Pound For Pound

Well, it became apparent to me this evening that I need to drop a few pounds. I can't really go into details of how it became apparent…that would ruin a huge surprise. But let's just say that when one is bound and corseted within an inch of their life, you figure out very quickly where things are a little too pudgy.

I have 3 weeks and I only need to drop about 5 pounds. Last night when I weighed the dog, which requires weighing myself first, I topped out at 218(Molly was very fat…coming in at 42lbs Bad Dog!). It's not my worst weight, but also not my best. I tend to rock back and forth in the 200-220 area. The Mutual of Omaha insurance brackets say I should weight 170lbs. Ain't that a kick in the head! I would look totally Manorexic at that weight. When I went to the beach 2 years ago I had made it down to 190 and I could deal with that, but my Mom felt I wasn't eating enough. She said I looked gaunt. I said, "But I fit into all my skinny clothes!!!". Gaunt would have to do!

So, to help me shave a few pounds off in a few weeks I plan to low carb it. My friend Kim, who has had gastric bypass surgery a few years ago is currently doing a 5 day low carb plan designed to help her "reconnect" with her smaller stomach pouch. I am planning to augment the plan she is following. Basically what it comes down to for me is that fat doesn't get stored as fat in your body. Most fats get sent packing right out your poop shoot. My doctor and much web research has confirmed this. It's the carbs, the breads and the pastas and the cakes and the crackers….those are the items that are very easy for your body to process and then any excess gets stored as fat for later use.

Since I haven't had GBS, I am going to start on her "Day 3" (Skipping the all liquid days) where you begin introducing soft proteins. Food items such as tuna and eggs. All the while I will be "snacking" on protein shakes and low sodium lunch meat. From there you move onto more and more solid proteins. First the ground meats…chicken, beef, pork and then the solid meats…chicken, beef, pork. Now don't panic, I also plan to include the lower glycemic vegetables as well. Things like broccoli, spinach and green beans. My doctor says that green beans are like a miracle, you can eat all of them you want and they just pass right through your system leaving little or nothing behind. I like the idea of that.

I have done the Low Carb thing before. First I tried The Atkins Diet many years ago. I got the results I wanted and was able to fit into my beachwear. But I found it hard to stick to that plan for the long haul. More recently I tried The South Beach Diet. It is another version of the low carb diet that I found a lot easier to stick with. Of course once winter came and I was wearing baggy sweaters again, I found it easy to divert from it.

My friend Laura has had great success with Weight Watchers, as has my Mother. I may look into that as a long term solution. I like the idea of it's "in person" social side, what with weekly meetings to attend. On the other hand I might also wind up feeling like I am attending Fat Persons Anonymous. Who knows?

Right now tho, I just need to shed a few pounds to get through this end of September gig. So very low carb it is! After that I will take stock and see where I want to go from there. So I'll be starting all of this next Tuesday. There is no way that I'll be able to low carb it with the German Host Mother around…she's quite the cook and I plan to take advantage of that while she is here!