My Weightloss Journey
When my eye sight is failing and I can’t reach my toes to cut my toenails, it is time …
When walking a mere 100 metres leaves me breathless and exhausted, it is time …
When looking at a photo of me and realising I can no longer kid myself that the photo was just from a bad angle which is why I looked so huge … it was definitely time.
The final straw was going to my GP for a 6 month check-up and she cruelly made me get on the scale. I haven’t owned a scale in years … what I don’t know can’t harm me, can it? 95.4 kilograms. Of course there was something wrong with her scale. I went out and bought my own and for some inexplicable reason it agreed with the doctor’s scale.
This is the 2nd article in My Weightloss Journey. You can read the first one here.
At my heaviest - 95.4kAt 69 years old, I hit 95.4 kgs and I am only 158 cms tall (5 feet 2 inches), I was fat!
Fat is such an “in your face” word isn’t it? It leaves nothing to the imagination. Medical folk use the term “clinically obese”. I am not sure which is worse to hear.
Friends, family, and even strangers who think you are too fat but are afraid to be direct, will describe you as cuddly, well padded or “big boned”.
You know that spare tire, apron, or whatever you want to call it, between your belly button and your “lady bits”? Yes, we have euphemisms for everything that shouldn’t be mentioned in polite company.
This is the third article of my Weight Loss Journey. You can read the previous posts by clicking here.
Disclaimer
I am not a nutritionist or any type of health expert. I am not offering you any form of weight loss or exercise advice.
If I was a health expert, I would not be so fat!
At the age of 69, I know my body, and my diet failings far too well. Having spent the past 18 years working on all aspects of my life, I understand what my triggers are and what I SHOULD be eating and how much I SHOULD be exercising and how STRESS is a killer.
This is the fourth article of my Weight Loss Journey. You can read the previous posts by clicking here
Do What Works For You!
When friends and family and even those who scarcely know you, hear that you are trying to lose weight, everyone is an expert on diet, exercise and how to reduce stress.
Even the internet can read your mind. Suddenly your social media is full of adverts of what you should eat, what pills you should take and how much you exercise and what exercises you should be doing.
This is the fifth article of my Weight Loss Journey. You can read the previous posts by clicking here
15 November 2024 - my weight has stabilised at 80kg for the past couple of weeks. I have lost just over 15kg since 17 April.
I should have been feeling on top of the world.
I am not nearly so breathless, my clothes are too loose and I am feeling good physically.
I have found it surprisingly easy to give up the sugar despite having been a compulsive sweet treat eater most of my life.
Something I was not prepared for, was the terrible depression I experienced a few weeks into my diet.
Image by Alexa from Pixabay
This is the sixth article of my Weight Loss Journey. You can read the previous posts by clicking here
I do not know what caused me to lose my sense of smell or when it exactly happened.
One day someone asked to smell a new perfume she had bought and I couldn't smell anything. This was long before Covid where a loss of being able to smell was one of the key symptoms which reversed once Covid had cleared up.
In 2005, as part of my Western Cape Tourist Guiding qualification, I had to do a wine appreciation course. I am pretty sure I was able to smell. Or perhaps, because I had never been much of a drinker, I faked the tastings and learned the theory. Luckily, as I drove my clients on their tours, I wasn't allowed to consume alcohol and was able to leave it up to the Wine Estate staff to explain the various qualities of the wines.
Read more: Anosmia - The frustration of not being able to smell
This is the seventh article of my Weight Loss Journey. You can read the previous posts by clicking here.
I am now 79kg, 16kg lighter than I was in April 2024. People ask me about my goal weight and to be honest I haven't set a goal. I don’t like the pressure. I have to remind myself that avoiding full blown diabetes, and becoming stronger and fitter are my primary goals.
In my early twenties and pre-babies, my weight was around 60 kg and I always felt a little plumper than I wanted to be. Though looking at this picture, I was probably average.
