The Diet: 3 Months Checkup

Yes, I have successfully stuck to my new eating habits. With a lot of work and sacrifice, I have lost a total of 65 lbs. That is 6 sizes my friends. S. I. X. I'm stoked!

We went yard-saleing this weekend and I came out with several new pairs of pants/shorts and even a shirt. It's odd to put clothes on that seem so small (compared to where I have been). They are still not where I wanna be, but I'm working on it.

The Diet -- My Method

I have tried SO many times to lose weight......cabbage soup, Slimfast, Richard Simmons, the list goes on and on. The only thing I had never tried was going to the doctor. Simple, huh? You have a health issue, you should go to the doctor. I just never did it that way.

So I decided that now was the time. Eating healthy is MUCH more expensive than eating "freebies" from coupon shopping. However the real expense I paid for all that free food was more and more weight gain. Don't get me wrong -- I still love a good deal! I have simply cut back on my grocery couponing ways. Of course, the fact that my lovely DH got a fantastic new job that allowed me to pretty much have an unlimited grocery budget made the transition to eating healthier a lot easier.

Now -- what you really want to know: HOW DID I LOSE SO MUCH SO QUICKLY?

1) When you weigh what I did (umm...wayyyy too much), you will lose about 10-12 pounds of water weight in the first week alone. The rest was all hard work.

2) The doctor prescribed me phentermine, which is a generic form of Adipex. It is an appetite suppressant -- which I desperately needed. This makes me NEVER feel like I am hungry. When I do eat, I lose interest in food very quickly, so I am eating much, much less than I did before the medicine. It is not intended for people with 5-10 pounds to lose. This is a medicine that is for obese people, and I fit into that category.

3) I drastically reduced the amount of calories I take in. If you think of calories like a checkbook, you have deposits (what you eat) and withdrawals (what you burn). The goal is to go into caloric "overdraft" so that you are basically burning more calories than you take in. When you weigh more, you burn more calories because it takes more energy to move more mass. As you lose, you have to work out harder to still burn the same amount of calories. Your body burns 10X your weight a day just to survive. For every 3,500 calories you are in "withdrawal" you will lose 1 pound. My doctor put me on a 1,500 calorie a day diet. Never, EVER go below 1,200. EVAH!

4) You have to work out to lose more quickly. The first week I could only walk 20 minutes at a slug's pace. And that was pushing it. The next week I began to build energy and stamina and was walking faster. At the end of four weeks, I could easily walk an hour, at a quick pace. Now (about 6 weeks into the plan), I walk about an hour a day, incorporating 10-12 flights of stairs. The place I walk is upstairs. I walk about five minutes, then race down the flight of stairs and go back up. This adds more calories to my burn pile. The faster you move, the harder you work, the more calories you burn.

5) I eat healthy foods. Lean protein, complex carbs, fruits, veggies, low-fat yogurt and cheeses. I eat wonderful food -- I am just learning to eat it healthier. I keep up with all of my calories -- whether it comes from a donut or an apple. I still eat an occasional "bad food". Life would be dreadful without donuts!

6) LOTS of water. Divide your weight in half. You need that many ounces of water a day. 8 glasses is great, if you only weigh 128 pounds. The more you weigh, the more you need. Carbonated beverages are off limits. The carbonation seeps into your fat cells and blows them up. You will not lose fat cells, but they will shrink. This rule alone can help you lose up to a dress size in a couple of weeks.

7) Rest. If you work out every day (or at least 5 days a week), you need time to get adequate rest. Not only sleep, but just time to relax your body before you go to sleep.

Sounds simple, right? It's all of the tricks that your mom and grandmother knew -- but as a society we try to fast track everything. If you are a fan of Dave Ramsey, remember his plan is just basics in life. The best weight loss comes from the basics.

And even though you have heard it a million times, I am gonna say it anyway. YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE TO CHANGE YOUR BODY PERMANENTLY! If you lose 20 pounds then go back to eating McDonald's every day for breakfast, it will seep back on! I am NOT on a diet -- I have changed my lifestyle!

I have now lost about 45 pounds -- and if I went back to my old ways it would be back before the Easter bunny got here! Good luck to all of you trying to lose weight!!!

The Diet -- 30 days check-up

Today was my one-month check-up for my new diet plan. I decided to go this route, instead of on my own because I have a huge failure rate on that. I lost 38 lbs. in 30 days! I am stunned!

Now.....only $@&# to go!

Back to Decluttering

I joined Chile's decluttering challenge earlier this month. Even though I have worked at it, I haven't really talked about it too much, honestly because I had not done a massive amount of it. I did a little here and a little there, but never a massive session. It seemed like I didn't have that much time, then I realized this was something my home needed desperately.

So, I got a ton of work done today. I started with general paper clutter that easily overwhelms my home. It seems to be attracted to any flat surface of my home. First I got that all sorted out. Next I moved on to the shelves of games that we have collected over the years. Although we love to play board games, who really plays "Friends Trivia" or the "Magic Tooth Fairy Game"? Sure, I love Friends, but only a handful of people I know could even play with me, and that small amount of time that I get to spend with them is not worth the price of real estate that it laid claim to. So, all in all, 7 games said good-bye to our family today.

Along with all those games, went several other things that had been sitting around waiting for someone to attend them: a lamp, some books, toys, shoes, clothes. While I was at it, I sent the high-chair out to the storage shed. I decided to keep it but get it out of my sight. I just didn't need the reminder.

This is just the tip of my iceberg, but at least I got rid of the tip!

Christmas Shopping Report

A few weeks ago, I decided to challenge myself (any anyone who wanted to join in) to start working on their Christmas shopping, and shop all year from clearance racks so that you could get the very best deals.

Like most things in life, once I set out on a mission, I become very determined to complete it (sometimes too determined) and so I am almost finished shopping. Other than my father-in-law and a couple of secret santa gifts, all gifts outside of my home are now completely off my list. I believe I spent under $150 for all of the gifts I have spent this far, including many gifts for my own children. I was very excited to see my gift closet becoming so full so very quickly.

As a second result of finding so many wonderful deals, I have also purchased many of the birthday gifts that I have to have for my nieces and nephews for the upcoming year. I also bought a few extra things for children that are the ages of my children, so when we get those last minute birthday party invites, I am not scrambling to come up with a gift (which always seems to mean that you pay more than you normally would have).

I had not thought out all of the ways that this way of gift buying could save me money in the long run, but now that I have a great stash of gifts, I am already seeing the wonders of this plan. Although, I know that this concept is not a new one, I simply did not realize how much wonderful stuff is available at the end of Christmas.

On another note, right after Christmas on clearance, Walmart had the "Ripstick" skateboards on clearance for $35. They had TONS of them. Just last week, I was in the store, and they were already back up to $70+. Their clearance didn't last too long, but the $70 is still cheaper than the $96 they were during December. Amazing how quickly their prices change!

A Little Frugal Math

So I decided to do my food budget for the year for $1500. Hmmmmmm. I'm only 10 days into the year. I am already worried.

$1500 -- how does that break down? Well, if you do it by the day -- and there are 366 days this year -- that breaks down to about $4.10 a day. That makes it about .60 over for the year, but I think I can swing that.

10 days into the new year, and my new budget, and I have spent $40.65. Not too bad. I am only about .25 over. Of course, I have not made a huge spree yet, but give me time, I will get to it, I promise.

Got any hints on how to keep the budget down? Share them!

Christmas Clearance Challenge

The more I think about it, the more I realize that you can get amazingly great gifts on clearance all year long. I always shop clearance, but never really thought about totally doing Christmas from there. So, my challenge, for myself and anyone who wants to participate, is Christmas from Clearance. Other than my DH and children I need 25 gifts. I have already purchased 6 of these from clearance bins in the few days since Christmas. I don't think I can get them all between now and the time that Christmas buys are all gone, but I think I can finish up long before new trees hit the shelves next fall.

6 down, 19 to go.

Wanna join me?