Lifting Weights and Eating Good

     Over the last 2-1/2 years, I have been losing weight and toning up.  I went from a size 16 to a loose size 4.  I lost over 50 lbs. I did change some things in my lifestyle, but they were little things and I did it gradually.
     I don't like artificial sweeteners or low fat products.  (I may get into that more later, but trust me, they are horrible for your body, especially if you are trying to lose weight.)  One of my children has to really watch his sugar intake, avoid artificial ingredients and limit fried foods.  He was having terrible digestion problems and severe sharp pains.  I took him to several doctors including different specialists.  I found a nutritionist that told me that his biggest problem was that he had an extremely high yeast count.  It was affecting his liver and large intestine.  She gave him some things to cleanse his system and especially things to lower the yeast count.  She emphasized to not give him any white sugar or flour.  I already milled my own wheat so I made sure that he ate that and fresh fruits and vegetables.  Meat bothered his stomach for a long time so we worked that back in as he could tolerate it.  I made a lot of yogurt and keifer, fruit and vegetable smoothies.  Thankfully he loves that stuff.  After much trial and error, we found out a lot of information  Bottom line, the way God made food is how we eat it, so I wasn't about to change those habits.
     I started to keep a journal of what I ate and the caloric intake.  You can figure out how many calories you should take in based on your weight.  Add a zero to the end and you have your answer.  If someone weighs 150 lbs. they should eat 1500 calories to maintain their weight.  When you want to gain weight, then you increase that number and when you want to lose weight you decrease that number by 100 calories at a time.  It's tempting to make a drastic change, but you need to keep your metabolism working.  When you don't take in enough calories, your body begins to hang on to your fat storage to protect you from starvation and it's really stubborn when it's time to let go.  One of my biggest problems was that I rarely ate over 1100 calories.  I thought I did based on the calories the food contained but I realized that what I would do was to prepare the food, eat during the preparation, and not be hungry to sit down and eat.  I ate breakfast, lunch and dinner and usually some snack around bedtime.  I also valued the time my kids were busy eating so I could go and fold laundry, do some ironing or cleaning.  When I changed that habit, my boys were happy because we were able to take a break from school and relax.  We could enjoy each other's company, the laundry can wait but growing up won't.  We also have a more quality breakfast and dinner, because although we ate together I didn't sit long and got up to get to the business of cleaning, etc.  I always feed my kids 6 times a day.  I knew it was healthier to eat when you are hungry and to stop when you were full.  I also paid attention to taking the time to eat and enjoy the food.  I stop and eat with them now.  They really enjoy the days when they get to make me lunch or a snack and I feel better mentally and physically during the day.  That's what I changed the first year and I lost one pant size and 11 lbs.  I was happy as long as it wasn't coming back.  I lost about a lb./month and that is what the 'experts' say to do to keep it off.
     Those of you that know my husband know that he doesn't need to lose weight and often has to work on gaining weight.  He also loves sports and lifting weights.  (He hates the cardio!)  He kept telling me to start lifting with him.  He worked out at night and I didn't want to be bothered because that was my 'time off.'  After all, my kids and I did a minimum of 30 min.of cardio 3 times a week, but we usually did 30 min. 5 times a week for our P.E.  I told my doctor that I did excercise regularly but it didn't do any good to help me lose weight.  I also told her what I ate.  She checked my thyroid and it was normal.  I did eventually go to a fitness expert who was well rounded in all aspects of fitness.  He did a body fat ratio test and checked my metabolism.  For the life of me, I can not remember what he did. (Krista and I were on vacation and were at a spa.) But he told me that my fat to muscle ratio was too high and that my metabolism was low.  I had just started lifting weights with Jose which he suggested that I continue and to make sure I kept track of EVERYTHING I ate and all of my activity.  I did find out that one of my bad habits was to eat food from the container instead of serving myself on a plate.  I would also eat if I was really upset about something.  The worst thing I think was that I would eat in front of the TV.  By serving myself the recommended serving size on a small plate, I actually took my time to eat and enjoy my little break or take time to enjoy my family during a meal.  He also explained that your body gets used to your routine and even if it is a good one, you need to change your routine.  That meant that I could go without exercising for a week and then come back and change up the routine.  I really prefer that anyway because then it's more of a game for me.  I could also eat extra calories for a week or two and not worry about it.  It really made a huge difference.  At the end of year 2 I had lost 29 more lbs. and went from a 14 to a 4. 
     Now I am trying to define and sculpt my muscles and I really enjoy working out.  Based on my size it is OK if I lose about 15 more lbs. but that is not my goal.  I really do care more about the health of my body than how much I weigh or what size I wear.  I dropped my cholesterol to normal levels and just had a physical in which the dr. approved of and agreed with everything I just told you. 
     One of the most important things I did to motivate and encourage myself was to keep track of my weight and how many clothes sizes I lost.  On the 1st and the 15th of every month I weighed myself.  If I stayed the same or gained weight I did nothing.  If I lost weight I wrote it on the bathroom mirror in the corner with eyeliner.  At the end of the year I wrote down what I was on Jan. 1st and Dec.31st and also wrote my clothes size down.  My husband is so great.  He never once complained that I was overweight.  He always told me how beautiful I was.  But, when I began to lose weight, he was my biggest supporter.  He never mentioned anything if I hadn't lost weight, and he always praised me when I did.  I still have the numbers on my mirror in the corner.  I don't know when or if I will erase them but for now they stay.