Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Hi, My name is Sue and I wear a Girdle

I am the 34-year-old mother of 3 and I live in rural Wyoming. I'm a little late joining the challenge; I wasn't sure I was willing to commit to counting calories. But after 8 weeks of exercising several times a week and seeing no results, something needs to change.

I met Audrey's husband Chris when we were teenage Army Brats living in Heidelberg, Germany. Audrey and I mostly just know each other online, but I'm hoping to crash the Carlson family reunion this summer and hang out with all the Carlson women!

My latest love affair with the girdle actually began with the Carlsons. I attended their Uncle Kirk's funeral at the end of September 2009 and it was the first time I had seen them in several years. I had a 9-month-old baby and was feeling super chubby. I didn't have anything nice to wear that didn't make me feel like a heifer (Audrey, totally hearin' you on the lack of Sunday wardrobe), so I spent two hours at my sister-in-law's house trying to find something suitable to wear. Everything I tried on showed the giant gut, which, when you view it in profile without sucking it in, sticks out further than my boobs. Not cool. Finally my SIL suggested I try a girdle. It's one of those corset types that would double as sexy lingerie if I actually had the bod for it. But I digress.

Here I am with Melissa, Victoria, Mindy and Samantha 5 months ago:


This is me just a couple weeks ago at my daughter's baptism (Audrey, I think Lily and Jonah are less than a week apart). I stopped highlighting my hair because it was a luxury I couldn't afford to keep up, but I'm thinking my natural dark brown actually makes me look fatter.


In January I decided it was time to get serious about losing the baby fat so I started exercising diligently. The sad, sad news is that exercise alone is just not enough at my age. A true tragedy. Over the last couple of weeks I have just tried to control my portion size and eat fewer treats, but that hasn't done much for me. So now I am committing to the tedious task of keeping a food journal and counting calories.

I am 5'5" and 158 pounds. After consulting the MyPyramid website I determined that my recommended calorie intake is 2000. I was pretty stoked and thought, "That's a ton, I can totally do that." Yeah, well, after adding up yesterday's calories (when I wasn't committed to this challenge) I discovered that I had eaten over 2700 calories. And I had even been somewhat "careful" yesterday. Today I have already surpassed 1200, it's only 4:00pm and I'm STARVING! This is going to suck more than I thought. Did you know that one measly turkey and provolone sandwich (on multi-grain bread, thank you very much) with mayo is 592 calories? Holy crap, that's almost a 3rd of my daily recommened intake. What a bummer! I expected the high calorie counts for things like brownies (which I made on Sunday and are now taunting me from the kitchen) at 170 calories for a 2" square, and frosted sugar cookies (my weakness) at about 200 calories a pop. But a sandwich and grapes for lunch hit over 700 calories? Ugh. This is gonna be hard.

But having had this calorie revelation, I'm now realizing why I haven't lost any weight. Like Sam said in a previous post, I guess it's not OK to eat all day, every day. And like Melissa mentioned, age is slowing down our metabolism so we really have to work a lot harder than we did in the glory days.

Ladies, let's kick this fat to the curb! My goal is to go from a size 12 to a size 8. Not in 3 weeks, of course, but I'd like to at least not have my jeans feel painted on when they're fresh out of the dryer. That would be a good start for 3 weeks.

8 comments:

  1. I've had this revelation over the past few days: knowing what hungry feels like.

    Prior to Healthy Wife, I'd been eating all my meals not truly being hungry, rather just knowing it was time to eat. But I've actually been hungry, rumbling stomach and all, and I think that's a good thing. I think it will take awhile to retrain our stomachs to feel satiated with a new eating pattern and healthier foods.

    So glad you're with us, Sue!

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  2. You're in! Hooray! Sue, I appreciate your candor and your humor!

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  3. Sue, it sounds like you and I have lots in common....which is why losing weight is so hard. I'm great at going to the gym....and putting food in my mouth. Jonah's birthday is March 2nd. When is Lily's? Such a cute girl.

    I get the lunch dilemma. Sometimes hearty bread can really do you in. I've opted for the half a sandwich or open faced. Maybe that will help...and maybe a sparing use of light mayo....

    I know it's going to be tough but you can do it! Besides, we can't buy new wardrobes right?

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  4. Everyone in that picture looks better than me. If I had a breast reduction and I would look 10 pounds thinner. I know you're wondering why I'm commenting being as I'm not signed up for this gig, just acting as a supporter. You can do it Sue.

    Thomas makes bagel thins that are 100 calories, also Pepperidge Farm makes thin sliced bread, 3 slices of whole wheat are about 110 calories. Both great for sandwiches.

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  5. Try switching to spicy mustard - less calories and more taste :) Reducing calories is super tough but lets all stick together and we can do this!

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  6. No mayo. And sandwich thins instead of actual bread for me. And I add lots of cucumbers and dark green lettuce plus a smidge of hummus for flavor since I'm on no dairy for the baby. It's still a tasty sandwich, just not as good as with cheese. It's about rethinking. You can do it Sue! We're with ya.

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  7. So, did the girdle work? or did it just make it so you can't breath. Control top panties hose just pushes it all up over the top...
    Never mind... We Don't Need Girdles!!!

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  8. Hi Sue, I'm girdled for years! I gave up smoking and the pounds poured on. So it was back to the drawing board and back into my girdles.
    I wear the open-bottom type girdle with either 4 or 6 suspenders ( garters for my stockings and the only problem I have is to keep them hidden as people thinks they're very sexy:-)
    People who have bumped up against my rock solid bottom have said the same - and all compliment me on my figure.
    And there's a great side to it all, I'm heading for bed now and AHHH it's coming off, PHEW what a relief that is.
    But it's equally a relief now when I get back into my girdle in the morning and it holds everything back up and back in.

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