Headache Strikes

I've had some tough days since I started this diet on the 15th of June.  I have woke up with a headache every morning since Sunday the 16th.  I think this is due to my with drawl from cokes.  But the good news is that I have lost 5 lbs so far.  I have been attending my exercise class faithfully 4 days a week and watch every bite I put in my mouth.  The diet is very doable.  I get plenty to eat and feel satisfied.  The other day after swim class I talked with one of the ladies in the class.  She told me that she has lost over 200 lbs, but she had gastric bypass surgery.  She said that she could only eat about a cup of food.  Right after the surgery she explained that her stomach was about the size of an egg and could only eat 1/3 cup of food. Talk about taking the focus off of food.  I don't really sit around thinking about what I can eat next but I certainly live to eat.  I enjoy eating good food.  I don't want to be rail thin, I just want to look better and feel better.  It is hard carrying around an extra 100 lbs.  I read somewhere the other day that it takes 3500 calories to equal a pound.  It boggles my mind how I got so fat in the first place.  I know it is from the sweets that I eat. Raising 4 children I cooked good wholesome nutritious food and I did not go back for seconds and my portions were normal.  It was what I ate in between meals and I have been a night owl all of my life so I know that the midnight snacks played a part in my weight.  Now if I want to eat at night I just make myself go to bed because once I am there I won't get up again until morning.  In thinking about how many calories it takes to make a pound it also brought to mind that I am very much aware that my weight is just a symptom of a bigger problem, but that will be devoted to another day.
Knell

The Beginning

Everything has a beginning.  Today is the beginning of a new way of eating.  I have been over weight for most of my life.  Every diet I have tried in the past would work for a short while and then I would hit a plateau and that would be the end of it, hence the name of the blog, "Every Which Way But Lose".  I am starting Isabel De Los Rios'  diet based on her book The Diet Solution .  At the beginning of the book you take a test to see what type you are: protein, carb, or mixed.  I am the protein type.  I need a lot of protein in my diet to feel satisfied.  In going over the book I find it interesting that the author thinks that a big part of America's weight issues are because of the amount of bread that we eat.  Isabel recommends Ezekiel bread, which is made from bean sprouts so it counts as a protein, not a carb.  You can find this bread in the frozen food section in the store.  I keep it in my freezer because it spoils very fast if I leave it out, so I just take out what I am going to use and thaw it in the microwave before eating.  Of course sugar has been my big stumbling block but according to the book sugar withdrawal only takes 72 hours and then the body stops craving it.  Let's hope I can get through my first 72 hours without any hiccups.  This is going to be my hardest test because I allow myself one coke a day.  I find in the afternoon  I need a pick me up and will drink a coke to help me get through the rest of the day.  Maybe I will try one of those 5 hour things I see advertised all the time.  Okay so now you know about the diet part of my plan.  The other part of the plan is exercise because you have to workout 150 minutes each week in order to lose weight.  I have joined a fitness center and have signed up for a swim class which meets 4 days each week.  The swim class is a 50 minute workout Monday through Thursday so I should be good to go.  Well that's it so let the dieting begin. 

Knell