Okay, so I didn’t really want to say anything until I was sure I was going to be successful. Because, yes, I am prideful. Also-probably vain. However, I am now proud to announce that I have lost 57 pounds since January 1st, 2011! What was the impetus for this dramatic lifestyle change? Well, essentially, it began with the quest to achieve a BBB. (Better-Babymaking-Bod). Apparently, pregnancy is not so healthy a hobby to pick up if you are overweight. Doctors started throwing around scary terms like ‘toxemia,’ ‘gestational diabetes,’ and 'high-risk pregnancy.’
I figured since my womb was already a bit on the ‘old’ side for a first-time-mom (over thirty) due to factors beyond my control (Prince Charming took his sweet time) it was in the best interests of myself and my future baby to start controlling the factors I could. Which, in my case, was first and foremost the weight of the mother. I was 5 ft. 6 inches and 210 pounds, more than 60 pounds beyond the maximum recommended weight for my height. When I started factoring in pregnancy weight gain, even though it could potentially be less than what an average-weight woman should gain, things began to look very scary on the health side of things. The last thing I wanted was to spend my first pregnancy completely bull-dozed due to preventable health issues. I had also just been diagnosed with the early stages of degenerative disk disease, and had just blown out a disc in my low-back. To sum up, I had one of the worst Babymaking Bods possible.
Unfortunately the quest for a Better Babymaking Bod did not start smoothly. I started counting calories and walking 3 miles a day, and managed to lose about 4 pds in 4 months. Obviously, I was not very good at weight loss, or controlling cravings. I could not remember EVER weighing less than my husband, or walking up a flight of stairs next to him without puffing embarrassingly at the end. We had just about given into despair and decided to attempt to conceive regardless of the risks when our family chiropractor and homeopathic doctor introduced me to the homeopathic version of HCG. This is a highly controversial diet, to anyone in the know. However, I trusted this doctor and had been immensely helped by him before, so I decided I would give the diet a try, with my Dad along as a dieting partner. A big draw for me was that this doctor carefully monitored the diet, and administered bi-monthly UAs to make sure that your kidneys weren't shutting down.
The weight started coming off almost at once, and continued incredibly fast. Oddly enough, the incredibly restrictive diet was much easier to follow than any other diet I have ever tried. Probably because there were almost NO choices to make, and no substitutions to make. There was absolutely NO WAY to cheat. As Yoda would say, ‘Do or Do Not, there is no Try.” You either followed the diet, or did not. And marvelously, wonderfully, I didn’t feel crazy hunger pains, I had no weakness or dizziness, or any of the sick headaches that have happened every other time I cut my calories drastically.
I lost 22 pounds my first time through the diet, and with 6 week breaks to make sure I was able to maintain my weight at the end of each restricted calorie phase, I am now (at the time of this writing) only 3 pds away from what my OBGYN says is considered 'healthy' for my height. I can now finally wear the boxes and boxes of fabulous clothes that I hadn’t fit into for ages. (Or EVER-girls who sometimes buy slightly-too-small clothes because they are a ‘steal’ can relate to this). For ONCE my pack-rat tendencies paid off, and my husband is loving the entire wardrobe I kept in smaller sizes, or rather, loving not having to pay for a trip to the mall. I hope to finish the HCG diet right at 149 pounds, just barely within the upper reaches of the recommended weight parameters for my height. AKA-rockin’ babymaking bod!!
