...as opposed to being obese, that is.
On May 3 I weighed 220lbs, and I said, "That's it." Although that's not quite as bad as the 230 I was about 5 or 6 years ago, I was determined at the very least to get myself below 180, the marking point for "obese" at my height (5'5"). Although I was determined to be under 200 lbs by the time I went to London on June 14 and met Lulu and Angela (I missed by about 4lbs), this was almost entirely a health issue, not an aesthetic one. My father died at the age of 57 of heart failure (and since I've definitely inherited his temper, I may well have inherited other risk factors as well), I have a heart murmur (according to the doctor, nothing to worry about - but I still have to take antibiotics when I go to the dentist and let's just say Amoxycillin and my stomach are not on friendly terms!), and before I started this, I was tired, lethargic, depressed, irritable, and occasionally even murderous.
Partially because I've been reading a lot of books about a raw-food diet (I have been a vegetarian - mostly vegan - for virtually all my adult life), and partially because it's extremely cheap, I've been eating almost exclusively fruit from the various stands around work, Lara Bars (made from dried fruit and nuts), Maya Bars (same thing with raw cacao) and splurging for Shabbat dinner on wonderful salads from Bonobo's on 23rd Street and 5th Avenue - they also have a divine raw bell pepper and coconut soup. When they have a Community Kiddush at B'nai Jeshurun after Saturday morning services - usually twice a month - I have the salads and the spreads (humus, baba ganoush, etc) and one chocolate rugelach with fruit. I've also been doing "water only" cleansing fasts on Sunday to clean myself out and counteract any Shabbat overindulgences. So I've basically been eating very healthily. I was less "good" while in London, but that was only four days...
Well, since today is the day before my 37th birthday, I weighed myself - I wouldn't weigh myself tomorrow because I think doing so on Shabbat is a really bad idea - and I am now 178lbs. Of course, I have been regularly weighing myself in the interim. But this is the first time in at least 15 years since I've been down that low. I think I was only under 200 once, during a brief and ultimately unsucessful attempt at Atkins (all that meat did not appeal to me).
With Rosh Hashanah and all the other ensuing Jewish holidays and their feasts, I don't doubt I'll gain some of this back - but I'll be very good afterwards - I have no intention of ever seeing 190 again. Of course, I know that the slower it comes off the longer it will stay off, and considering that I'm now starting to buy new clothes (going from 2X to Large and even Medium) and how many compliments I've been getting, plus - most importantly - the improvement in my mood, I have ample reason to continue on this track.
Unfortunately, I have no pictures, either "before" or "after". Although I'll probably start taking them another 20lbs from now. This has more to do with lack of digital camera than anything else.
Oh, and I have no interest whatsoever in little black dresses!
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