Sunday, July 15, 2018

It's All In The Numbers


Riteaid stores have this thing called higi, a health and wellness kiosk that measures and records certain health data through a procedure that only takes 15 minutes. It records the blood pressure, pulse, weight, and body mass index of an individual.

When I first moved back to Hampton in 2014, I sat down at the kiosk for the first time and recorded my numbers. At that time, my weight was 142 lbs and my BMI was 24.42, normal weight. Two years later, I recorded my numbers and my weight then was 162 lbs with my BMI increased by 3.55 to 27.98. I was now officially categorized as overweight. Oh my.

Note that the weight gain occurred in the years I was working big-box retail. I was a depressive sloth with a strange schedule who had learned how to stress-eat my feelings until I finally escaped that job.

So, now, two more years later; after reaching a high of 170 lbs at 5'4" tall, my exercise routine has me holding steady at 165 lbs. So, I did keep gaining but not at the pace of that first increase and I am currently walking approximately seven miles a week outdoors in this southern heat. So, I'm doing pretty good.

My wardrobe has suffered. As I find things no longer fit or are no longer comfortable, I've been moving them over to one side of my closet. That side is now taking over! So many lovely things that I can no longer wear....

My exercise routine has to increase, despite this heat. I need to take my diet more seriously, eating less is not producing the weight loss, like I hoped. It also isn't that enjoyable. I need to also research more on anti-bloat foods (low FODMAP*) because my stomach is frequently betraying me when I start to think I can wear something cute again. Suggestions about that are very welcome.

One bright light I found is Rini Frey aka @ownitbabe on Instagram. I appreciate her philosophy about accepting your own body and not being too hard on yourself. It has helped.

* Look at the good-to-eat list first, most things can still be enjoyed, just in moderation.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

How very brave of you to be so forthcoming about your struggles. I wish you the wisdom and courage to do what you need to do to be comfortable in your body again.
Marie

Tamster said...

Great and brave post. I live in a suburb of Richmond, so I understand the difficulty of walking outside in the summer. I have found two things that help me: one is to get outside and walk very early before the heat sets in. On days when I don't have to be at work by 7:30, my usual time, I'll walk from about 5:30 (which is the earliest it's light enough for me) to 6:15. covering about two miles. On days when that's not possible, I've found the Leslie Sansone Walk at Home DVDs very helpful. She has put many of her videos on You Tube so you can try them out if you're interested.

Wishing you much luck in your journey!

Marie said...

I can totally relate to this. I started working out with weights and the free Has fit videos
on you tube. They have beginner ones and I have worked my way up. I don't want to drive to a gym so this has been very helpful for me to do at my own pace on the days I
have time. I lift two to three days for a 30 minute work out and I've lost seven pounds in four months. Not heavy lifting, my heaviest weights are ten pounds.

Unknown said...

It's hard when you think you're doing everything right! However, many, many people do not do well on the traditional low fat advice. For good reason! It's not how our bodies work! If you carry your weight in your belly, especially, consider insulin resistance. For an excellent beginner website, check out https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb or the book "The Obesity Code" by Dr Fung. Eating low carb, high fat made such a huge improvement in health! Sounds crazy but when you read the actual science, it's amazing that anyone ever believed low fat was the key (Gary Taubes has a great book on that fiasco "Why We Get Fat". Good luck!
I think this is logged into my daughter's account. Ooops. I blog at www.tracykm.blogspot.com :)

birdmommy said...

I've been talking to my doctor about low FODMAP (I have IBD), and I'll emphasize one thing he said a lot of people don't keep in mind - low FODMAP is supposed to be very TEMPORARY. The elimination phase should only be done for 2 to 6 weeks, and high FODMAP foods should be readded on a fairly regular schedule. Unfortunately 2-6 weeks is not really enough time to see a significant change in weight, so a lot of people stay on it until they hit a particular number on the scale. But that's not what it's designed for, and it can actually mess up your gut flora, as well as deprive you of needed nutrients.

My doctor and I decided it's not the best option for me. Hopefully it will help you with your stomach issues - just make sure you're not using it as a weight loss tool.