p2niak
New member
Hello all!
My screen name "p2niak" is just a clever misspelling of my nickname, Petunia, and the first letter of my last name. You can call me Petunia, or you can just call me Lisa
For 4 or 5 years now I've totally let myself go. I used to be at a healthy weight, went to the gym a lot, and ate VERY consciously. I was recently separated, so it was easy for me to stay focused and within my set routine. Then I fell in love. . . You know how it is during the courtship/dating period - you go out to eat a lot, you have a few drinks, you share a dessert. He & I both love to cook, so that was always a big thing for us. We'd spend hours on the weekend, cooking fabulous Sri Lankan food and eating. We're both single malt (scotch) & wine lovers, too, so there was a lot of celebratory "yay life is great" drinking going on. In the course of these wonderful years, I have gained about 60 pounds. Yikes.
I wasn't totally oblivious. My clothes got tighter, the surefire cute outfits suddenly didn't look all that great, my shoes didn't fit right, and I was getting a chunky tummy. A bunch of people in my family have been very successful doing low carb diets, so I'd try that every so often. I'd lose 5-10 pounds, then go back to my old ways. I stopped going to the gym (too busy with work &/or school, or spending time with my man), and I just became lazy. The other day I was at Ikea and happened upon the bathroom scales. I used to have one at home, but it died, so I haven't weighed myself in ages. I took one off the shelf, stepped on it, and was stunned to see that I now weigh 208 pounds. At my height, that's about 32 BMI! Obese! Yikes! I was accustomed to being overweight, but to be obese was a huge wake-up call for me.
I used to be a tae bo JUNKIE and when I was married, we had a nice home gym. I'd literally spend HOURS working out. I was fit, I was tough, and I looked great. I want to be that version of myself again.
So, here I am! I've forbidden myself to do any version of low carb dieting. I love food, and I just get bored to death with low carb. Plus, I'm not entirely convinced it's as healthy as they say. I know it can be, if you do it right (meaning lean proteins + lots of veg), but it could never be a "lifestyle" for me. We eat a lot of Sri Lankan food at my house, and I just can't NOT eat rice, haha.
I've finally opened myself up to the (obvious) wisdom of calorie counting. It's been quite liberating, actually. I'm accustomed to being very limited in what I eat, so to sit down and eat a bowl of Cheerios is nearly euphoric for me! I may as well have been eating "death by chocolate" cake, haha! I tend to be pretty picky about eating healthy for the most part, so I think it will be an easy adjustment for me. I LOVE veggies, and I'm so excited that I can eat pretty much as much of them as I want. On low carb, that wasn't a possibility. I could have two measly cups of veg a day, and no fruit (at first, anyway). Tres lame!
I've taken some rather disgusting (in my eyes) "before" pictures to keep me motivated. I don't have a full-length mirror (but will be getting one, you betcha), so it was shocking to see how lumpy and just plain big I've gotten. I may post them in a diary thread, just to keep me honest. Plus it'll be a great way to remind myself that one day I will be able to look at those pictures and be totally proud of myself for losing all that weight!
I've been checking out the boards here for a couple days. You seem like a great group of people; there's a lot of knowledge and wisdom to benefit from. I look forward to getting to know you and fighting this battle together!
Viva la revolucion! (against fat, that is, haha)
My screen name "p2niak" is just a clever misspelling of my nickname, Petunia, and the first letter of my last name. You can call me Petunia, or you can just call me Lisa
For 4 or 5 years now I've totally let myself go. I used to be at a healthy weight, went to the gym a lot, and ate VERY consciously. I was recently separated, so it was easy for me to stay focused and within my set routine. Then I fell in love. . . You know how it is during the courtship/dating period - you go out to eat a lot, you have a few drinks, you share a dessert. He & I both love to cook, so that was always a big thing for us. We'd spend hours on the weekend, cooking fabulous Sri Lankan food and eating. We're both single malt (scotch) & wine lovers, too, so there was a lot of celebratory "yay life is great" drinking going on. In the course of these wonderful years, I have gained about 60 pounds. Yikes.
I wasn't totally oblivious. My clothes got tighter, the surefire cute outfits suddenly didn't look all that great, my shoes didn't fit right, and I was getting a chunky tummy. A bunch of people in my family have been very successful doing low carb diets, so I'd try that every so often. I'd lose 5-10 pounds, then go back to my old ways. I stopped going to the gym (too busy with work &/or school, or spending time with my man), and I just became lazy. The other day I was at Ikea and happened upon the bathroom scales. I used to have one at home, but it died, so I haven't weighed myself in ages. I took one off the shelf, stepped on it, and was stunned to see that I now weigh 208 pounds. At my height, that's about 32 BMI! Obese! Yikes! I was accustomed to being overweight, but to be obese was a huge wake-up call for me.
I used to be a tae bo JUNKIE and when I was married, we had a nice home gym. I'd literally spend HOURS working out. I was fit, I was tough, and I looked great. I want to be that version of myself again.
So, here I am! I've forbidden myself to do any version of low carb dieting. I love food, and I just get bored to death with low carb. Plus, I'm not entirely convinced it's as healthy as they say. I know it can be, if you do it right (meaning lean proteins + lots of veg), but it could never be a "lifestyle" for me. We eat a lot of Sri Lankan food at my house, and I just can't NOT eat rice, haha.
I've finally opened myself up to the (obvious) wisdom of calorie counting. It's been quite liberating, actually. I'm accustomed to being very limited in what I eat, so to sit down and eat a bowl of Cheerios is nearly euphoric for me! I may as well have been eating "death by chocolate" cake, haha! I tend to be pretty picky about eating healthy for the most part, so I think it will be an easy adjustment for me. I LOVE veggies, and I'm so excited that I can eat pretty much as much of them as I want. On low carb, that wasn't a possibility. I could have two measly cups of veg a day, and no fruit (at first, anyway). Tres lame!
I've taken some rather disgusting (in my eyes) "before" pictures to keep me motivated. I don't have a full-length mirror (but will be getting one, you betcha), so it was shocking to see how lumpy and just plain big I've gotten. I may post them in a diary thread, just to keep me honest. Plus it'll be a great way to remind myself that one day I will be able to look at those pictures and be totally proud of myself for losing all that weight!
I've been checking out the boards here for a couple days. You seem like a great group of people; there's a lot of knowledge and wisdom to benefit from. I look forward to getting to know you and fighting this battle together!
Viva la revolucion! (against fat, that is, haha)
