Losing 205 pounds, her own way
By Joanne Weintraub
Thursday, Jun 12 2008, 05:44 PM
My new hero is a Milwaukee woman named "Spaff."
"Spaff" - her jsonline.com sign-on, not her real name, of course - is 48. Two years ago she weighed 380; today she weighs 175. I know two people who've lost just about this much weight and kept most of it off for years, and I admire them enormously. But they're both men, so I can't tell you how excited I was to hear from Spaff.
Because her comment is the very last one under my very first post, many people undoubtedly missed it. You can read the whole thing here (scroll all the way down), but I've excerpted Spaff's main points below.
It's quite a story.
"I woke up on my birthday 2 years ago and said enough is enough. I had been going to a dietician but was going up and down, just not really concentrating. But I just woke up one morning and decided to listen to the dietician.
"Over the next 18 months I lost 205 pounds. I hate to say this, but it was easy. I ate regular food, meaning fruits, veggies, dairy and bread, the basic food pyramid. I started to walk, albeit only a little each day, and have worked my way up to 5 miles a day.
"Don't let anyone tell you how to do it, find your own way and do what feels good to you. Dawdling while walking? OK, so you aren't getting a burn or your heart rate up, but you are walking and moving. That's the most important thing. You can work up to the fast walking.
"I also learned that nothing is off-limits. My dietician said she didn't care if I had ice cream or candy once in awhile, so I would go get a 1-scoop and eat it there, or buy a candy bar from a vending machine, versus my old habit of buying 1/2 gallon at the store and coming home and eating it.
"Fruit can be a yummy, healthy snack, I think how good the bing cherries I ate last week were - OMG, beats any fatty, sugary anything.
"I am not an expert, but if I can do it anyone can. Find foods that are good for you and that you like. Find an activity to burn calories that you enjoy. Start out SLOW. If you go Mach 5 with your hair on fire then it's too hard to keep up - and you will have to do it every day for the rest of your life. I mean, who wants to do freaking 5,000 situps a day for the rest of their life?
"Know that there are days where you can have your favorite food - don't deprive yourself. Of course, you know you have to work at it, but it should not be a life sentence. It is something you should enjoy working for. And in the end when you reach your goal - and YOU will reach your goal - it makes getting there all the more sweet. You will not believe what kind of personal power comes with self-confidence."
Wow. Also OMG, amazing and hot damn.
I've exchanged several e-mails with Spaff, who included enough details to convince me that she's the real deal. (If she's not, I'd be happy to read her first novel.) "My doctor," she writes in one of her e-mails, "says 'I wish I could carry you around in my back pocket.'"
I don't blame her doc. I wish I had a pocket Spaff, too, for inspiration.
