Buying smaller clothes “a good feeling”
“I’m down 25 pounds now,” said Cathy Parks, finishing up the fourth week of her new diet and exercise plan. She added she lost 7 1/2 pounds just in the past week. “That was pretty great — I was speechless.”
The week before, she said, she had been discouraged to discover she’d only lost 1 1/2 pounds. “It’s hard when you’re not seeing it,” she said. “I’m definitely a lot happier this week.”
Her meal plan, which has evolved as she moves through the program, now features a wider variety of foods, and allows for a “cheat meal” each week. Meals are more flexible, she said, and she can have more protein and vegetables. There are a lot of recipes to choose from, too, she said.
She knows, however, that once her weight loss starts to plateau her diet will become more strict as she enters the fat-burning stage.
Parks said she is still enjoying her exercise program, too. “It’s going really, really well.” She said her trainer, Mark, is great at motivating her, and Darrel, the owner of the gym, always calls her “Slim.”
“They’re both great — they’re really great,” she said.
And she’s seeing the results of her efforts, she added. Recently she took a shopping trip to Moncton with a friend, and tried on some new clothes. She came home with a pair of jeans that were a size smaller than the ones she’d worn before. “That was a good feeling,” she said.
She went on to say that she encountered a lot of temptations on the Moncton trip, but managed to resist. She followed her meal plan all day and used her cheat meal for dinner at Montana’s. However, she said, she felt guilty anyway and went to the gym on Sunday, which is usually a day off for her.
Parks also mentioned that there were a lot of restaurants in Moncton that offered Simply For Life-compatible menu options, but she wishes there were more in Miramichi that do. Presently, she said, she only knows of two local restaurants that have Simply For Life meals.
“It’s really tough when you go somewhere to eat,” she said. “If you have some options it’s just so much easier.”
At the time of the interview she was planning to spend a weekend visiting her sister, niece and nephew in Halifax. Parks said she knew it might be a challenging trip as far as her meal plan was concerned, but her sister was supportive. “She said, ‘don’t worry, Cathy, I’ve got everything covered.’” Parks said she’ll also be bringing food with her on the trip so that she can stay on track.
Support from other people is beneficial to her, but she says she has discovered her experiences are also encouraging other people. She often runs into people who say they have seen her story in the newspaper and that it gave them the incentive to make healthy changes in their lifestyle, too. “They always say what an encouragement Bill and I are,” she said. “That’s good to hear.”
She added that she admires Bill Fraser, who is also participating in this project, for being able to manage his diet and exercise plan while keeping up with his busy life — travelling and often eating out, he doesn’t have the benefit of preparing his own meals or planning ahead. “I think the world of Bill,” she said.
