The Bev Diet (part 5): Long time, no see!

My goodness, four months with narry a word from me or my diet! How have you survived?

Well, I hope.

I’m doing well, too. Over 60 lbs down! And I even survived a 10-day trip to Italy! Came back three pounds heavier but that was overcome, slowly but surely.

Me with Darling Daughter, (who knows all the good camera angles)

And slowly seems to be the operative adverb, these days. A lot of yo-yoing over the summer, which is too bad but it is what it is.

One big change, I’ve noticed, is that when I my weight DOES go up, I’m no longer terrified that this is THE END. So I guess I’m developing confidence in my ability to find my way back to the groove.

Venice was beautiful. I didn’t really eat all that much. No pizza, for example. We stayed in places where we cooked many of our own meals, so I managed to eat a bit of oatmeal. A couple of times, I ate scallop appetizers as my main course (three scallops). We discovered cicchetti, the Italian equivalent of tapas. One thing I have noticed, I’m now satisfied with a small taste of someone else’s yummy main course, I don’t have to eat a whole whack of (e.g.,) pasta myself. So that’s something.

Breakfast is a cream-filled sweet croissant

(pistachio or Nutella were faves)

 

End of May was one year on the diet; I’m now in my 16^th month of dieting. In addition to the 60 lbs lost, I now no longer shop in the plus sizes/stores. Which is amazing! I’m not quite ready to order clothes online, but am getting there.

Another welcome change: my energy level is WAY up! I’m now doing my 1hr15min walk in under an hour, and my 45min walk in under 30mins (thank you Sirius Chill channel 53!). So I’m walking much faster and have even recently added a second 30min lap; same amount of time spent exercising (about 2hr walking, 1hr exercycling) but I’m covering more ground (11km instead of 8). One weird thing about this: my diet/exercise app is not really noting the increased activity in the form of higher calories: I think it relies more on time walking than distance (but don’t quote me on that, I’m not 100% certain). If so, it’s a bit disappointing…but nothing I can’t live with. The scale is the ultimate authority, and the news from there is good.

I’m also, as a result of the exercise, sleeping quite well. Knock wood. Ten years after menopause, what a relief!

I’m thinking about joining the gym and trying to build some muscle, which will burn more calories all the time. Or so I’ve heard.

Stay tuned, and best of luck on your weight loss journeys!