liana

I have struggled with my weight all of my life.  Now at the age of 31, I am at my heaviest ever.  In the past year, I have gained 42 pounds.  I gained 25 lbs. from cortisone injections.  One in my wrist for Carpal Tunnel and one for a food allergy.  I also stopped taking birth control pills and noticed a slight weight gain.  But for the most part, my weight gain is from inactivity and poor diet. I lived in an apartment with a small kitchen, so I resorted to eating out and delivery for dinner because it was so hard to cook.  I have since moved and have a HUGE kitchen where I have learned to be creative with food.  I have tried many different diets and have failed at all of them so I decided to take a different approach.  I only eat my  meals now on the small dinner salad plates.  If it doesn’t fit, I don’t eat it.  I also cut out flour.  If I want bread of some kind, it’s whole wheat.  I have started being creative with pita bread and whole wheat wraps.  I also stopped all sugar intake.  Instead of butter, I use olive oil.  I try to incorporate some kind of monounsaturated fat with every meal.  I noticed that it’s helped control my hunger and I’m eating smaller portions and less calories altogether.  I am trying to maintain on 1200-1600 calories a day.  Sometimes that’s hard for me because I am a massage therapist and I need energy.  But I will make it work.  In the past four days of dieting, I have lost my first pound.  To some people, a pound isn’t much but to me, it’s the start of a brighter future.  I promised my boyfriend that if we ever get married, I want to be a skinny bride. lol  So this is my journey.  I ultimately want to lose between 70-90 lbs, but I will be grateful just to be healthy.