That's how much weight I had to lose when I started following Dr. Poon's Metabolic Diet. That number seemed overwhelming to me. But truth be told, it wasn't the most weight I have ever had to lose. When I was in my 40th week of pregnancy, I weighed 310 pounds at my final prenatal appointment. I gained 44 pounds during my pregnancy. Mostly because I felt that I could eat whatever I wanted because I was pregnant. Don't ask me how I never developed gestational diabetes or hypertension. In fact, for whatever reason, during my pregnancy was the only time in my obese life that I had a "normal" blood pressure without medication. Go figure! My mother must have been watching over me from Heaven.
I guess I could give myself a bit of a pass on the 310 (I lost 20+ pounds after giving birth, then struggled down to about 285). I was 40 weeks pregnant after all. That doesn't excuse the other time I saw 300 on the scale. I honestly can't remember if it was pre-marriage and Dr. Bernstein, or post. All I know is I went into Dr. Pitt's office one day and stepped on the scale and it said 302. That should have scared me straight, but it didn't. I either started the Dr. Bernstein starvation diet (and lost 100 pounds in 8 months and kept it off for a few more months before gaining all and more back), or took pills to get my weight down to a "manageable" 280ish. Why oh why did I not know about Dr. Poon earlier? Even if I did, would I have followed it back then? I probably wasn't ready.
People ask me all the time how I'm losing weight. Not only did I follow the diet pretty religiously (with the exception of a month where I put myself on maintenance), but I began to exercise. Both very important factors to losing weight. However, that's not all. You also have to have the proper mindset. Put very simply, I was ready. I know that I am going to have to follow this lifestyle for the rest of my life. I am going too have to eat low carb, low sugar, low fat forever. That's not such a bad thing. I'll still enjoy some foods I liked in the past, just in moderation.
It's all about keeping active and truly changing your lifestyle. When I am on maintenance, I will be able to enjoy the odd treat here and there. When I'm running 50-60k a week and maintaining my weight, I can definitely eat some of the calories I've burned through running. Right now I do not eat my running calories. That would defeat the purpose of why I run. To me, exercise is not a reason to "reward" yourself if you're trying to lose weight. I haven't earned anything if I haven't reached my goal.
Ok, so I just figured out how many calories I'd burn in a week if I ran 50k per week and weighed 159 (Dr. Poon's goal for me). Whoa Nelly....3736. That's a lot! I'm definitely becoming a serious runner. That folks is a great maintenance plan right there! I could have a weekly treat! This reminds me of a former co-worker. He was a runner and brought HUGE containers of food for lunch. Like seriously large portions. He was a very fit man and ran like a maniac. He was always hungry and couldn't eat enough in a day, but also couldn't stop running. I don't think I'll have enough time in my day to eat constantly and be an ultra marathoner like him, but I'd like to not have to worry so much about gaining weight.
So 130 pounds to lose. What a daunting number that was for me. The 40 pounds I have left to lose seems much more doable. I'm almost 2/3rds there (I think...I really suck at math). But even 130 is achievable, I just needed to find my inner strength. Whatever your number might be, don't be overwhelmed. If you want it bad enough, you will do it. I wanted it bad enough and just knew the time had come to take control of my life. I used to obsess over this quote and didn't want to play it over and over in my head one more time. Where will you be a year from now?
