Doctor's orders

Like I said last time, I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday morning to get established with my new doctor and talk to her about making a weight loss plan for myself.

Thankfully, the appointment went really well and I love my doctor. She is kind, funny, attentive, and understanding. I told her how I've struggled with my weight for most of my life, and am at a place where I can't keep trying to do things on my own since that obviously hasn't worked well in the past. Despite my weight, I'm generally a very healthy person, but I can't keep kidding myself that normal blood pressure equals perfect health. Gotta make a change somewhere.

She told me that on average, if a person adds a zero onto the end of whatever they weigh, that's usually how many calories they eat in a day. For me, that would mean I was probably eating around 2,770 calories (on days when I wasn't tracking them). When I would use My Fitness Pal, I was restricting myself to not enough calories, so my body was basically going into "starvation mode" and holding onto my fat cells, hence why I wasn't seeing any weight loss.

For now, the thing she thinks I need most is accountability. She told me to set my calorie goal at 2,000 a day and to write down everything I eat and drink in a food journal. I also have to weigh myself every day to track pounds gained or lost, which isn't so fun, but I guess it's necessary. I've tried journaling in the past and never lasted very long because no one was checking up on me, but since it's doctor's orders this time, I'm being a lot more diligent. I'll go in for a weigh-in with her every month so she can check my progress, and once my diet is better, that's when she'll start talking to me about exercise. (She recommended starting with diet first so I don't get overwhelmed, but I'm still walking and doing light exercise in the meantime.) I'm also getting blood work done later in the month just to rule out any other underlying health problems.

I wasn't the only one who had a doctor's appointment last Thursday. Chris got a checkup with his doctor too, partially because he'd been having some stomach problems, but also because he wants to get healthier just as much as I do. It's so encouraging to know that he is supportive and wants to be right there with me in terms of losing weight and eating better. I really lucked out with this one.

So far, I've noticed that I eat more than I thought I did. In the four days I've tracked my patterns, I've gone a couple hundred calories above 2,000 every time. I don't mean to, but since I'm trying to be as honest as possible, it's kind of embarrassing. I keep forgetting that anything I drink that isn't water contains a bunch of calories too, so those two or three glasses of wine I had Friday night put me over the edge without realizing it. I suppose that's the point of the journal in the first place though -- it forces you to see everything you eat and drink so that you're more aware of mindless snacking and drinking habits.

I'm optimistic about this type of slow, steady progress, partly because it takes a little bit of pressure off me. If nothing else, I hope I weigh at least a few pounds less than I do now at April's appointment!