Tex, you're no slouch at this. You are doing great, & the really amazing thing will be when your self-image catches up with your physical truth.
I do have a suggestion for you and for everyone here. The farther you can get away from processed food, the faster you will lose weight. I say this specifically about the deli turkey vs. the baked, real turkey. You know those labels they put on food, advertising the virtues of their food? those are LIES. they don't have to tell the truth anymore, so long as the federally mandated nutritional content label is correct. If you don't like trurkey breast because it's too dry, go ahead & have a thigh or drumstick. Turkey is still the highest protein-to-calories source you'll find. And if you do get the breast, which is the Queen of all Proteins, look up recipes for baby foods & alter the taste & texture until you like it. I also have to say, though you are free to ignore me forever, that protein shakes are a trap. I know your doctor said to drink them & they are almost religiously mandated these days, but the whole drinking-your-meals mindset is why Optifast was such a miserable failure in the 90s, for Oprah & everyone else. Here's a link to an article:
Although protein shakes may help build your muscles, they may not be so healthy in other areas.
www.local10.com
My suggestion to everyone (including myself) is to make a list of the highest protein foods you can make at home. These would be the least adulterated. No Clif bars, no Premier shakes, nothing that someone else made for you to consume without you knowing exactly every single dram of nutritional content.
I know people have their own metabolisms & no two people are alike, but it's hard to argue with food you made & measured with your own two hands. I hope this doesn't sound weird, but I actually stopped going to my local bariatric support group because I was losing so much weight, others felt they were doing it wrong. I went from a 2X to a size 4 pretty quickly. My experience in the round-table meetings was that I'd be listening to the speaker but when I looked around, every pair of eyes I encountered was staring at me. Those of you who've been online mates with me for the last month or two know that I loved exercising & swimming & training for lake & mountain wilderness adventures. I'm sure that helped me. But I felt like a freakish distraction in the support groups because I didn't have any failures to report. And sometimes I wondered if others thought I was some kind of shill, just added to the group as an example of what could be achieved.
I was extremely strict with my diet. I did exactly what the nutritionist told me to do. I hated what I was eating, for the most part but I loved being able to look down & see my feet. During that time, my little brother had a brain bleed & was airlifted to a Seattle hospital from his home in Central Washington. For the next 81 days, in between hikes, I slept in the chair next to his bed when his wife wasn't there, & then sat with her during the day as he went in & out of coma. It's a long, sad story that led to his death. But he was addicted to alcohol & drugs & had a self-destructive streak from the time he was a teenager. I loved him so much, I tried to get my parents to let me adopt him when I was just 20 years old. But as he lay in bed & Viola & I took turns suctioning out his trach tube & putting cool compresses on his head, I felt more than ever that I had made the right choice for my life. I would have loved to have him come with me, but there was no way I was going to go with him. So it didn't matter to me if I was eating cardboard & dryer lint. I was not going to die young. He wasn't ever obese but the food he ate & the booze he drank... oh such bad stuff.
Pay attention to your food. Take the extra step of making sure what you put in your beautiful new sacred vessel of a body is as good as it can be. As soon as you shift your diet a little, you'll kickstart another calorie burn. I know many of my dear new friends here are spiritual people. Remember that your body is only the thing you borrow for a lifetime. Then it's on to a new adventure. While you breathe, be mindful of how grateful you are that you got to live this life. Show that gratitude by having reverence toward those organs you're feeding, and invite the muscles along, too.
How amazing it will be when you reach the new goal you've set for yourself.
But of course, if you make your own choices & take your own time, that's perfect, too.
love to you all...
Try to keep reminding yourself of where you started and how far you've come. You're doing great!
