Originally Posted by Radiana

I know this is way too long but I hope you'll all forgive me. My brother begged me to try and lose weight, he was very worried about my health and the fact that I could have a stroke or heart attack. He told me that I had lost a lot of weight before and I could do it again. I had been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and was feeling hopeless because from what I understood there was no cure. I could barely get a half hours worth of housework done each day and I had IBS so it was touch and go if I could even leave the house to go to the grocery store. I realized there wasn't much I could do for my health except to eat healthier and lose weight.

I started one month ago and lost 14 pounds so far, I would have been happy with eight pounds but it's a good start. I love my little food journal it's called the Calorie King Food and excercise journal. I'm not in the least concerned about exercise now and when I've lost 30 pounds altogether I'll do some chair dancing. Anyway about my little calorie journal, I decided to keep track of other things besides my food. I knew that I needed to get out in the sun and get some natural Vitamin D and I also knew I needed to start taking calcium ( I love the little chews, they're a nice treat.) So I tracked those things along with the food I ate and my blood glucose readings. After about ten days I started feeling great, I had more energy and I felt as though I had massive reserves of seratonin. Not only that but as part of my diet I ate two bananas a day because I was having leg cramps and figured I was low on potassium. The leg cramps were gone and the IBS was gone as well as the heart burn that I frequently had. The first 3 weeks I didn't take any vitamins at all but started taking them on Monday. I also wanted to mention that my daily calorie average runs from 2100 to 2300 calories. I try to make the calories count but I've also allowed myself treats without a moment of guilt. I have a box of Walmart brand twinkies which are 140 calories. No I don't have them everyday but they are there if I want one. I also have licorice twists which are 35 calories each. The only diet specialty item I buy is Silk Almond milk unsweetened, I would never drink it as a beverage but it's great with cereal and only 35 calories a cup. I cook with olive oil and use butter and mayo sparingly but they're real, I couldn't stand the taste of the diet stuff.

Diets should not be punishments, they should be enjoyable so that we'll want to stick with them. We're all pretty creative people here or we wouldn't be quilters so it should be fun to create some good meals within our calorie range.