Weight Loss: Diet Pills...

I'm sure as many of you out there trying to loose weight, tried diet pills as some time or another. I did about 4 years ago. My hair dresser had lost weight and when I asked her about it she replied with Phentermine.

Thats when my journey began. I went to the weight loss doctor she had told me about and saw the doctor. There really wasn't too much to it. I made an appointment, he checked my weight, asked me if I was allergic to anything, told me about the medication and sent me on my very happy way. I took the pill immediately, and it worked. I saw results within days. I also didn't eat so I guess it's a no brainer! Not eating = weightloss .... except in a very unhealthy way.

I literally could not eat anything really. I had absolutely no appetite. I just took the pills, drank lots of water, ate very very little and worked out. A couple months went by and I was looking good. Not sure how I felt, but I looked good! Now that I had lost all that weight, I stopped taking the pills. It was getting expensive and I didn't need it anymore. Of course I started gaining the weight back in record time. My body was starving. So I ate, and ate, and ate. You catch my drift....

Within 6 months my weight was back and plus some! However I started noticing that my hair was thinning out. It was just falling out as I brushed it and it scared the shit out of me. I really started to see the damage I did to my body 3 years ago when my hair had thinned out substantially. I guess one of the side affects of not eating is hair loss....

I was so stupid to do that to myself. My body is a temple and I violated it...big time. It's taken me a year plus to get my hair back to a healthy point and am still working on it. Luckily it's a lot stronger and thicker these days. I take vitamins everyday in addition to biotin which has helped my hair a lot.

Looking back now I think how stupid can one be? I mean I starved myself for months. Who knows what kind of real damage I did to my insides..all I can do now is try to fix it my feeding my body with nutrients that will make it stronger. I will never take diet pills again. They are not safe, and honestly there is no need for them. The real problem for me was portion control, eating healthy and exercise. No diet pill could have or ever will fix that, trust me, I know!

There is no magic pill to losing weight. It takes hard work, determination, and control. I am learning how to work hard, be determined, and control my portions and what enters my body. I want this to be a lifestyle change for myself, not 3 months only.

TD

Food/Workout Journal # 6

It's sunday. A day I would prefer to sleep in since I wake up early during the week. I couldn't sleep past 10am. Which I guess is pretty late, at least it felt that way to me. I sprang out of bed and went downstairs to start my day. I had to run some errands so I wanted to grab breakfast before I left.

10:30am Breakfast - Meal 1: Kashi Heart to Heart Cereal with oat flakes & wild blueberry clusters. *it was actually pretty good once you let the milk soak up the cereal a little.

12:30pm Snack: Bowl of fresh watermelon

2:30pm Snack: Light String Cheese

4:00pm Lunch - Meal 2: Small piece of salmon, fillet mignon, corn on the cob, broccoli, 1 small piece of baked potato, & a very small portion of macaroni salad. I also had a bowl of watermelon after lunch as everyone else was eating fresh mangoes with vanilla ice-cream ( I knew better and ate fresh fruit instead).

6:30pm Snack: Light String Cheese & 3 slices of Turkey

8:00pm Energy Shake (pre-workout)

10:30pm Snack: Bowl of watermelon and a piece of nectarine.

Workout: I took my niece to the park a little late today since I was meeting J after he got off work. A & I hit the tennis courts for a good 1 1/2 and had a great workout. She is actually getting pretty good. I told my brother he should enlist her in some summer classes to enhance her skill as she really enjoys the sport. So do I actually...

It's crazy actually. I never was one who was athletic. I mean not at all. I used to get out of having to do PE with excuses of cramps and not feeling well. Why? I don't know. It just wasn't fun to me. Now I find myself enjoying playing in sports more and more. I try to mix it up to keep my body guessing with different forms of exercise. It was getting late and I wasn't ready to leave the park just yet so I had my brother pick up my niece so I can go for my daily run. I went around the path twice then headed home with J. We got home, I kept my stuff inside the house and then decided to go for a run around the block. It was so nice last night. It felt great. I didn't go for another one because I am trying to over do it, I simply wanted to. My body really craved to go for another round. It was strange but felt amazing.

I honestly feel good. My shins are hurting a little bit, but overall I am not as sore as I was two days ago. It's been 5 days straight of working out and my goal is for 21 days straight. I want to make it a habit, a good one that is.

Tomorrow is my first day of training. I meet with my trainer after work so it should be interesting. I am scared, nervous, and excited all at once. I will meet with him 3 days a week and workout on my own the rest. All I can think is... "God, please give me the strength to survive and thrive in my training sessions". On that note, I am gonna hit the sack and pray on it...

Goodnight,

TD

Food/Workout Journal #5

*I weighed myself today and I weighed in at 210. I last weighed myself 4 days ago and I weighed 220. I lost 10lbs in 4 days which is unheard of... for me at least. No diets pills, no starving, & I lost weight! A lot of it could be water weight from my menstrual cycle as I tend to get bloated. I will continue to log my progress and see how it goes.

Overall It wasn't easy, but it wasn't hard either. It was really just being accountable, aware, & making smarter choices this week. I moved more and ate less. I don't feel as though I am on a diet, I am just eating healthy food, smaller portions, and drinking plenty of water...

12:00pm Brunch - Meal 1: Small piece of Egg Omelet, which had leftover grilled chicken, chopped cilantro, onions, tomatoes, & jalapenos in it. I had 1 half of a whole wheat bagel with 1 wedge of laughing cow french union spread on it.

*I slept in till 10am today as my body was tired and needed rest. I am trying to listen to what my body needs. I also woke up really sore. I mean really, really sore! I made breakfast and plan on doing some stretching after I edit this post.

2:30pm Snack: String Cheese

3:30pm Meal 2: String Cheese, 2 slices of turkey, & a apple

5:30pm Snack: A handful of whole grain cheezits

8:30pm Dinner - Meal 3: Grilled chicken, green beans, & pumpkin. Handful of cherrys for dinner.

*Today was the first day I had a craving for something, not sure what but I'm more than positive it wasn't anything healthy. We were at Walmart when it started but I did not cave in. I got whole grain cheezits and flavored water for my niece as she wanted a snack. Not to shabby after all the junk I saw!

*I took my niece to the park today and we started off with a couple rounds of Tennis. We played for about a half hour then started to play some soccer. We jogged around my usual path and she decided to play on the monkey bars. As I was sitting there watching her on the playground, I did some ab crunches..after a while we headed back to the tennis courts and played another 30 - 40 minutes of tennis. We were probably at the park for a solid three hours which were filled with exercise! I am beat. I thought I was beat yesterday, well today is another story. I am ready to take a nice hot shower and CRASH OUT!

time for a much needed shower and rest ;)

TD

STATS #1: 6/12/10

Height: 5'3

Weight: 210

Waist: 43"

Hip:49"

Forearm: 10"

Wrist:6.5"

Chest: 48"

Thighs: 28"

Calves: 17"

Ankle: 9"

Neck: 15.5"

Biceps: 14"

BMI: 37.2 Class 2 Obese

Body Fat Percentage: 32.63% Obese

ody Fat Percentage Categories
Classification	Women (% fat)	Men (% fat)
Essential Fat	10-12%	2-4%
Athletes	14-20%	6-13%
Fitness	21-24%	14-17%
Acceptable	25-31%	18-25%
Obese	32%+	25%+

Waist to Hip ratio: 0.88 High Risk

Waist to Hip Ratio Chart
Male	Female	Health Risk Based Solely on WHR
0.95 or below	0.80 or below	Low Risk
0.96 to 1.0	0.81 to 0.85	Moderate Risk
1.0+	0.85+	High Risk

I want to track my results every week or so to see my progress...

Beauty: Natural Exfoliator!

It's a simplistic scrub that uses only 2 ingredients I'm sure you'll have in your kitchen - lemon & sugar!

Exfoliating 1- 3 times a week is a good way to get rid of dead skin and blemishes. The lemon helps to remove the bacteria and lighten up scars and spots. The sugar is used as a granulated texture to buff away the dead skin and blemishes. All in all, this simple yet essential scrub leaves your face feeling so soft and smooth.

I take about a table spoon of sugar, either squeeze some juice of a lemon or use some bottled lemon juice and apply to a facial cleansing pad. I scrub my entire face and concentrate mainly on the troubled spots that are usually my cheeks, t-zone, forehead, and chin. If your skin is usually sensitive, make sure to be gentle and start off maybe once a week and work your way up. The last thing you want is to have your skin irritated! I absolutely love this scrub and use it every week for soft, clean skin!

Give it a try and let me know how it goes...

Tootles,

TD

Food/Workout Journal #4

I woke up tired and a little sore. Not as bad as I expected though. I guess the milk helped...

6:00am Snack: String Cheese

7:00am Breakfast - Meal 1: Oatmeal

10:00am Snack: Chocolate Protein Shake

10:45am Lunch - Meal 2: Turkey Slices

11:45am Apple

12:30 String Cheese

1:30pm Lunch - Meal 3: (leftovers) Grilled Chicken with pasta & veggies

4:30pm Dinner - Meal 4: Turkey Sandwich on whole wheat bread w/ 3 spears of pickles.

6:30pm Energy Drink

9:45pm Glass of Milk (post workout)

10:30pm Snack: String Cheese & 2 slices of turkey

*I was a little tired today so I ended up taking a 30 min cat nap before I went to work out. We headed to the park around 7 pm and I got a good workout in. I ran the path more or less the same amount of times as I did yesterday except I tried to run more than walk. After I ran I headed to the basket ball courts to start shooting around. J was playing a game on the other court so I decided to practice my shots. It's a good upper arm & shoulder workout as my upper body is soooo sore! I figure jogging works out my lower half, and basketball will workout my upper half. We got home around 9:30 so it was a solid two hours of exercise. Therefore I am beat. My body is sore so I a plan on taking a hot shower and relaxing...

I felt as though I ate a lot today but it was all small meals. I'm not used to eating so many times a day which in turn makes me feel as though I ate a lot. however, in reality I ate less just more frequently.

I am exhausted so I'm hitting the sack!

Goodnight,

TD

FDS = Delusional!

I was reading a blog a few days ago and I read a post about FDS( fat denial syndrome). I'm not sure if there is a diagnose as such, but i think there should be as I do believe I had it.

I was talking to my friend Hara yesterday, and I was telling her about how I would look at myself in the mirror and I would honestly see a woman who was smaller than what she actually was. Where did that come from? A mirror is a object that shows an exact reflection, yet I saw something else? How can that be? I was in denial and delusional. It's as simple as that. I think...

I mean it's mind over matter right? So my mind wanted to believe so badly, if not convinced itself that I was in fact smaller than what I really was. Don't get me wrong I knew I was fat, just not that fat.

I tried an experiment in the beginning of this process which I believe is why I will not revert back. I took pictures of my entire body from my mac computer. Front, back, & side views. I printed it out and starred at it. I mean I honestly looked at it and saw the real me. The me that everyone else could see except me.

I put it in my purse so that whenever I get lazy and don't want to work out, or crave something unhealthy I will take it out and look at it. I want to remind myself of what I really look like and how much it will hurt me both inside & out, if I don't work out or eat unhealthy. I would really recommend anyone who is wanting to lose weight try it. It's an eye opener to say the least. I think the first step it to realize the truth and stop being in denial. I am on my way to kick FDS to the curb! You should too...the truth hurts but it's the key to where you really want to be!

TD