My first step was to check my weight.
For years I had been putting on weight. I had meals out at restaurants and hotels. I had pizza for lunch at Toastmasters meetings. I had samosas and buns for supper at evening Toastmasters meetings. Sometimes chocolates.
I kept putting on weight. Although I ran downhill to the station, and walked around shopping malls. I needed energy to stand up and speak. To run back uphill going home.
What changed?
Covid-19 - Changed Our Priorities
Dangers were being older or overweight. I could not get younger. I could lose weight.
I had been eating at meetings: buns, pizzas, and chocolates.
After Covid-19 my diet was helped by more meetings online.
Wonderful Wedding - Whenever
Another incentive was to be slimmer for our son's wedding. The wedding kept being postponed, giving me extra time to slim.
Some progress.
But still not reaching my ideal weight, my BMI, body mass, or shape related to height.
We kept adding more things to reduce weight. First I cut out sugar in coffee. And cheesecakes. Then we shared a piece of cake. Then we cut down to low fat, semi skimmed milk. Then low fat yogurt. Cut out seeds in the breakfast yogurt and fruit salad. Cut out seconds. Cut out desserts at restaurants. Cut out meals at buffets.
My rules
Breakfast
Fruit
Seeds
Yogurt
Oats or Weetabix
What I cut out
1 Sugar
None in coffee. (None added to anything such as fruit, cereals.
No alcohol
No sweetened drinks
No Seconds (Later only half portions)
No seconds at meal times. No second piece of pizza. No second piece of cake. No second coffee. No second piece of chocolate.
No chocolates
No cakes
No biscuits
Switch from sweetened biscuits to small crackers with cheese at afternoon tea
People look at my face and ask, 'Have you lost weight?'
Exercise
Swimming/walking/exercising in bed
Keep moving - when waiting for the lift, walk backwards and forwards
When sitting waiting, repeatedly lift feet off the floor, click heels together
Exercise two limbs rather than one, four rather than two
Start exercise slowly so it is easy, and increase a little every day
Don't consider whether or not to swim or go for a walk; always start with at least the minimum. Often, despite feeling tired, bored, stressed, you find that, after starting, you end up finishing.
If you don't finish the exercise routine, never mind. Anything is better than nothing.
Keep a record of weight loss. In your diary.
You might not lose every day. Food takes a long journey around your intestines before it gets out.
Swimming
Up from two widths to four, then six, then eight, then nine, then ten, then eight. Never miss one session. Go early in the day before it rains or the pool is cordoned off.
Late Night Snack
Fruit
Current weight, just under eight stone.
Useful Websites
https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/conversions/common/kg-to-stones-pounds.php
About the Author
Angela Lansbury B A Hons is the author of ten books by regular publishers plus another ten self-published books.
About Angela The Speaker & Trainer
Angela Lansbury is a teacher of English and other languages to Toastmasters clubs and businesses.
Angela has several blogs speeches, comedy and song writing and organizing, writing intermittently, but writes almost daily on these three:
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