Cindy Can You do The Leaves For Me? #6

 I'm not sure where to start -  exercising, diet, healthy foods.   First I think I need to finish up about weighing, tracking your weight loss and all of that.  You know I only can tell you  what worked for me and why.   Even though I was absolutely ready to change,  I knew losing weight was going to be a battle for me. I don't know the exact date but the night before I started,  I weighed myself.  Man was that depressing.  I thought maybe about 225 pounds. I weighed 240.   The next time I weighed was almost 6 weeks later to the day at the doctors office. My exam,  remember.  I thought if I could weigh 225 that would be great. 15 pounds lost in 6 weeks.  I weighed 218 and did that make me feel good, especially when the nurse began bragging about the weight loss to my doctor.  You can see I averaged about 3 pounds per week weight loss. Now seriously, I was starving, and if I had weighed after the first 14 days and seen I had lost only 5 pounds, I would have been ready to walk to Birmingham for another double cheeseburger.  So why find a reason to discourage yourself by jumping on the scales every day.   You're doing it for the long haul, changing eating habits, right.   How many times have you done what I use to do. Every few years going on a very rigid diet. Sacrifice eating, living on celery, carrots and other similar foods.  Somebody at work told you about their cousin losing 50 pounds on this very diet.   Weighing every day and hanging in there for 3 weeks to meet your 15 pound loss goal.  And when you hit it, what do you do ? You stay with it for a bit, and then you go right back to the same old appetite habits.  Same old ways.  I did.  A heart attack is the last thing on your mind, I know, remember me, their for someone else, it won't happen to me attitude. I don't think weighing yourself after the first day is very important. I didn't think I  needed to invest in some expensive diet program  you see on TV, or join some club where you weigh in front of everybody, and their snickering and thinking,  man that guy is wasting his time.

Get a few books, read up on nutrition, calories, get on the internet.  Most importantly talk to your doctor.  My cardiologist provided me with a lot of good  information on heart healthy foods, nutrition, and diets.  You'll figure out whats best for you.

It was now almost 5 months after my heart attack and I was walking 1 1/2 miles twice daily.  Once in the mornings and again afternoons.  It was the middle of January and the weather most days was not good for being outside, but I dedicated myself to walking every day.  I talked to my doctor about exercising, weight loss, and my heart condition.  My doctor felt good about the progress I had made and my heart was strong enough for me to start exercising my body.  But he cautioned no lifting over 5 pounds.  I said,  like one 5 pounder in each hand?  No, was the answer, 5 total pounds. Start small and work up.  He reminded me again, you're not as well yet as you think.  Your body will let you know what your limits are.  I had made a complete reversal.  Gone were the thoughts that I would always be sickly, no energy, unable to do the things I had always enjoyed.  I could start picking up my grandchildren again. I looked forward to doing yard work, picking up leaves.

Wait just a second, maybe if I work this right I could convince Cindy she needs to do the leaf  work or get me one of those cyclone rake leaf machines.  Yeah that's it. I'm getting back to normal.