Welp, the (semi-disproportionate) pounds got to be a little much to deal with.
Connie and I figured out a way to do South Beach on the cheap, so here I am, one week into the first phase again (ketosis). I'm looking to slim down instead of weighing down (ha) this holiday season.
This diet really impressed me the first time I tried it. The summer before I started transitioning, I started on it and stuck right to it, with a grit (and, okay, an ulterior motive) that surprised many. With about an hour on the treadmill daily-- and, well, more time spent on the ketosis phase than prescribed-- I lost about 40 pounds in the first three months. I made it down to 180 lb. (size 12-14 then) from 240, overall. I even had a "cheat meal" every couple of weeks, usually consisting of lots of local-joint New York pizza and real Coke. At my gender therapist's annual Christmas party that winter, I was convinced by a fellow client to take a break from the diet for the party, and I never ended up back on it. Until now.
You really don't miss the bread, and potatoes, and sugar that much. They sound good sometimes, but the real craving just isn't there-- for carbs or food in general. And I can eat meat (easy on the saturated fat, though, this isn't Atkins), eggs, most veggies, salad with real dressing, cheese... enough to fill me.
Once the first phase is over (supposed to be two weeks but I plan to spend six or longer again), you begin adding (mostly complex) carbs like whole grain pasta and fruit back into your diet. Weight loss slows, but it continues while the diet becomes even more livable.
When you reach your target weight (yay!), you add still more carb-y foods, but stay on the diet, to keep from gaining again. This is easier than it may sound, especially if you're staying active.
I couldn't recommend this diet more. My goal is to slim down to about a size 10-12 (I think), and stay there this time. So, a big "Nyah!" to holiday weight gain again this year.
I'd just lugged a hamper full of clean, dry clothes up two stories of snow-covered wooden steps at the back of the building, from the pay machines in the basement. While I struggled with keeping my increasingly baggy laundry-day jeans pulled up beneath my wool coat, a boy with long black hair looked out from just inside the apartment below us. I trudged upward, hoping my pants would not end up around my ankles right then and there, as they were trying very hard to do.
The girl stared at me, as surprised as I was. She looked me up and down. Her eyes widened slightly and she smiled.
I hadn't expected to see Milla standing there. I had just put my coat back in the closet and closed the door (which had been generally left open before I arrived) to help keep the cold out. And suddenly, there she was, staring myself in the face from out of a full-length mirror on the closet door.
And there I saw me, for the first time ever, in the flesh. No cheesy graphic manipulation, no breathy sighs regarding continued hormones and weight loss, no agonizing over upper body mass, no obsessing over which gory facial surgeries would make me self-acceptable, no disgust or bitter upset. My hair could use a little work, but y'know, it's not bad.
This time, though there weren't many of them, the tears were happy ones.
Posted in misc, presentation by Milla | Post a Comment?
Welp, the (semi-disproportionate) pounds got to be a little much to deal with.
Connie and I figured out a way to do South Beach on the cheap, so here I am, one week into the first phase again (ketosis). I'm looking to slim down instead of weighing down (ha) this holiday season.
This diet really impressed me the first time I tried it. The summer before I started transitioning, I started on it and stuck right to it, with a grit (and, okay, an ulterior motive) that surprised many. With about an hour on the treadmill daily-- and, well, more time spent on the ketosis phase than prescribed-- I lost about 40 pounds in the first three months. I made it down to 180 lb. (size 12-14 then) from 240, overall. I even had a "cheat meal" every couple of weeks, usually consisting of lots of local-joint New York pizza and real Coke. At my gender therapist's annual Christmas party that winter, I was convinced by a fellow client to take a break from the diet for the party, and I never ended up back on it. Until now.
You really don't miss the bread, and potatoes, and sugar that much. They sound good sometimes, but the real craving just isn't there-- for carbs or food in general. And I can eat meat (easy on the saturated fat, though, this isn't Atkins), eggs, most veggies, salad with real dressing, cheese... enough to fill me.
Once the first phase is over (supposed to be two weeks but I plan to spend six or longer again), you begin adding (mostly complex) carbs like whole grain pasta and fruit back into your diet. Weight loss slows, but it continues while the diet becomes even more livable.
When you reach your target weight (yay!), you add still more carb-y foods, but stay on the diet, to keep from gaining again. This is easier than it may sound, especially if you're staying active.
I couldn't recommend this diet more. My goal is to slim down to about a size 10-12 (I think), and stay there this time. So, a big "Nyah!" to holiday weight gain again this year.
Posted in misc, presentation by Milla | Comments (3)
The girl took me by surprise.
I'd just lugged a hamper full of clean, dry clothes up two stories of snow-covered wooden steps at the back of the building, from the pay machines in the basement. While I struggled with keeping my increasingly baggy laundry-day jeans pulled up beneath my wool coat, a boy with long black hair looked out from just inside the apartment below us. I trudged upward, hoping my pants would not end up around my ankles right then and there, as they were trying very hard to do.
The girl stared at me, as surprised as I was. She looked me up and down. Her eyes widened slightly and she smiled.
I hadn't expected to see Milla standing there. I had just put my coat back in the closet and closed the door (which had been generally left open before I arrived) to help keep the cold out. And suddenly, there she was, staring myself in the face from out of a full-length mirror on the closet door.
And there I saw me, for the first time ever, in the flesh. No cheesy graphic manipulation, no breathy sighs regarding continued hormones and weight loss, no agonizing over upper body mass, no obsessing over which gory facial surgeries would make me self-acceptable, no disgust or bitter upset. My hair could use a little work, but y'know, it's not bad.
This time, though there weren't many of them, the tears were happy ones.
Posted in misc, presentation, transition by Milla | Comments (4)