I've decided for myself what millions of others have already figured out--that it really WAS easier to maintain a healthy weight in the past. There simply wasn't that much temptation around!! There were no TV's to show you what you were missing. There was no Food Channel. And there weren't places like Dominoes pizza! HOLY COW!! I hadn't been there in years, but Catherine had discovered their parmesan bread bites which was enough for me to think that I HAD to have them to go with our Valentine's pizza from Papa Murphys. Oh my, oh my. Dominoes pizza has added some stuff to their menu! Not only the parmesan bites, but buffalo wings and bread stuffed with spinach and feta, and other breads, and molten lava chocolate cake--not to mention full blown greasy pizza--much worse for me and much more tempting than Papa Murphys. How I would have loved a dominoes buffet last night. As it was I did badly enough--I ordered the 36 piece parmesan bread for the two of us and there wasn't much leftover when we finished. When I was a kid there simply WASN'T that kind of temptation! Even a pizza joint pretty much just had pizza. We hardly ever went out as a family and when we did it was to Ding-ho's a Chinese restaurant, or maybe Chuck-a-rama buffet that only allowed you through ONE time.
The point is that knowing how much harder it is now makes me feel a little less guilty for having succumbed to being overweight. And that helps me want to try that much harder. Today and tomorrow should be right on track. Friday will be mostly on track but we're having our dinner in Benin (an African country where we're virtually traveling--see travelenvelope.blogspot.com) and on Sunday Mom is (hopefully) coming up for a turkey dinner. But the turkey dinner can be managed I think---the turkey, mashed potatoes and yam casserole (light version) are all healthy. The stuffing and the pie are problems, but if I fill up on the turkey I should be ok.
Losing weight in spite of myself.
I began this blog in February 2011 as a way to help me not quit trying to lose weight, and to learn a few things. It's been an interesting and powerful experience. It certainly confirms what I've long suspected--that although I am a genuinely happy cheery person in the main, I am NOT a happy cheery dieter. I DETEST losing weight. I resent being overweight in the first place and I am a virtuoso in the art of self-sabotage. And YET--I'm doing it! I'm fighting and kicking and EATING all the way down, but the weight is finally going down. The plan I was following in February was a half-baked one largely based on wishful thinking. I gained a little weight and decided to get real. I knew I couldn't just join weightwatchers or count calories or do any one plan and expect to be successful. I decided if I was going to bother to make the effort to lose weight I was going to throw everything I could think of at the problem. And so I do. My real "Day One" for this blog is April 1, 2011. I joined weight watchers, I joined caloriecount.com (awesome website), I read the blog losingweighteveryday.blogspot.com religiously, I keep this blog faithfully, I joined the health programs sponsored by my insurance, I use the principles from overeater's anonymous, I use my church's 12 step program as well, I subscribe--and use--Healthy Cooking Magazine.
The result of all this? Painfully slow progress (About 20 lbs in 10 months). But it IS progress and like the little engine that could I keep on trying in my rebellious way. I have no intention of quitting. This is by far the longest sustained weight loss effort I've ever made in my life. Successful I think, because for the first in my life I've done this MY way--which I've discovered, involves a lot of pizza and restaraunt food. I'm convinced this is the only way to lose weight. For me it must be MY way. For you it MUST be YOUR way. Not weight watcher's way, not your doctor's way, but YOUR way. Any plan or idea I use is only a tool.
The latest plan to lose weight my way began on Oct 29, 2013. It really is my own crazy plan. As you'll see if you read that post. I've implemented the best ideas of all sorts of eating plans and thrown out the scale. A couple of months in and I'm definitely healthier. I'm actually enjoying myself. I won't weigh until April 1, 2014, so I'll see then if this works the way I hope it will.
There is no magic weight loss bullet. But there IS a great deal of magic in the discovery of what I can happily live with (very different from what weight watchers tells me I can happily live with) and still have the body and health I want.
Good luck to all of us on this journey. It's quite a trip!
The result of all this? Painfully slow progress (About 20 lbs in 10 months). But it IS progress and like the little engine that could I keep on trying in my rebellious way. I have no intention of quitting. This is by far the longest sustained weight loss effort I've ever made in my life. Successful I think, because for the first in my life I've done this MY way--which I've discovered, involves a lot of pizza and restaraunt food. I'm convinced this is the only way to lose weight. For me it must be MY way. For you it MUST be YOUR way. Not weight watcher's way, not your doctor's way, but YOUR way. Any plan or idea I use is only a tool.
The latest plan to lose weight my way began on Oct 29, 2013. It really is my own crazy plan. As you'll see if you read that post. I've implemented the best ideas of all sorts of eating plans and thrown out the scale. A couple of months in and I'm definitely healthier. I'm actually enjoying myself. I won't weigh until April 1, 2014, so I'll see then if this works the way I hope it will.
There is no magic weight loss bullet. But there IS a great deal of magic in the discovery of what I can happily live with (very different from what weight watchers tells me I can happily live with) and still have the body and health I want.
Good luck to all of us on this journey. It's quite a trip!
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