Part of the reinvention process has been to get real with myself about my weight. Like many women, I gained about twenty pounds when I went through menopause. I added to the problem that year by visiting Belgium, where I was inspired by their excellent food. I came home and cooked first class for a year, adding another ten pounds.
So, there went my waist line. Most of the time I could ignore it. Isn’t amazing how our mirrors can reflect just exactly what we want to see?
I had a moment of doubt about three years ago, when my best friend Betsey went on the Atkins diet and lost about thirty pounds. She looked great!
Still, I lost no weight. I did try. I practically starved myself. Last year, I had a great pr photo taken. The photographer touched it up a bit, even though I asked her not to. Man, I needed to live up to that photo!
This year, as a part of my reinvention process, I hired a coach. My coach, Barbara Luther, a lovely lady with a lot of practical coaching experience, told me about Prevention Magazine’s flat belly diet. She has been on it for a year and has lost a whopping 90 lbs!
My interest in dieting has been spurred on by the onset of high blood pressure. At first it was just a nuisance, but now it’s downright scary. Barbara shared with me that her blood pressure has gone down so significantly since her weight loss that she is no longer on medication.
Well, what could I do? I thought about all those sure fire methods I had ordered from tv ads, the trainer that bored me so badly I gave up, but hope springs eternal. I went over to flatbellydiet.com and read up.
Prevention has designed a four day program that cleanses your system, thereby reducing bloating and giving you instant rewards. It involves drinking what they have named ’sassy’ water. The sassy water has lemons, cucumbers and spearmint in it. I tried drinking it but the cukes and I just couldn’t develop a relationship. I did continue with the water, minus the cukes.
I made it through my first four days, virtually unscathed. I had lost five pounds, which I attributed to water loss – but still, it felt good. More significantly, I had lost an inch around my waist. That felt GREAT!
Prevention suggested you might want to order their book. Well, we all gotta make a buck, so I did. I actually read it and I learned a lot. I’m still on the diet. It’s a slow weight loss, nothing flashy, but I don’t feel deprived and I have gotten acquainted with a lot of healthy foods
This morning, I measured my waist, six weeks after starting this program, and I’ve lost another inch. Down to 33 inches. All right!
I have a long way to go, but now I am certain I can do it. I still have my glass of wine every night, but I sip it. One of the secrets to the diet is eating foods with polyunsaturated fats likes almonds, avocado, olives, etc. Yes, this does sound as though it has incorporated the Mediterranean diet.
So there you have it! Just one more piece of my process. If you want to join me, just subscribe to my mail list and I will share the tools I am gathering to support my journey.
Ciao! No, not chow!
