Practically speaking, I'm having a lot fewer asthma episodes and shortness of breath. Much less back and knee pain from arthritis. Less acid reflux. My blood pressure has lowered. My blood sugar and triglycerides are well within normal. Fewer headaches. And most of the hair has grown back on my head! Well maybe not the hair, but I sure feel better and tons more energy. Good news - I am wearing some medium size shirts and some 36 size pants. Bad news - I'm all out of skinny clothes, and busy shopping.
Very few side effects . On the recommendation of the NP, I started taking a probiotic capsule - back to great intestinal health. Practically never hungry. Very rare cravings. Amazing.
The past couple weeks' group sessions have been about managing conditioned behavior and the importance of exercise. Apparently most cravings start to subside in 8 minutes, so if you can engage in an alternate activity for 15 minutes, you're home-free. There's been lots of talk about recognizing that you're at a choice point and have your alternate behavior (like take a short walk) planned out ahead of time. Another interesting thought was that a slip is not failure, but a "first attempt in learning". A big theme in this program is 'plan, plan, plan'.
As far as exercise, it's important. Eighty-five percent of dieters who do NOT exercise regularly regain the lost weight within 2 years. I set a goal of exercising 30 minutes a day 6 day out of 7 days. So far I've exceeded that by 50% most days. This has been a particularly high activity weekend - biking at Pres'quile for 2 hours Saturday and 3 hours of kayaking on Saturday to celebrate 34 years married. When I started, exercise was a chore, now it's actually comfortable and fun.
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