A few months ago, I wrote about changing diet and losing weight.  Today is the 6 month anniversary of that last update so I know you must be dying for another update.  All told, I lost 54 pounds during this process.  It was long and difficult as you might expect.  It wasn’t hard so much because I had to do a lot of physical labor (in fact, I did not exercise one bit) or because I was angry about having to lose weight, but rather because it was a very trying test of my will-power and an amazing illustration of the power of food.

I am talking anecdotally here of course, but I think I was addicted to sugary stuff…not like cocaine addicted, but I sought sugary stuff over other food sources for sure.  I drank a 2-liter of Mountain Dew a day and ate all manner of whatever other crap I felt like, whenever I felt like it.  I am not a dummy…I knew better than to eat so much junk, but it just tasted so good and I craved carbs constantly.  Fruit didn’t really taste good to me.  I only wanted junk.  As I look back on it now, I know my head was addled by something…weight or sugar or both.

Some folks have mentioned that they do not eat as much junk as I did so they do not think they will be able to lose weight, or that it will not be easy.  It wasn’t easy for me either, but I understand what they mean.  Honestly, I needed to be educated about what causes weight loss and weight gain.  Of course, I know there are many medical aspects to weight that some folks suffer, but in the absence of those, I’d bet that if you are overweight, your diet probably is not as healthy as you think.  Lots of bread, whole grain or not, and lots of pasta or potatoes and rice, come to mind as things that may be keeping weight on.  There is a lot to weight gain and “junk” hides in all sorts of ways in a typical menu.

So, here it is 6 months later.  I am within 2-3 pounds of my weight-loss weight, so I am still 50+ pounds down from where I was.  The exciting part is that my blood pressure is down to normal without medication.  The really surprising part is that my cholesterol numbers are all back in line too!  I basically dropped 40 points off of my overall cholesterol number.  My good-cholesterol numbers are good and my bad-cholesterol and triglycerides are normal again!

I still occasionally crave junk food a little, but not often and not bad.  I haven’t touched soda since January of this year.  I only drink water, coffee and hot tea.  Every now and then I will have a cookie or two or a small bowl of ice cream, but it doesn’t mean much to me any more. The cool thing is that fruit and vegetables taste good to me again.  I find myself not drawn to junk but rather to whole foods that I can identify.  I know that sounds like a load of crap, but I discovered plums and almonds.  I love plums and almonds!  I know what a plum and an almond look like!  Who knew they actually taste great?!

When I pick up a 50 pound bag of cat litter, I wondered how I ever even moved around before with the extra weight.  I lost 10 bags of sugar!  That just amazes me when I think about it that way.  Of course, I know my body built up muscle to handle it, but it astounds me how much more pressure I was putting on my joints and my heart.  I am so happy to have dropped the weight and I have found that I can easily keep it off, so long as I just decide to eat what I now know is good.  So, your mileage may vary, but I am pleased with my weight-maintenance plan…