Continued weight loss

poppalina Flickr Photo (CC)

Two days ago (while travelling) I weighed in at 137.5 pounds (62.4 kilos), the lowest in more than 10 years. This is exciting!

I wasn't trying to lose weight, as my starting weight of 143 pounds was fairly healthy at my height of 5'8" (1.72 m). However, I'm happy with the loss, as I have a small frame and feel it suits me.

According to this chart, which references frame size, I'm now solidly in the "weight with lowest mortality rate" slot -- but before the SFY started, I was slightly above.

Hmmm, maybe my starting weight wasn't so healthy after all.

Disappearing appetite, shrinking waistline

Over the past few days, I've noticed a marked decrease in appetite. I believe any hunger now I feel signals a genuine need for food, rather than the "pseudo-hunger" induced by sugar highs and lows.

I'm not trying to lose weight, and wouldn't want to go below my high-school weight of 128 pounds, but I have now lost about 4.5 pounds (in 13 days) -- current weight is now 138.5. My guess is that I'll gradually return to that high-school weight and settle there.

I've also noticed that many fruits, such as apples or ripe bananas, now seem too sweet -- instead, I'm craving vegetables -- how weird is that? At work I had a ripe pear which was so cloyngly sweet that I had to eat it very slowly over about an hour.

Vital statistics

Physical starting point:

• 143 pounds / 64.8 kg
• 5'8" / 1.72 metres
• Body fat: Approx 32%
  

Physical changes so far:

• Reduced thirst (not surprising when you realize that each gram of carbs attracts 4 grams of water)
  
• Increased, er, peeing (same reason as above -- body is dumping extra water weight)
• Starting on day 2, dramatically decreased appetite -- hunger seems "real," a trustworthy request for nourishment, rather than a craving unrelated to my body's real needs
  
• Increased ability to tolerate hunger
• Slightly drier skin -- yayy! (I've had acne and extremely oily skin since age 13. Hate, hate, hate it.)
  

My rules for the year:

• Fresh fruit is OK
• Dried fruit's fine too, but not to excess -- i.e., a small handful of raisins or dried cherries is OK, but no more. Craisins, candied ginger or any dried fruit with added sugar are verboten. (Did you know Craisins are sprayed with a sugar mixture?)
  
• Obviously, no candies, desserts, ice cream, etc.
• No processed foods with sugar as a listed ingredient. Exception: Cases such as the President's Choice mayonnaise I ate last night, which mysteriously includes sugar near the end of the ingredient list, but also states "Sugars: 0g" and "Carbs:0g.") I felt this was fine.