Reminder

I started The Spite Diet because my gynecologist wanted me to talk to my family doctor about a weight loss drug even though I wasn’t trying to lose weight. And I simply said, “Hold my Pepsi.”

I didn’t want to just start taking a drug to lose weight when I hadn’t made a real effort to do so.

So I made a real effort.

The main components of The Spite Diet are the real things I think I needed to work on to lose weight. Portion Control and making better choices.

The tools I’ve been using are the Lose It App and Intermittent Fasting.

How It’s Going

Okay, so I am two days off of a weeklong vacation where most of what I did was sit around. It was GLORIOUS. I regretted it later but that’s not what this post is about. I thought, “Okay, its time to start all over, go back to the beginning and try again. I just knew that I had gained some weight back. I knew this because I hadn’t weighed myself in about seventeen days, and I’d managed to not meal prep my lunches for work, drank lots of carbonated sugary beverages, stress eaten and all kinds of naughty, not very healthy decisions.

But I just weighed in and I am 295. I am under my initial goal weight of 300 pounds, and I’d “lost” five pounds since my last weigh-in, which was before my vacation. So, pleasant surprise for the win.

What I’m Eating

The lunch I prep for workdays is always the same, because its quick, easy, and I always have the ingredients.

• whole wheat wrap (I prefer the Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat wraps, but I currently have the great value)
• Some form of meat (I love the Oscar Meyer Cracked Black Pepper Turkey Breast Deli Sliced)
• Cheese (I like any kind of swiss or provolone, lately I just have kraft singles which get a little gooey–not in a good way–overnight)
• Kraft Mayonnaise (a tablespoon is a serving size)
• fresh spinach (about a 1/4 cup)
• Great Value Zesty Ranch Veggie Straws
• baby carrots, with a tablespoon of ranch.

I try to be a good girl and have my Oats Overnight oats for the day, but honestly, the consistency gets a little monotonous for me if I have it too frequently. I mix my oats in the shaker bottle they send for free, with vanilla almond milk. If I have it or have the money to get it, I choose a protein bar and an equate vanilla protein shake for breakfast instead. Again, I have been a little naughty and didn’t stick with this, and have often had starbucks coffee (in the glass bottle) and tasty cake donuts. But… stress.

Dinner has mostly been whatever is easiest for me. That consists of, usually, my husband cooking, or fast food. Like I said, I’ve not been a good girl. But I do love me the Butterball Seasoned Turkey Burger Patties. I will make a burger out of them, with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Or I’ll have some broccoli. I enjoy quinoa, but it takes a while to make it.

Thoughts.

My goals moving forward with the diet are to at minimum maintain my weight loss. At best, continue to lose. I am purposely choosing to not set outrageous goals or have too high of expectations. I do not wish to set myself up for failure, which I often do. I have been known to set goals way out of reach and when I do not reach them, take it as a total failure, and fall into a depression. I’m trying to improve myself, not destroy myself.

Fears: One of the reasons why I haven’t really wanted to try hard at losing weight before was the skin. I don’t love my body at 330 pounds. And I know I will love it even less at 200 pounds with 40 pounds of loose sagging skin hanging off of it. I’m afraid that if I lose a significant amount of weight I will be left with all the lose skin to deal with. I cannot afford surgery to remove it, and I will not want to spend the rest of my life looking at it. I fear that my mental health will deteriorate even more should that happen.

I had also hoped that with weight loss, I would see a reduction in chronic pain. I have lower body pain (legs, knees, ankles, feet) that is constant while working. I hoped that losing weight would alleviate that pain and I could work harder or at least suffer a little less. But I have yet to see a significant improvement, and taking a week off work and going back was absolutely horrendous.

I see now that the damage done to my body is not only the extra weight I’ve been carrying for decades, working for eight hours a day on my feet on concrete floors. And that damage is not going to be repaired just by losing some weight. Probably not at all.

Changes

I’m currently considering a change in my intermittent fasting schedule. I am currently loosely on a 12/12 eating fasting schedule. Fasting for 12 hours a day, and an eating window of 12 hours a day. I usually fast for about twelve and a half hours, as that is what works with my work schedule. But changing to a 16/8 fasting schedule, would leave an eight hour window to get my meals in.

I also need to increase my protein intake, but I can only eat what I have on hand and can afford, so we shall see.

Final Thoughts

Portion control, smarter choices, activity level, and eliminating stress and emotional eating are all things I need to work on. Doing so would improve my results and help me achieve my goals. It’s a battle and I’m still fighting it. Sometimes halfheartedly, sometimes I want out, sometimes I wonder what would warrant a dishonorable discharge. And then I see that I’ve lost five pounds without trying.

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