Diet buddies

I ACCEPT JOY BAUER’S CHALLENGE TO LOSE MY LAST 24 POUNDS

During the interview process for the “Today Show”, nutritionist Joy Bauer listened to my story and challenged me to finish what I started by using her new book, “Joy’s LIFE Diet: Four Steps to Thin Forever”. It can be pre-ordered on Amazon.

I have been at my present plateau for over 2 years because I have learned to cheat and maintain. I set out five years ago to lose a total of 200 pounds, and now it is time to take off the rest and finish what I started with Joy’s help. Follow along as I learn better eating habits and continue to move my butt.

Realizing my faults:

I need to work on my portion control.

I need to stop cheating on the weekends.

I need to increase the intensity of my workouts. I hate to sweat.

Weight loss cheerleaders

Since I took up Joy Bauer’s challenge to lose my last 24 pounds on her new diet plan I have lost 6.5 pounds in less than three weeks. I guess the last 20 pounds weren’t cement but just pounds that I wasn’t willing to do the hard work it takes to get make the scale move.

No sugar, no salt, no starches at dinner are really starting to make the scale move.

Stress eating has been a life-long problem for me. I have worked in the newspaper business for nearly 30 years and recently there is little if any good news when it comes to this profession. Conservative estimates have over 14,000 journalists losing their jobs this year. In these uncertain times that is a real concern for me, but I am trying to approach it as a skinny person and not reaching for the candy every time I feel anxiety about the future. Making the scale go up isn’t going to solve anything. Instead I just take a deep breath and realize that the only thing I have control over is how I react to crappy news.

Joy and Johanna are great cheerleaders and I am so happy to have them in my corner as I pursue the last leg of my weight loss journey. I know I can do it and they are right there to lend support. How lucky am I!

Keep the faith that you can do it to.

Joy’s cement removers

I have said for the last two years that the reason I haven’t reached my goal of lose 200 pounds is because the last 20 pounds were

cement. Since I have been following Joy’s new LIFE diet the pounds are finally starting to crumple. Since I was on the Today Show three weeks ago I have shed 8.5 pounds. I am within 16 pounds of my lofty goal.

My pants are hanging off of me once again. So, I have been employed my old trick of putting my jeans in the dryer for hours on end to get them to shrink. It is a good problem to have and I am lucky to have found such a supportive team to help me.

I am learning that I had let too many old habits return which hampered me losing weight, like too many sweets and overeating on weekends.

I am on the straight and narrow now and the hard work is showing on my scale finally. Yea!

Skinny. Are you talking to me?

In the past I was more accustomed to turning my head if someone yelled “Fatso” or “Lard Ass.” Several times this week my co-workers have said “Hey Skinny” when I passed by them. At first, I walked by them and didn’t acknowledge the compliment. Then one of them stopped me and said that they were proud of me for what I was doing.

“Skinny” seems Greek to me and I really didn’t think that they were talking to me.

Joy’s LIFE diet is paying off. I know that people say the last 20 pounds are the hardest to get off but I am learning that it is the comment that most people lack. Heck, it has been my mantra for the last two years. I had learned to maintain and still have my treats. In short I was giving into my chocolate cravings and then working it off to keep the scale in neutral.

I feel like a food nun right now with the conviction that I am finding in myself to stay dedicated to my mission. It is paying off this time and I know now that I can reach my goal of losing 200 pounds. I never thought it was possible when I started 5 years ago weighing 340 pounds. But it can be done and I know now that I did have the power within myself to make it happen.

There is a draw back to losing the last 20 pounds; it is going to change my clothing size at least 2 dress sizes. This week every pair of pants I wore looked like I was carrying a fully-loaded diaper underneath. Not really the look I am ultimately going for but I want to save my money for the size 8 jeans that I dare only dream about just a short time ago.

This morning I am at the halfway point. I have lost 12 pounds in 5 weeks. I can see the brass ring and I am going for it.

I would love to hear your stories about losing your last 20 pounds.

Holy crap, it’s working!

I have been on Joy’s new LIFE diet for over 7 weeks and it is really paying off. Those last 24 pounds are finally coming off and I am feeling so good about my efforts. I am putting my heart and soul into it and I can’t believe the results. The love handles that I thought were a permanent fixture are almost gone. YEA!

It will take awhile to tone up my body when the last 10 pounds come off but I am finally in the home stretch.

Who knew that I could do it? Not me in the beginning but now I know that anything is possible. I have learned that if you want something bad enough and work hard enough you can make your dreams come true.

I am still working on getting the last few pounds off but this is how my diet challenge worked with using Joy’s new LIFE diet.

OCTOBER 6, 2008.

Starting weight: 164 pounds

Week’s eating habits: Stop nibbling on the office candy dishes and now more vending machine runs.

Work out schedule: I walked, biked and swam all summer but now it is time to hit the gym again. True confession, I haven’t been there in over a year. I complied a work out area in my basement and I prefer it but it is time to hit their machines.

Mission for the week: Learn what mistakes I have been making and start correcting them. Read Joy’s program and begin to check in with her wonderful staff.

OCTOBER 13, 2008.

Starting weight: 160
 pounds

Week’s eating habits: I am following Joy’s new program and working out every day.

Work out schedule: Up at 6:00 a.m. and trying to workout for at least an hour and half a day. I am on vacation this week so you know I mean business.

Mission for the week: I want to never see 160 again. Those three pounds put in the land of just fat and no longer obese according to the BMI. According to the medical standard, I started out at over 62 and now I am below 29. Yea!

OCTOBER 21, 2008.

Starting weight: 159 pounds

Week’s eating habits: Too many goodies at a family gathering but I was good for about 95% of the time. Not bad, not good .

Work out schedule: Back to the 5:30 spinning class. Yippy!

Mission for the week: Stay away from the Halloween candy that is everywhere.

OCTOBER 27, 2008.

Starting weight: 155.5 pounds

Week’s eating habits: Fighting a cold and it is winning. My first thoughts are to drink a gallon of orange juice but that would mean

too much time in the gym to work it off. So I am eating a great deal of healthy soup and taking it easy.

Work out schedule: Short walks until I can breathe right. Man I hate cold and flu season
.

Mission for the week: Get healthy and continue to workout maybe Pilates is the way to go.

NOVEMBER 3, 2008.

Starting weight: 154 pounds. That is 10 pounds in one month. I have lost 6% of my weight in that short period of time.

Unbelievable!

Week’s eating habits: Watch portion control and introduce a new vegetable into my diet.

Work out schedule: Limited because of a cold but I did some Internet research and found out that it is OK to workout with a cold. I listened to my body and took it easy. Just 30 minutes on my stationary bike and Pilates.

Mission for the week: I want to see the 140’s so bad I can taste it as it were. I am going to step up my workouts and sweat my way to that illusive target.

NOVEMBER 10, 2008.

Current weight: 150.5 pounds, down 13.5 pounds in five weeks. YEA!

Week’s eating habits: I am watching everything I eat to make sure that the portions are correct.

Work out schedule: I am back to my basement gym and working out 7 days a week for at least an hour. I said I was on a mission.

Mission for the week: Vary my workouts to include more toning exercises. I want to look great when I reach my goal weight.

NOVEMBER 17, 2008.

Starting weight: 150 pounds, 14 pounds in 6 weeks.

Week’s eating habits: Stay away from the office candy dish to deal with the stress of the layoffs that are coming up in a month.

Work out schedule: Set the alarm for 5:30 so that I can get another half hour of working out time.

Mission for the week: Keep my eye on the prize of reaching my goal of losing 200 pounds total. I am so close I can taste it.

November 24, 2008.

Starting weight: 151 pound. Yep, I gained a pound do to all the stress at work. Excuses, excuses, excuses but I am back on track and I really want to see the 140’s by next week.

Week’s eating habits: Watch out for all the holiday pitfalls. I am going to eat a salad for my Thanksgiving meal and then portion out several leftover meals to take home.

Work out schedule: No morning meetings this week so it is full steam ahead on getting a great workout each day including Turkey Day.

Mission for the week: Remember that the holidays are about spending time with family and friends and not overeating.

December 1, 2008.

Starting weight: 149.5 pounds, OMG! I have lost 13.5 inches last month and a total of 14.5 pounds in 8 weeks.

Week’s eating habits: Get back on track, no sugar, no salt and no treats.

Work out schedule: Step it up. The last 10 pounds aren’t going to easy but I want to see 140 pounds on the scale so bad I can taste it.

Mission for the week: Remember that January 1 is just a month away and it is time to get my act together and finish what I started.

December 8, 2008.

Starting weight: 148 Pounds, total of 16 pounds

Week’s eating habits: Back on week 1 of Joy’s LIFE Diet. It is working and now it is time to stick to the plan and stop letting life move my fork in the wrong direction.

Work out schedule: Everyday gets at least an hour of cardio a day plus strength training.

Mission for the week: 145 pounds by Friday.

December 15, 2008.

Starting weight: 148 pounds. At this point my body does what it wants. I even passed on the cookie making party and a pizza on Saturday. I tried but my body has a mind of it’s own.

Week’s eating habits: Keep away from all the holiday treats. They seem to multiple before my eyes this time of year.

Work out schedule: Keep up the cardio and strength training. New DVDs are on their way to the house for Christmas.

Mission for the week: 145 come hell or high water by Friday. It was my goal last week.

DIET BUDDIES

I like any long road trip, it is best to find a friend or two that will make the journey more enjoyable. For the most part, my diet loss program was a solo effort. I had more to lose than anyone around me and tend to approach all of my tasks at my own pace. But as I neared the finishline I needed motivation and company to get me across the finishline.

WEIGHT LOSS BUDDIES

My friend Mary and I have been waging a very small bet on who could lose the most weight for the last few months. We bet a

buck each and I put it in a frame that we pass back and forth to the winner of our weekly weigh in. Each Wednesday morning we make our way to the mailroom at the paper to step on a freight scale. It was the only scale I could find at the newspaper.

We have both managed to take a fair amount off weight since the middle May. The bet was to end the first of October but I figured since we both didn’t reach our goal of 140 pounds that we should continue to keep up the challenge. The frame with the money has been on her desk more than mine but it is keeping us on track.

I am broadcasting my weight but it would be rude of me to do that to a friend. She is doing great and I am plugging along. It is taking 100% will power but I know I can do it.

SO LONG BUT NOT GOODBYE

My diet buddy and friend Mary left the paper in December. It was sad to see her walk out the door but I know that she is going out there to start another chapter in her life.

This spring we were talking and she was lamenting that her weight was higher than she would like. I was in the same boat. Last year was a bad year in my weight loss journey. I had major surgery, got hit by a car while riding my bike and later blew my ankle out. In my basement are the three braces that I wore last year while I healed from all the traumas. In short, I put on 20 pounds because I wasn’t able to workout. And not to mention the chocolate I ate to make everything seem a bit better.

So when I heard Mary talking about her weight problems it made me throw down a challenge for both of us to get back on track and make the scale start moving in the right direction.

I found a scale at work in the mailroom, we used it once a week and who ever won for the week got the two dollar bet to put on their desk. We passed it back and forth to each other since May 15^th. The bet was supposed to end October 1 but we decided to keep going so that we could reach our goals of 140 pounds.

The truth is that the plague was on her desk 17 weeks and on mine for 11 times. She lost 35.5 pounds and I lost 28.5. She kicked my butt as it were but we are both winners. We are planning to keep up the challenge and work toward our goals in the New Year.

The best part about our challenge is that it brought us closer as friends and we both had someone to lean on and confess our sins to. That’s what friends are for in the end and our backsides are smaller because of our challenge.

Find a diet buddy and start your own friendly wager in the New Year. It will help keep you on track.

MY DIET BUDDY’S VIEW POINT

I’ve been the quintessential yo-yo dieter all my life. I was on the way-too-high end of my adult weight range when my colleague Lisa Griffis threw down the gauntlet — Let’s do a weight-loss challenge.

I’ve done such challenges before with good results. But this challenge felt a little different. Lisa is my weight-loss heroine. How could I compete with the woman who lost more than half of her body weight by eating right and exercising sensibly?

Lisa asked me for a dollar bill. She framed my bill with one of her own — that’s the plaque to which she has referred on more than one occasion. It’s the talisman of success that we’ve passed between us since the middle of May, based on which one lost a greater percentage of weight.

Yes, I’ve lost more weight than Lisa has… until recent weeks. I had more weight to lose than she did. But my mother’s death of heart failure a year ago, partly caused by lifelong obesity, had stopped motivating me to get my weight under control.

Lisa went to New York this fall to be on the Joy Luck Club show. She accepted a new challenge from Joy — lose the 20 pounds that stood between her and her ultimate goal. Lisa’s narrowed that gap by more than half. Now, it’s Lisa who’s kicking MY butt.