I have reached a true milestone and I have to crow about it. I broke a plateau in weight loss. I’ve been trying for years, and today I finally got below 135 pounds. When I saw the needle hovering at 134 this morning, I nearly jumped up and down.
That would have broken the scale, of course, and probably my foot, when I fell off said scale. Besides, I didn’t get any sleep last night and I was too tired to jump. But I was elated nevertheless.
Some of you are probably thinking, “if I weighed 135, I’d be the happiest person in the world.” You are probably not five feet tall. Even at 138 (my lowest weight for the last couple of years), I’m pushing close to the obese category.
I still have ten or twenty pounds to go. Complacency is not an option. I’ve got blood pressure and cholesterol to lower, as well as arthritis, restless legs, and peripheral neuropathy to curtail. Losing weight should improve all those things.
Being in good health is very important to me. I do not want an old age devoted to twenty different pills and all their side effects. I take too many pills already and I have to draw the line somewhere.
It’s obvious to me that it all comes down to food and movement as the cornerstones of good health. I’ve been eating “good” food for years – a sensible diet based on whole grains, lots of vegetables, and very little processed food. The sticky point was how much food. For me, it unfortunately turns out that my body doesn’t need very much. Even after increasing my exercise a lot, I continued to gain weight. In fact, I often compensated for the exercise by eating more.
Yeah, I knew that was counter-productive, but I did it anyway.
I’m finally getting a handle on the amount of food I eat. I’m not perfect about it. I never expect to be. There will also be times when I’ll eat more than I should, just because. Thanksgiving and Christmas come to mind, and there’s my German Chocolate Cake on my birthday. But overall, on a mostly day-in, day-out basis, I will eat less. Once the weight is gone, I will continue to eat a small amount and watch the scale every day.
Don’t worry – I’ll never be anorexic. I absolutely love food. I love wine. I love chocolate. I’m not giving any of it up. So there.
If my weight follows its usual pattern, it will be above 135 tomorrow. But also if it follows its usual pattern, having broken 135, it will go back below it again, and continue to get lower. It’s a slow process. But it took me years to get here, right? I’ll try to be patient.
Marlene Dotterer 
OH, how I can relate to the weight! I am 5′ 1″ (use to be taller, it’s that age thing). My last cigarette was 08/08/08. We all know what happens when you quit smoking. I try everyday to move more. Unfortunately also have a hip problem and the two things do not go together well.
Yeah, the joints make it all harder. Have you tried water aerobics? I’ve been doing that for a while and it has really helped. The water cushions your joints and you can do exercise you would never be able to try on land. Our Y has an arthritis class that’s very gentle. Too gentle for me, in fact. I’m just not at that stage yet. But you might see if there’s something around you.
Yay! Good for you.
You go, Marlene! I topped out at 284 lbs. On my 5’2″ frame, I was as wide as I was tall. It scared me that I was so close to 300 lbs, so I started taking action. I was as ecstatic to hit 235 as you are at 135, and for the same reason. I’ll keep on keeping on what works: Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants. As the weight has come off, exercise has become easier and will continue to do so. It *can* be done. It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible either.
I can just imagine how scary that was, Kilian! You’ve done an amazing thing to lose so much. Michael Pollen is Wise Folks, I think. You’re smart to follow his advice. Good luck as you continue!
Congratulations, Marlene! Well done. Keep up the good work. We’ll be watching.
Oh, how wonderful! Congratulations!
I’m edging up on a milestone myself — getting below 170. I officially got under 172 which is the “overweight” threshold for my height (5’10”), which felt wonderful, but I, like you, have about 25 pounds to go before I’m where I want to be. (140-150)
Keep it up! It helps me sometimes to go pick up something that weighs the equivalent of what I’ve lost just to remember how much I was just hauling around with me everywhere I went. It’s great motivation. My mother-in-law has lost 50 pounds in the last year, and whenever she’s struggling, she’ll go heft a fifty pound weight just to see how much that really is.
That is a really cool idea, Emmie. I think I’ll try it.
Congratulations! It sounds like you’re losing weight the right way and that is eating what you’re going to eat forever, but just less of it. It worked for me and the weight stayed off. However, I do have a 6″ advantage over you. But you’re right, it’s portion control and moderate exercise. Oh for the days when I ran–even ran a marathon–and could and did eat everything and still only weighed 125 lbs. I’m not looking to go that low again. I think my ideal weight is ~135-140. I’m a bit over that now, but not altering my portion sizes at the present.