guy who wore a 28" waist in college, growing out of 34"s is just embarrassing. So, I'm back to the gym, and/or walking 4 miles, and as in the past, I'll be doing that 5-7 days per week. I'm back on the low-carb diet, being careful to stay in the 20-grams-of-carbs range, and also trying not to do the low-carb treats, or overdo portion sizes. I've got a ways to go, but I'm already down a few pounds, and I just really started again on Thursday. It comes off a lot more slowly than it goes on, as everyone knows. I doubt I'll ever get down to 140 pounds again without a horrifying disease, but I will get down to less than clinically overweight, which for me is about 165. And though I'll never be so good looking that I'm intimidating, I'm kind of doubting that the guy in my example will again, either!
Here's hoping that it works as it has in the past, and that I can increase the time I keep it off, so that I don't have to start over again for quite some time. If you are starting a similar plan, I'm pulling for you! I'll publish updates, and will be republishing a bunch of Atkins recipes in the next few weeks, along with any new ones I discover or invent. Here's to the un-fattening!
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