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!







Friday, February 21, 2014

Feeling normal

The bacon cheese potato casserole was a little disappointing. Like most everything, it would have been improved with real sourcream and about 8 times the cheese. Oh well. It's good enough that it still qualifies as comfort food. Plus, I got to eat a truly huge portion AND have seconds for a surprisingly few calories.

Last night as I was falling asleep, I felt normal.  That is---not starved and skinny, not fat, just normal. That's been the feeling for most of this week in fact. Eating 1900 cal for 4 days straight has been helpful. Not too hard, but not automatic either. It's just felt like a normal amount of control--something I can see myself adopting someday and becoming habit---not the rigid counting, but just eating about this amount of food.

For now, and maybe forever in this life, I still need to count. Today is 2000 cal, and apparently I need some protein. I rarely eat lunch meat, but we usually have it on hand for Dave and C. We were out of eggs, but I fixed myself a ham and cheese bagel--which was made lighter in calories with the help of my cat, Tigger. That with some milk, was a good breakfast, I'll have some 100 cal popcorn for a snack, some of that casserole with and apple and yogurt and pickles for lunch and pizza for dinner tonight. It's really not that hard!  Of course, as soon as I type this, I think of all the things I'd like to eat in addition to what I've listed--parmesan bites from Domino's topping the list, but since when did I have to have every single little thing I want to be happy?

I'm still not super motivated---just.....normal. But I'll be ok picking out the slips for next week tonight--I'll still ask for divine help though.

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