Back in May, I had just decided to do the Blood Type Diet (BTD). My husband and I are of different blood types, yet we both saw improvements in following our different diets. I tried to cook mostly meals we could have in common, or alternate out meals — one night I would fix him something, then the next night he would eat that for left-overs while I cooked myself something; or I’d fix two different entrees with the same veggies in common; but sometimes I’d just fix different meals — sometimes different left-overs for everyone in the family. It worked out okay, but took a bit of getting used to. Then, over the summer, we fell off the wagon — I tried to cook compliant, but many times my husband would request something off-diet, or we’d be visiting with friends or family, or have company, or church meetings, or traveling and having to eat out, etc., so I’m basically starting all over again. Whatever weight I lost in those first few weeks, I gained back. The health benefits my husband saw by cutting out the major avoids (wheat, corn, coffee, and most dairy) were amazing, but lost over the summer. The more compliant he ate, the fewer complaints he had — many of them, we didn’t even notice (or I noticed but he didn’t), until they came back — mostly sinus problems, stiff/sore shoulders & neck, problems sleeping, etc.

So, even though we haven’t been doing the BTD over the summer, I’m more committed than ever to it. With the return of school, we’ve gotten into a schedule, and that has helped get into a routine which includes better diet. I’m trying to fix my husband compliant foods, but I’m his wife, not his mother, so when he eats off-diet, all I can do is give a gentle reminder, raise an eyebrow, or say nothing at all — I cannot force him to eat right. He doesn’t always tell me when he eats avoids at school (typically coffee because he’s so tired, although sometimes he’ll grab an ice cream bar or something bad like that), but I can usually tell because of the change of attitude he has, depending on how compliant on the diet he is. I haven’t told him yet, but I can tell. Within half a day at least of eating wheat, he gets a stiff neck. For myself, I really don’t have health complaints other than being overweight. For the past several months, (perhaps even the past year) my weight has fluctuated perhaps 5 pounds a month and slightly risen from its baseline perhaps a pound every month or two. Initially on the diet, I noticed 5 pounds dropped off, but gained those back over the summer, so basically, I’ve started this second round about the same as I’ve been for most of the year. I don’t have a strict figure about what I weighed to start with, unfortunately, but my weight was as high as 220 some days (or nearly so), and definitely over 215 for the most part. Even though it fluctuated a bit (since I weighed myself every day, which some people say is a no-no), it came down a bit too, but not below 210 before the summer. Then I gained it back.

That weight gain has been the impetus for me to start the GenoType Diet (GTD), which is a variation of the BTD. (You can read more about both of those here.) I’m a “Teacher,” based on my measurements. At first, my weight was still fluctuating but on the slight downward trend — an initial loss (probably water) of a few pounds spurred me on, and then I continued the fluctuation that I didn’t like. Rereading the book, I saw that there were guidelines for how much of the various types of foods to eat — 2-5 servings of carbohydrates every day, 1-3 servings of turkey per week — that sort of thing. I realized that I was eating too much turkey, peanuts, peanut butter, cheese, etc., and not enough fruits and vegetables, so I made up a diet check-sheet for myself.

This has helped quite a bit, because I only eat what is on the list. I’m not craving food like I was, and I’m having more self-control. Before, I would let myself eat “just one” cookie, which would turn into a handful of cookies. Now, cookies aren’t even on my list! I didn’t realize I wasn’t eating enough vegetables — I thought I was doing a pretty good job; it’s still a struggle for me to eat 4 per day — most days I get 2 or 3. However, I’m staying within range on all the other things, so I’m no longer eating tons of turkey and carbs while also not getting any vegetables, or only one serving per day. That means that when I’m hungry, instead of looking to see what I have (and ending up eating stuff I shouldn’t), I look at my list to see what I’m allowed, and what I’m short on, and eat from that.

So, while my husband is still struggling with extreme tiredness and not being very compliant (although he sometimes talks about getting back on the wagon), I’m feeling great. I feel clean inside. And I’m losing weight, which is the main benefit I want. When I started the diet, I weighed about what I did when I gave birth! Within the first week after both births, I lost 20 pounds (including baby). Although I lost all the weight the first time, I kept much of the weight the second time, and then added back to it in the three years since I had my younger child. I’m tired of being the weight I am.

Today, my weight is 207, which is lower than I’ve been in months. Is it weird to feel “thin” when I weigh what I do, and am still well over “obese”? [This is an extremely interesting slide-show of various people of all shapes and sizes and whether or not they are underweight, normal, or overweight, according to the BMI. For a brief description of it, the "underweight" people look downright anorexic, the "normal" people look thin to normal, and the "obese" people look fairly normal to slightly chunky, while the "morbidly obese" look fat to very fat. I think the purpose of the slide-show is to demonstrate that the BMI is not a very good tool to determine whether someone is truly healthy or not. It certainly fits that purpose!] If I exercise, I tend to lose a pound a day; if I don’t exercise, I lose about a half a pound or so. Sometimes I don’t weigh every day, though. I’m thoroughly enjoying the diet. I don’t have the cravings I used to; I’m not hungry as much, and when I am hungry, it’s not an intense “gotta find something to eat now!!” feeling like I used to have; I’m eating more healthily (no sugar, no white flour, etc.). I just feel good.

I have several exercise videos I bought 10-15 years ago, that I just got out again after probably a few years. One series is from 1993 with Liza Elliot (now Liza Elliot-Ramirez, owner of a modeling agency for pregnant models–you can see her on Discovery Health’s “Runway Moms”) and was produced by Goodtimes Home Entertainment, and is a “29-minute” series. I have the abs, total body, and aerobics workouts. I think I used to have the legs video but can’t seem to find it now. My other video features Daisy Fuentes and is from 1995. This one is my favorite even though it’s longer because it’s a lot more fun–the movements are better explained than the other aerobics video, and while you get your heart-rate up, it’s a little bit slower–a few more sections where the movements are smaller so you can breathe a bit better. But the main reason I like it is that Daisy is not perfect (but you’d have to really watch it to catch it)–occasionally she makes a misstep, and towards the end she seems rather tired–which is great, because so do I! She’s not the aerobics instructor, but is more a “color commentator” in the video as she follows Giselle’s lead. In the Liza Elliot aerobics video, the three girls never seem to be tired–in fact, one of them is just about as hyper as a little puppy dog, and makes me feel like a slug for barely being able to follow the movements while she seems to barely be able to remain inside her skin for the energy she exudes. Maybe I’ll get there some day, but until I do, it’s *really* annoying. I like all of the videos and don’t see a need to get any others–but I really hate change, so that’s one factor–some people get bored doing the same videos over and over.

I also have some Leslie Sansone “Walk Away the Pounds” videos, and they’re fine–I can walk to them longer than I can on the treadmill; but for some reason I prefer the other videos. I should do more of the walking ones if I don’t get on the treadmill, but I’m enjoying my new old videos. One of the worst things about getting a new workout video is that you feel like a total klutz while learning the moves, but the people on the video are just perfect–in looks as well as in their movements. That’s a definite plus of Leslie Sansone’s videos–she uses people of many fitness levels, and has at least one of them modify the movements to keep them easier to do, for those people who are just starting out in exercise; and she has a few basic movements (varying things by increasing the intensity or doing different arm exercises) which are really simple to learn. While I might not be able to follow a typical exercise video properly until about the 5th or 6th time I tried to do it, I could follow hers on the first or second try–as long as I didn’t try to do too much the first time out.

I don’t know this person, but I really liked what is on the blog. Go read it–it’s something like I would want to say, but why reinvent the wheel?

Are you trying to lose weight? Do you need some friends, but don’t want to go to Weight Watchers? Well, here’s an online alternative. Go ahead and start posting, and be honest. I’ve got several pages there on the right for you to write specifically what you need to do. Take a minute to think about your goals. Not just some nebulous “lose weight”–I’m talking specifics. How much weight? What’s your time-frame? Is there a wedding coming up? Summer vacation? Train for a marathon or half-marathon? Be thinner than your sister-in-law next Thanksgiving? What’s your goal? We’ll be here with you, going through it with you. Read my pages and see that I’m being honest–as painful as it is, and really embarrassing to put it up online. Yet I know it’s a step I have to take.