Total Weight Lost
15 to 20 pounds
How Long Did it Take?
3 months
Why I Wanted to Lose Weight
I am a ballet teacher, age 58. I suppose I gained a half pound a year over years and years. On Spring Break, I generally walk the beach. When I returned home, I weighed close to 150, and I am 5'7". I said, "This isn't going to happen." I decided to start walking one hour a day as soon as summer came and I would have the time to do it. I also found a picture of myself at approximately age 38, and I thought, GEE WHIZ, my legs looked a lot better then. It would be much harder for mothers with small children to do this. My daughter is all grown. It also helps when one doesn't have to prepare meals for others.
My Exercise and Diet Journey
My daughter called it the coffee diet. I got plenty of sleep and walked an hour a day, as fast as I could walk. I did not eat breakfast until after I had worked in the yard. When I felt faint, I came in and made two poached eggs with turmeric, celery seed, and pepper. I ate no mayo, no ice cream, and no pizza all summer. If I worked hard in the yard, I skipped the walking if I didn't have time. I drank black coffee in between meals. I took calcium, magnesium and vitamin D plus other supplements. I started carrying small hand weights while I walked. I looked like a dork, but the pounds started melting off. Usually I didn't eat lunch until 3 or 4 pm, and I ate a small supper or a bowl of shredded wheat for supper.
Lessons learned
- Even though I had always been a breakfast eater, I found that by postponing my breakfast and working out first, I lost weight. I could not go to sleep on an empty stomach, so a small supper at 9:30 or 10 pm in the summer did not seem to hurt. Once I lost weight, I had to use hand weights to tighten up my arms. I walked farther distances and faster as it got easier, but I tried to walk for an hour.
- I kept the weight off for two years, and it is much easier to dance at 130 than at 145 pounds.My daughter called it the coffee diet, but I just ate very healthy and cut out mayo, ice cream, and pizza for that one summer
