Hi Karen
You are doing great - 60 pounds is right where you should be! I know it is hard not to compare yourself to others (I look at those that have lost 100 plus pounds in the same or less time and wonder how they do it).
I don't have any secrets, but probably my "key" word is "awareness". Before I got involved in my journey, if I thought of food, I ate. If I wasn't thinking about food, I still ate. I was totally oblivious to what and how much I was eating. I am single and what I put in my body did not resemble healthy food in any way. I ate high fat, high sugar convenience food as the majority of my diet and in massive quantities.
I think my weight loss really kicked in because my body went into shock when I stopped feeding it with sugar and fat on a 24/7 basis
. I now choose healthy, relatively natural food about 90% of the time, and I document everything I eat (including quantities). I do this for 2 reasons - one to make me accountable to myself (if I write it down, it can't be unconscious and I am making a choice to eat it), and 2, so I can keep track of what I am actually eating.
I try to eat between 1000-1200 calories most days, although I don't sweat it if I eat more. When I go out to a restaurant, if possible I try to plan what I am going to order before I go, so that I won't be tempted by the bacon cheeseburger with fries and gravy.
I am NOT doing low carb. I am consciously trying to eat the way I plan to eat for the rest of my life, which includes all food groups (and I still consider chocolate and pizza food groups
).
I go to the gym 4-5 days a week and have worked up to a routine of hard cardio (60-100 minutes on combination eliptical and treadmill) and 24 minute sprint circuit. During my cardio, I am up to at least 4.5 miles per session, and have gone up to 7 miles.
In terms of restriction - I have never been really restricted (at least not to the point where I have trouble eating solid foods). I have had 2 fills and have 7 cc's in a 10 cc band. I rarely have trouble eating any food, including hard protein, bread and pasta. I still can easily eat 1 1/2 cups of food at once (3-4 oz of protein and about a cup of vegetables).
As long as this works for me, I don't want to be more restricted. The band helps me stay satisfied for hours after I eat (although I still battle head hunger and always plan for an evening snack or two as this is my "trouble" time).
Two things that I am not very healthy with: I am now really addicted to sea salt and coffee. My blood pressure is actually quite low, but I have found that I really crave salt, on everything. I also drink at least one large (like 20 oz) cup of black coffee with splenda every day, sometimes even two
.
I try to drink at least 8 glasses of water every day, but besides coffee, that is about all I drink. Liquor is kind of a waste on me (I don't really like the taste), so fortunately I don't have to account for wine or spirits in my life.
Sorry for the novel.
Remember you are doing great and you have achieved phenomenal success in the last 8 months. When you get down - just think- where would I be if I were 60 (or 80 or 100) pounds heavier?
.
) / New Goal 160 
June goal 3 pounds 
Linear Mode
