“When I turned 65 in November and went on Medicare, I found a new doctor. At my first physical, he had six words for me: “Too high, too high, too high”. Weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol. He wanted to put me on medications, and I did not want that. He gave me the only alternative, which was a diet. Through the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays I tried, but only managed about ten pounds. And I was hungry a lot.
Val had been talking about her challenge, and I was not very enthused about it. But upon reflection, I needed something, so I agreed to try it. The first big change was eating smarter with more healthy foods, not necessarily trying to eat less of the unhealthy things I was used to. To my surprise, the first week I lost eight pounds. I new this was not a sustainable rate, but in six weeks I lost twenty-two pounds, more than double the loss of the previous nine weeks. The biggest surprise, though, was that I was now used to a new pattern of healthy eating, and I have been able to maintain a lower but steady weight loss. So far, fifty-one pounds, with a few (!) more to go. Despite the fact that I had to buy all new pants, I feel so much better.
My doctor was also pleasantly surprised, and although I am not there yet, he says that if I continue this new lifestyle, by my November one year physical, he won’t even be thinking of putting me on pills. So, Valerie, thank you very much! If anyone else is on the fence about trying Val’s challenge, I say “GO FOR IT!””
