Bella's Life by the Sea Journal

[BellaHMB]

Greetings!

Well interestingly enough I met my goal of -60 pounds on May 26th,
one day before my husband's 60th birthday We then celebrated
our "60" together!

Since then I have been working on my maintenance plan and looking for a way to stay focused while tweaking my woe. I decided this morning to try
the journal as a way of keeping track for me, but also posting for others to read.

Ive had many requests re what my plan was, so I think I will start with that.

Bella's Life by the Sea Plan
5 ft 7 inches, 52 yrs young
Start weight: 210
Goal weight: 150
today's weight : 148

20 carbs per day limit. No net carbs

Calorie limit of 1000.

Use fitday every day to keep track of everything!
No faux foods (shakes, bars etc)
Organic when possible, avoid prepackaged foods

Followed Atkins induction 72 plan most of the time
but also watched calories and used fats sparingly!

Exercise 5-6 times per week; cardio 50m/weights 2X week

Lots of salads, grilled chicken, "some" beef.

Endured hunger to lose weight!


So that's my basic plan for anyone who wanted to know about it!

As for right now, Im doing ok but am working on my maintenance
diet while trying to lose about 5 more pounds for good measure.
More on that later!

Bella
aka Victoria

[Livywilltim-mom]

Hi Bella,
I am happy you have a journal. I am so inspired by you!
Can't wait to keep reading!
Thanks,
Jaimie

[BellaHMB]

Thanks Jaimie!

Now I have to figure out how to link this (with new name)
to my signature!

Bella

[BellaHMB]

Ok so let's talk about carbs versus calories and a little personal history
thrown in:

In my experience I have lost weight not counting calories or portions but only carbs. I did this the first time when I was 22 and lost all my baby fat
Got down to 135 pounds and maintained within a 20 lb range for 10 years.
I would use lowcarb whenever my weight went above 150 (cause at 5 ft 7
135 was, for me, hard to maintain). I never looked at calories or fat, never
measured my food in any way. I think my appetite was naturally supressed.
Also, I didnt exercise ONE TIME!

Ok, fast forward to the next time I seriously lowcarbed after an unhappy marriage, pregnancy etc. 1996. I was 42, and I did Atkins DANDR and not the original and it took me 2 months to lose 17 lbs (compared to my recent plan when I lost it in 3.4 weeks). I used faux bars/shakes etc and while I did lose,
it was SLOOOOOW! By 1998 and a few times at it I did reach my goal of 150 and kept if off until 2002. Another emotional event in my life having to do with my birth and adoption (which I didnt know about) and I gained up to 210, not my highest but obviously way up there.

Got married in 2005, and am very happy now. On Jan. 15th I had a dream that I weighed more than I thought I did! The next day I started lowcarbing..
This time I decided at age 52 to eat cleanly, no fake foods, no low carb treats, try to get organic, stay below 20 TOTAL carbs and exercise.
I also reduced my fat which at times left me very hungry but my loss was
on average 3 per week so you know what? I dealt with it. I drank water, Good Earth Tea, and posted online alot.

I exercised 5-6 times a week and upped my intensity too.

I used fitday this time to GET REAL with how much I was eating. I ran a theoretical "before" lowcarb day and saw that I was, on average, eating upward of 3000 calories a day and about 100 carbs. No wonder I was gaining!
And I also saw that I was drinking 2 glasses of wine every night and had become dependent on that, so I stopped. Whew! Once I could really see what I was doing, I could monitor my daily plan. I set a 1000 calorie per day limit and usually ate about 800. Not as low as Kimkins, but lower than before.
And it worked.

I dont recommend this for everyone obviously as we are all different.
But I found that by making these changes I feel better about myself,
am wearing a size 8-10 now, a size 1 Chicos, and am not drinking.

Life is good!

Bella
aka Victoria

[BellaHMB]

Well good morning and it's the end of week 2 of maintenance for me.

Im eagerly anticipating the end of The Sopranos on HMB
Can't wait to see what happens to Tony now that Dr. Melfi
set him loose!

Ive been thinking alot about how many ways we get in the way of our
own success with lowcarbing. Too many excuses, too many "but I don't want to be hungrys", too many "I can cheat this weekend" etc. I feel SO good about myself because I stuck to my plan and didnt vary ONCE!

And now the only challenging thing is paying for my new clothes!
That I should have this problem....

People have been asking me to help them, from folks I have known a long while to people on this forum and Im here to do that. Just ask.

Have a good day!

Bella Victoria

[magnamater]

Bella Victoria, THANK YOU, for this journal will help many of us, as you have helped us in the past. I think you are very giving, and I wish you the best as you travel the maintenence road, and help us when we get there! We ARE going to get there.

Janie

[BellaHMB]

Janie, thanks for reading and your kind words....I decided this was the best way to stay in touch with everyone and also keep on track. Participating in the threads where others are working on losing is "sortof" working for me, but also not. So I am giving this a try....

BV

[BellaHMB]

Oh and asking questions is A-OK too!!

BV

[MsBeaFour]

Hi, Just wondering what you consider "staples" on your WOE. Curious of what a go to snack is and also what you do to curb the hunger pangs of such a low calorie day!?!

[BellaHMB]

Thanks for asking!

I try to have protein when I get really hungry such as 1 ounce of chicken,
a 1/4 cup cottage cheese, or some liquid like Good Earth tea or Hansen's Diet Root beer. Hunger is challenging! But usually it will pass.... Sometimes I will eat 3-4 kalamata olives, or more recently a lowcarb Carb smart yogurt which has 3 grams in it per serving. (would be ok after induction so long as you stay under 20 grams total per day). Occassionally I will have a baby bell cheese
also...

Other staples include grilled chicken, salad, and Ken's dressing, water packed tuna, flax muffins (made with the online lowcarb recipe), red peppers/mushrooms and shrimp stirfry.

I hope this help!

BV

[Livywilltim-mom]

Good Monday to you Bella!
Thanks again for this journal. You and LowCarbMommy have inspired me to begin my own. As soon as the school year ends here, I will start.

I wanted to share with you that I stopped drinking in January 07. It was a big thing for me, as I was really using the alcohol to relax. I was hoping that I would lose a bit of weight when I stopped, but nothing.

Hugs to you friend!!

[BellaHMB]

Good morning!

Jaimie, Im glad to hear you are on your lowcarb journey I stopped alcohol at the same time as lowering my carbs and off came 12 pounds in 2 weeks.
I was amazed! I also realized that my glass or 2 each night was a habit that could easily transfer into alcoholism at some point and I didnt want that for myself. It was a great choice to stop.

This week is my last of month 5, hard to believe! I am working on maintenance and adding in a little more carb here and there but also trying to get to 145 as a base weight which is taking some time and effort.

Im reminded of this saying:

"Trees are always happy because they are so patient"

Im going to try to remember this today!

BV

[kat mommy]

Hello Bella
Congrats on a job done Very Well Done ,Bravo for you!! So Happy you have made it to maintenance.
What made this time different for you?
Have a wonderful day
kat mommy

[BellaHMB]

Hey Kat,

Great question!

Hmmmm. Well, I am very happy in my life and that made a difference.
Also, in terms of food specifics, I did not use any faux foods, no bars/shakes, nothing to stall me at all. So my losses were very consistent. I also read
Kimmer's info so weighed my food and used fitday.

How is your plan?

Bella

[Livywilltim-mom]

Bella, you are an inspiration!

kat mommy, please share your plan!

Peace

[Meekness29]

Hi Bella... just stopping by to show some Thanks for starting a journal and offering to help us all. You are such and inspiration. I am still struggling, but after reading your journal, I decided to start again! Thank you so much !

I will be one of your faithful readers

Have a good evening

[BellaHMB]

Great news meekness!

Tonight my dh and I are going to a Memorial service for the mother of a fellow martial artist. My dh, at the age of 60, is studying for his 3rd degree in Kuk Sol Won, a Korean Martial art (I am so proud!). Devon, who is 16, just lost his mother suddenly this last week so we are going to the service.

Food wise, again its a "what do I choose when faced with unknown dinner plans?". My dh could wait until late to eat, even 10pm but Im a 7:30 gal and even on nights when I work twice a week I eat at 9pm and try to have a snack before to tide me over. Tonight I suppose I will have 1/2 flax muffin and some chicken at 6:30, then head out to the service and then avoid the reception food. My dh can eat by himself later, or I could have a salad.

I thought to post this to share my own decision making process with this sort of thing which we ALL face!

BV

[Fifi]

Bella, I think it is great that you started a journal! We will all learn so much from you! I found yours because I just started my own journal today. I plan to use mine as a way to find out what is causing me to fail or to succeed. I think you wrote something profound - a good part of your success was that you were happy. A good part of my lack of success is still grieving over the loss of my mother last July from breast cancer.

Nonetheless, I have to start living again! I am a mom, too. My children deserve a good role model; my mother deserves the world to see she did a good job modeling me.

Keep up the great work, Bella!

[BellaHMB]

June 12th

Woke up tired with a headache... am at 147 pounds now, which is 3 below goal and so I guess Im doing ok. My planning last night worked out ok, I ate a small salad when I got home and was very careful with my protein in it using 1 ounce lamb and 1 ounce chicken. Not sure why I'm so tired....maybe today would be a good day to take off from the gym.

Along this line of thinking, I am learning to listen more carefully to my body.
Sometimes I am hungry but can have tea or liquid or a little yogurt (lc) and Im fine. I usually am ok during the day and then in the evening I really have to watch myself to not eat too much! My body is hungry then as I have worked out, but I tell it I will take care of it, not to worry!

Today's note to myself: Have patience and listen to your body. It knows the way.

BV

[Livywilltim-mom]

Bella,
I hope this post finds you feeling better than this morning!
Good for you, listening to your body, and following your intuition is such a big step.

I love that you have this journal, thanks!

[magnamater]

Morning, Bella Victoria!

Just wondered if the 20 minute rule is true for you. . .if you eat it is supposed to take 20 minutes to signal that you are full or satisfied.

I am trying to make myself aware of that situation.

And to get used to feeling slightly less than full, or satisfied but not full.

Really hard lesson.

Anyway, you are doing so well on maintenence, it gives me hope for my eventual maintenence. I hope to join you in about 2 months. . .that's my target. . .we will see how the losses go! Even if it takes longer, I now feel I can make it!!!!!

Janie

[BellaHMB]

Janie,

Ive heard that but usually am too hungry to wait it out! No seriously, I do try to give it a little time to see if my hunger subsides. Im glad to hear you know you can make it- attitude is about 99% of this process.

I just got back from the gym, did 50 minutes. Its a beauty of a day here by the ocean, it is wonderful to live in such an amazing place.

Im going to look at Greek Yogurt today at Trader Joes to see if I can incorporate it into my plan. I dont need alot, but I do need some extras to help with my hunger and a little yogurt with sprinkled oats uncooked (1t) is quite good.

Today's note: "I will treat myself with the respect I deserve".

BellaV

[BellaHMB]

June 14th

Today's Quote: We can have anything we want, just not everything we want!"

On that note, it's all about focus. If you decide what you truly want, and are willing to devote yourself to creating that outcome, then it can happen. Maybe not immediately, as sometimes there is a "lag" time. But I do sincerely believe this to be true.

3 weeks before I met my dh again (we had met each other numerous times over the years as we both lived in the same coastal area) I did a Yoruba ritual at the ocean. After spending time placing flowers on the sand and meditating on love, I took 5 dimes and whispered my desires into them. I said my most
secret desire was to bring my true love to me...I then threw them into the ocean. 3 weeks later I was invited to a going away party for my friend Linda and John was there (she was a previous gf of his) but we didnt connect. Then about a week later I was invited to a 2nd party for her, but this time it was a dinner for 6 at a round table and John and I sat next to each other!
We exchanged info but he didnt call me until Sept. and by that time I was free from a past relationship as was he, and we were married Jan.1, 2005.

Life is good!

Today I hit my lowest of 146. I have been focused on this, and it happened.
And you can do it too!

Bella V

[Meekness29]

Such an inspiration, I tell ya!

Thank you !

[BellaHMB]

Thanks Meekness, it's all about giving back!

Bella V

[pri17cess72]

Hi Bella...nice that you started a journal for others to see your plan. My question is what type of exercise do you do?

I really enjoyed the story of how you focused on meeting your true love!

Thanks for sharing and Congrats on your loss!

[Meekness29]

Bella,

Are you going to start posting your menu daily?