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!







Thursday, March 15, 2012

342 Pi Day

Ahhhh a buffet.  I brought along a cabbage salad with the idea that if I ate the salad I would eat less overall. I think it kind of worked--I ate plenty--two slices of pizza (I'm blaming my co-workers (not really)---I had planned to just eat one, but they all planned on two as a matter of course), lots of spicy crackers, pineapple, some chicken pot pie and a mini key lime pie, brownie bite, and a cream cheese thing with fruit--plus my salad. So, yes, more than enough food but the thing was that I was totally 100% completely satisfied with the food! Usually with stuff like this I'm in the kitchen all day long grazing even after a meal where I stuff myself.  Not this time. I went through the kitchen for some water and saw the brownie bites (which I love) and wasn't even interested. THAT's a real change--a chemical shift in the body not just the mind. It felt great--I had a terrific lunch which I thoroughly enjoyed, and then felt DONE.  I came home, biked 10 miles on the stationary bike and had a light dinner (which I probably could have skipped). And then, using the rationale that the day was already a loss, I had some popcorn, a little cheese and some milk along with one more brownie bite that I had taken home. Today, as always, is a new day and I'm going to the gym to swim hopefully a whole bunch of laps for the lazy man iron man. I'm planning on at least 20 laps, but I'm hoping I can do more. Then again, it's been years since I've swum laps and I didn't like it back then, so it'll be interesting to see what happens. The problem with swimming is boredom.
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