How I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass with vegetable soup cleanse

 Hello dear followers of this blog on how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass or weight loss drugs! On this lovely winter day, let's look at ways to keep that "New Year, Old You" weight loss challenge going. Part of  how I lost 100 pounds was with cleanse foods. And just perfect for cold weather, here are vegetable soup cleanse recipes to purge away the excess pounds picked up in holiday feasting.

Many weight loss regimen promise that you can lose weight without changing diet. I'm sorry to say that to shift any significant amount of weight, some change in eating habits is required, either with intermittent fasting, a cleanse, 1200 calorie diet, keto diet, etc. As gastric bypass shows like "My 600-lb Life" have demonstrated, no matter how you slice it, obesity is about eating too much, of the wrong foods, or both. 

Yes, I know that obesity, as defined by the BMI (body mass index) can be a little misleading. Bodybuilders, for example, have a large amount of muscle mass, compared to fat. Their weight may put them in overweight or obese. In that case, BMI may be inaccurate as it's not measuring body composition. And weight loss is about burning fat (the white adipose tissue kind) and converting it to muscle.  

But we're not talking about that type of "obesity" here. We're talking about "My 600-lb Life" white adipose tissue obesity gained from overeating eating junk food and not moving. I always have to make that disclaimer because part of how many of us got overweight was by denying obesity and making excuses for it. 

So back to the point of this post: how I lost 100 pounds burning fat with a vegetable soup cleanse. A soup cleanse activates the fat burning power of vegetables, herbs and spices. It's also, for you frugalistas, a great way to use up leftover veggies! My vegetable soup cleanse doesn't follow a specific recipe. I've always followed a rainbow diet as part of my 1200 calorie eating plan. So I aim to get as much color in my vegetable soup as possible. And of course, using up leftovers is the goal too. 

So yesterday, for my "new year, old you" weight loss challenge my vegetable soup cleanse recipe went like this:

Chicken bone broth (for protein), oregano and sage, turmeric, rainbow pepper and ginger (anti-inflammatory herbs) and Bragg's liquid amino (healthy salt substitute). Cauliflower, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, celery, red onion, scallions, red and yellow peppers and fresh parsley, cilantro and dill. To make it creamy and for

extra keto fat burning, I added mashed avocado. I topped it with rainbow slaw (shredded carrots and green and purple cabbage purple tossed with lemon juice, agave syrup and smidge of olive oil.)

Make a big batch and eat only this when intermittent fasting, It's perfect for the 1200 calorie diet as bone broth gives a bang of protein for very little calorie investment. You can pretty much eat as much as you want and so stave off hunger which is the bane of a cleanse or diet. 

HAES or BMI? Does "diet culture" promote fatphobia and is that a bad thing?

One of the biggest dividing issues today (and I know cuz I read Reddit) is whether use the BMI (body mass index) to determine healthy weight or whether HAES (Healthy at Every Size) is right. I say both and neither. HAES and the BMI are both helpful in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and both can be taken to extremes and be harmful. Part of how I lost 100 pounds was by using the BMI as a guide but also coming to understand that I am, if not healthy at every size, at least acceptable and worthy of love. 

People who think Healthy at Every Size eschew what they call the "diet culture." The term is often used cynically to imply that those who "buy into it" are somehow gullible or ignorant. I'm not even sure most users know what they mean by it. Loosely, it means being constantly weight loss diet minded. It's also called fatphobia: a fear of being overweight and body-shaming those who are what the BMI might deem overweight. 

I say might because there is some wiggle room, even with the BMI. It's an ideal weight range calculated by height to weight ratio. And in most incarnations, the BMI is limited. It doesn't factor in age, gender, how much weight is muscle vs fat, belly fat (waist size) dress or pants size, ethnicity, overall health, (some are shorter or taller and more prone to "belly fat.") and other pertinent issues. 

People who follow the BMI as I have, are often said to have fatphobia. As a weight loss bloggers, I've been criticized as body-shaming if I suggest that obesity or being overweight might not be healthy. I've been faulted for promoting "diet culture." If by "diet culture" they mean a purchased diet plan, medical weight loss or gastric bypass surgery, I'd agree. I didn't need a paid meal plan, diet club, surgery, personal trainer, doctor supervised medical treatment to lose weight. 

But to suggest that people are healthy at every size, including in morbid obesity, is delusional. "My 600-lb Life" shows what happens when people ignore increasing weight. Yes, what constitutes obesity may differ somewhat. The BMI uses 24 to <30 as overweight and 30 or over as obese. Medically, up to 36 pounds extra is overweight. Obesity is anything over that and morbid obesity is 100 pounds or more overweight. 

I've read a lot of talk about how many people feel healthier at what that definition calls overweight. Is that just an excuse? It depends on the person. "My 600-lb Life" participants will say that they like themselves "fuller" or "fluffier" which translates to 450 pounds of extra weight. 

I've also been surprised when told what someone weighs that it falls into the quite overweight category. They simply don't look overweight. I think the bottom line is that weight is a private matter BUT if every indicator (BMI, doctor, other people) points to it and my health is suffering with weight related complications (diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, back and leg problems, heart trouble, OSA, breathing issues) then I owe it to myself to lose weight. 

What woke me up to the fact that I needed to lose weight was being identified by the BMI as obese. If I didn't do something about it, I could have ended up the size of a "My 600-lb Life" patient. Once I accepted it, quit making excuses and hiding my head in the sand. I was able to lose 100 pounds. I still have belly fat and would like to lose more weight. If that means I have fatphobia or I'm a diet culture sycophant, so be it. I don't shame anyone else for weight but I don't like being fat. And I know what's healthy for me. 

How I lost 100 pounds going Cobra Kai: Healing obesity shame is not about fat acceptance

 I'm going to say some things that might shock and anger my blog followers. Healing obesity is not about fat acceptance. Loving your body doesn't mean ignoring weight gain. I didn't get overweight because of body shaming but overeating and lack of self-control. I lost 100 pounds by going Cobra Kai and "sweeping the leg" out from under bad habits. 

Did I just read that right, you may wonder. Is she actually saying we shouldn't love ourselves as we are, warts and all? Is she validating fat shaming? Yes (sort of) and no. Love of self (as in healthy self-esteem) and the resulting self-care are essential no matter what the body size. But accepting being 50-100 (etc) overweight is not self love. It's deadly self-delusion that only gets bigger, louder and worse. That does NOT validate fat shaming. No one gets to do that. And body shaming obesity is just bullying. And if I fat shame myself, I'm bullying myself. 

Having said that, a qualified physician labelling someone overweight or obese is not bullying. This has come up on episodes of "My 600-lb Life." Dr. Now is accused, by patients seeking bariatric surgery, of body shaming. Shaming is making fun of; addressing potentially lethal health issues like obesity is good doctoring. It's his job. 

So too, recognizing that I'm overweight, doesn't translate to lack of self-love. It's not auto-shaming. Accepting that I need to lose weight and following healthy methods of calorie restricting (like the "My 600-lb Life" 1200 calorie diet) is just common sense. 

There is a prevailing myth that being told you need to lose weight is body shaming. Which it is, if it's just random unsolicited advice such as Valerie Bertinelli was given by a internet commenter recently. This is wrong for many reasons. No one knows for certain what is a healthy body weight for another person. Sometimes not even a doctor. The infamous BMI can be very arbitrary and inaccurate. However, it's a smallish margin of error, say 10-25 pounds, not 40 to 50+ overweight. Even then in Valerie Bertinelli's case, it is still no one's business except a physician. And even then is should be handled with respect. 

The key issue here is self-awareness. And what is means to practice self-care. Accepting that I am very overweight, being okay with it and expecting others to say that my obesity is just fine, beautiful, healthy, etc. isn't self-care. As I said before, it's avoidant self-delusion. While no one can lose weight for you, nor should they make fun of you for needing to, it also isn't appropriate to affirm obesity as a healthy lifestyle. 

I know I seem to be dancing around what I'm trying to say. That's because the issue is complicated. I don't want to appear to be applauding fat shaming by dissing fat acceptance. The pivotal point is who is doing the accepting and how it's done. I should accept myself as I am, but also seek to be as healthy as I can be. I wouldn't turn a blind eye to cancer or Covid 19 if I had it. I'd work to take care of myself. Same with weight loss. No one can tell me to lose weight but if I really love myself, I'll work at it if I need to. 

I can accept and love myself as I am and still work to improve. Artists don't just slap paint on canvas and expect others to call it a masterpiece. They constantly work to perfect technique. And my way of perfecting my game was with weight loss. How I lost 100 pounds was going Cobra Kai, which I didn't even address, paragraphs later. But maybe you can see where I'm going with this. I'll delve deeper in my upcoming blog post. In closing, love yourself cuz I do and more importantly, God does. Be the best version of yourself you can be <3

BMI aided my weight loss but "My 600-lb Life" shows BMI fails obesity issue

 The BMI (body mass index) scale is coming under fire again and it probably should. Part of how I lost 100 pounds was discovering that my BMI made me morbidly obese. This spurred me to weight loss which is good. But to fix the larger issue of obesity, the BMI scale fails. The reality TV show "My 600-lb Life" demonstrates how. 

"My 600-lb Life" shows overweight people trying to lose weight with gastric bypass surgery. These people have extreme examples of obesity but they are not uncommon. According to the body mass index scale, 70% of the world is obese and more are overweight. 

But is that just because an arbitrary number deems us overweight? Is it in someone's, or many someones (cough, doctors, cough) best interest to have obese patients that they can help lose weight or provide gastric bypass surgery for? That there's a branch of healthcare called "obesity medicine" shows two things: lots of people are overweight and weight loss is lucrative! 

So how is this the BMI scale's fault? Maybe I'm attacking a straw man but it seem that the BMI helps and hurts the wrong people. Being labeled obese pushed me to lose weight but because I once had obesity, doctors still treat me like I'm overweight. My former GP now runs an obesity medicine clinic and wanted me to join (pay her to help me lose weight). After congratulating me on weight loss and acknowledging that I am at a good weight! 

Cuz that damn BMI scale still says I am overweight, but only just. It kinda drives me crazy stressing over it. Sometimes I diet to extremes, just to get that stupid number down. I wear a size small. I've trimmed fat and look a normal size. And the BMI only looks at mass, not fat. So why am I trying to hit a random goal? Because I'm one of those people who takes BMI too seriously. Now that I'm not obese, it hurts rather than helps

And it hurts people on "My 600-lb Life" BMI but in a different way. Obesity accesses them to disability, caregiver assistance, Medicaid and food stamps. Which they abuse to get further overweight. Their overeating and then obesity treatments, gastric bypass surgery etc., are funded by taxpayers. So there's no real motivation to lose weight and a lot of reasons to stay obese. 

I'd rather be overweight than look it: weight loss vs. fat burning

I've been blogging about how I lost 100 pounds a few years ago. Now I'm trying to lose weight again. Happily, I'm not obese this time, but I am overweight. Weirdly, despite the scale only showing a little weight loss, I look smaller. And I realized, if I had to choose one or the other, I'd rather be overweight than look it. Let me explain.

In this second round, the challenge to lose weight has been made more difficult. I'm not as active due to shoulder surgery followed by Covid 19. But although I've only lost a few pounds, I've lost fat in several areas. I think this is because my goal is fat burning vs. simple weight loss. Here's why. 

By volume, muscle weighs more than fat. A person may be overweight, even be nearing obese with the usual BMI algorithm, but still not have much noticeable fat. BMI measures body mass index, not body fat. Obese is just a categorical word. Neither are necessarily true indicators of size. So I decided that fat burning was more important than the number on the scale. 

I've seen what weight loss without fat burning looks like. Gastric bypass surgery alone doesn't lose weight let alone fat. Even with diet and exercise, gastric bypass weight loss surgery often leaves the body saggy. I want to look trimmer. I want my clothes to fit better. 

And that can be done without gastric bypass. Part of how I lost 100 pounds was to aim for fat burning with keto diet and supplements like apple cider vinegar and raspberry ketones. I'm going to work on looking smaller and I think the BMI and scale number will catch up. 

Dealing with shame of weight gain after 100 pound weight loss

 My friends, it's confession time. I posted recently that I had gained back some weight. I said I wasn't going to weigh myself because it's just so darn frustrating. I advised you who are trying to lose weight to avoid constant scale monitoring once you get a baseline. Well, I broke my own rule and weighed myself. And almost cried. I weigh 170 pounds after getting down to 140. I checked my last doctor visit to see what their scale said (being more accurate) and I was 182. And I am royally pissed. 

How did this happen?? Sure they weigh with coat, clothing, shoes and purse which is counter-productive and stupid. Which is why I ask them not to tell me. I'm angry too because I think they want to show that patients are obese so they can offer to treat the obesity and profit. When I weighed 199, a doctor recommended bariatric surgery! Now that's overweight for sure, but gastric bypass?? 

I declined the surgery offer and said I would lose weight on my own, which I did. So yes, now I'm obese (BMI wise) again. I have to wonder if BMI is another way to shame patients into some medical weight loss program.  Sure, the devil's advocates will say, it's not the scale that's at fault. Don't blame doctors because your BMI (body mass index) deems you obese. I'm not blaming, just trying to figure it out. And to avoid going down that rabbit hole of shame. 

And here's what's weird. Last time I weighed 182, I looked a lot different. I had a lot of white adipose tissue all over. My face was inflamed. Check out the top photo left from 2013. Now (bottom photo) the only place I can see that I've put on weight is in my belly and maybe upper thighs. My hands are a little swollen but I just had surgery. So it's healthier weight gain this time around?

I do a very physically active job now, where before I was sedentary. I'm not saying I'm super fit or muscular, but mores than before. And muscle weighs more than fat. So, as I posted earlier, I am back on the 1,200 calorie a day diet. I've cut wine, sweets, salty starch snacks and most "white foods" (pasta, bread, rice). I think I've had weight loss from the doctor visit a week and a half ago. 

But I'll be honest, I'm discouraged. Happy cat  has run out of happy. But it's Lent for us Catholics. And this just might be part of my desert experience. I'm going to offer up my meager sufferings for those who are really suffering. 

I've been blogging for eight years now about how I lost 100 pounds. I can reread my own posts and do what I did before and get these pounds off. I can research and continue to learn and add new ideas to my repertoire. It may be more difficult because I'm going to be off work for another month. And at 56, weight loss may be harder. I'm not making excuses, just cutting myself some slack if it's harder this time. And maybe I need to sort out why I'm feeling such shame. 

Thank you so much for letting me vent, my dears. Love you all! Keep the faith! 

Maintenance dieting and coping with the dreaded weight loss plateau

(<--was me then---> is me now on the left) After losing 100 pounds, I hit the dreaded diet plateau. I knew it was coming but still wasn't prepared for the frustration. I couldn't seem to get those last 15 pounds off for love nor money. And you know what, I'm still struggling with it 3 years later. BUT (and this is a big but, not big butt, lol, but I digress...sorry, I'm done butting now). Anyhoo, here's what I've found.

I am discouraged about not being able to get the rest of the fat off. But not so frustrated that I want to keep up that ruthless diet I was following. And I discovered that for me, that wasn't even healthy weight loss logic. Here's why.

I'm the classic Type A overachiever. Not that I achieve that much (at least in my own eyes). And that too is part of the problem. I derail my own vision by my harsh self-criticism. I'm never satisfied with my progress. Which is kind of depressing and stressful AND which causes me to retain fat (both anxiety and depression put the body in survival mode which includes storing fat.)

So I'm learning to put things in perspective. I am still losing fat and toning, even after 4 years and several times totally ditching diet. I've gained a small amount back (which is normal) and taken some back off. My clothes fit differently and I can wear smalls and size 4 pants. Best of all, those new healthier, leaner food choices have become habit.

Reading a post in SparkPeople was encouraging, too. It talked about what I've always thought, that we're too number-focused and scale-focused. Maybe even too BMI focused too. According to my BMI, I'm still slightly overweight. But if I wear small clothes. I have dropped 15 dress sizes, have far less fat, fewer bulges, and my clothes fit well. That's what I need to focus on, not those micromanaged 20 pounds.

Probably, the person I have to convince about this is me. Thanks for listening. I hope it helped. Like Red Green says, we're all in this together. Do you have any thoughts on weight loss? Share them in the comments or contact me. <3

Lose weight with mind over platter: Mental appetite suppressants to curb hunger

The world is reeling under a burden of obesity. More people are fat than ever before and getting collectively more obese. Mid-life is a prime time for weight gain and unfortunately, it's also the worst time to start a weight loss program. A more sedentary life coupled with increased comfort eating keep two-thirds of adults overweight and one third obese. But you can lose weight if you want to. I lost 100 pounds, 10 BMI points and 9 sizes at age 48. I was in menopause and had just quit taking antidepressants (which are known to cause weight gain). Weight loss for me was a matter of mind over platter. The hardest part of diet is coping with constant hunger pangs. Here are mental appetite suppressants to psych yourself full, curb hunger and control eating.   Lose weight with mind over platter: Mental appetite suppressants to curb hunger