The never-ending struggle!
It's taken almost a year, but I finally did it. I just got on the scale and discovered that I'm right back where I started last September. Normally, I weigh every morning. Lately, I have avoided the scale because I can feel in my clothes that it will just be bad news. Avoidance is never a good strategy in life.
For some reason, it seems like I gain weight in the summer rather than the winter - which is the opposite of most people. I also tend to eat more and gain weight under stress. Last summer, as well as this one, brought intense emotion and some stressful events for me to deal with. As I get older, I notice that I tend to want to withdraw and also eat more at such times. There have been days when I have just wanted to eat nothing but the "bad carbs." And I have lacked the motivation or discipline to "just say no" to myself. I think I am also fighting the dreaded mid-life weight gain. I'm going to have to get serious again...and soon.
My favorite snack has become Staci's Pita Chips. And if I start eating them, forget it. I'll eat half the bag. When I eliminated sugar, white bread, rice, potatoes and bad fats, and focused on eating more protein and vegetables, the pounds just fell off. And I remember thinking how easy it was. My cravings for bad carbs went away quickly - just like the (South Beach) book said they would. I wouldn't even touch a piece of bread at my favorite restaurants because my motivation was so high. While "in the zone," I remember thinking it would not be hard to eat that way consistently, long term. But over time, I splurged more and more (first on the weekends and then whenever I felt like it). And I have finally put the weight back on. I'm five pounds over what I consider my acceptable weight. I'm nine pounds over the lowest number I saw on the scale (my ideal weight) while following the low glycemic way of eating.
I know what works and I have to get motivated again. I just feel so much better when I'm 130 or less. Five pounds makes a huge difference in how I feel physically. But motivation this week and next is not going to be easy. I'm serving lasagna to my small group tonight. We're going to a restaurant opening with friends tomorrow night in Nashville. I'm meeting an old friend for lunch at one of my favorite Italian restaurants on Thursday. My mother-in-law will be here Friday. And I'm leaving Saturday morning for a week in Destin. Food is always a big part of vacation for me. One of my tasks today is to make lasagna to freeze and take with us. The two meals we have pre-planned (to eat in the condo) are lasagna and tacos. Mmmm, health food. : )
Oh well, I didn't put it on in a week and I can't get rid of it that fast, either. I think seeing the numbers 135 on the scale this morning will help me not to snack on the bad stuff today, even if I am in the kitchen a lot. Hopefully I can just do portion control the next couple of weeks and then try to get strict again. I think the reason I always seem to lose weight in the fall is because I hate the thought of going into the holidays with excess weight. It's all psychological for me.
I'm having one of my favorite kind of days today. I am a homebody and I so enjoy days when I don't have to be anywhere, so I can have a leisurely morning, catch up on laundry, change my sheets, work out early in the day, water my flowers, cook, read and putter around the house. I'll be making three pans of lasagna today. One for the trip, one for my small group tonight and one for a neighbor I plan to surprise later in the day. (Hope she's not trying to eat healthy.)
Weight is such a never-ending battle. Sometimes I think that when I have officially grown old (by everyone's standards), I will just eat whatever I want and not worry about my weight. It sounds great for a moment, but then I think, "Naaaah." As I get older, my health will become even more precious. And I want be a young, fun, energetic grandma who can do things with my boys! Not to mention, if I do happen to be struck by disease, I know that an otherwise overall healthy patient is much easier to treat successfully. I find myself thinking about these things as I face the half-century mark next year!
I also find myself thinking about what kind of old lady I will be. So many times I think/pray, "Lord, please let me be sweet and low-maintenance when I'm old; consumed with you and concerned for others rather than consumed with myself." But I know that if I want to be like that when I'm old, I have to first be like that before I get old. You may have noticed, as I have, that whatever kind of person we are, our traits (good and bad) just seem to become more pronounced as we get older. So I'm trying to get a jump on being sweet and low-maintenance in the good old here and now. Preoccupation with self is just another one of those never-ending struggles.
Well, the treadmill is screaming my name! And I do mean screaming! : ) Have a great day!
For some reason, it seems like I gain weight in the summer rather than the winter - which is the opposite of most people. I also tend to eat more and gain weight under stress. Last summer, as well as this one, brought intense emotion and some stressful events for me to deal with. As I get older, I notice that I tend to want to withdraw and also eat more at such times. There have been days when I have just wanted to eat nothing but the "bad carbs." And I have lacked the motivation or discipline to "just say no" to myself. I think I am also fighting the dreaded mid-life weight gain. I'm going to have to get serious again...and soon.
My favorite snack has become Staci's Pita Chips. And if I start eating them, forget it. I'll eat half the bag. When I eliminated sugar, white bread, rice, potatoes and bad fats, and focused on eating more protein and vegetables, the pounds just fell off. And I remember thinking how easy it was. My cravings for bad carbs went away quickly - just like the (South Beach) book said they would. I wouldn't even touch a piece of bread at my favorite restaurants because my motivation was so high. While "in the zone," I remember thinking it would not be hard to eat that way consistently, long term. But over time, I splurged more and more (first on the weekends and then whenever I felt like it). And I have finally put the weight back on. I'm five pounds over what I consider my acceptable weight. I'm nine pounds over the lowest number I saw on the scale (my ideal weight) while following the low glycemic way of eating.
I know what works and I have to get motivated again. I just feel so much better when I'm 130 or less. Five pounds makes a huge difference in how I feel physically. But motivation this week and next is not going to be easy. I'm serving lasagna to my small group tonight. We're going to a restaurant opening with friends tomorrow night in Nashville. I'm meeting an old friend for lunch at one of my favorite Italian restaurants on Thursday. My mother-in-law will be here Friday. And I'm leaving Saturday morning for a week in Destin. Food is always a big part of vacation for me. One of my tasks today is to make lasagna to freeze and take with us. The two meals we have pre-planned (to eat in the condo) are lasagna and tacos. Mmmm, health food. : )
Oh well, I didn't put it on in a week and I can't get rid of it that fast, either. I think seeing the numbers 135 on the scale this morning will help me not to snack on the bad stuff today, even if I am in the kitchen a lot. Hopefully I can just do portion control the next couple of weeks and then try to get strict again. I think the reason I always seem to lose weight in the fall is because I hate the thought of going into the holidays with excess weight. It's all psychological for me.
I'm having one of my favorite kind of days today. I am a homebody and I so enjoy days when I don't have to be anywhere, so I can have a leisurely morning, catch up on laundry, change my sheets, work out early in the day, water my flowers, cook, read and putter around the house. I'll be making three pans of lasagna today. One for the trip, one for my small group tonight and one for a neighbor I plan to surprise later in the day. (Hope she's not trying to eat healthy.)
Weight is such a never-ending battle. Sometimes I think that when I have officially grown old (by everyone's standards), I will just eat whatever I want and not worry about my weight. It sounds great for a moment, but then I think, "Naaaah." As I get older, my health will become even more precious. And I want be a young, fun, energetic grandma who can do things with my boys! Not to mention, if I do happen to be struck by disease, I know that an otherwise overall healthy patient is much easier to treat successfully. I find myself thinking about these things as I face the half-century mark next year!
I also find myself thinking about what kind of old lady I will be. So many times I think/pray, "Lord, please let me be sweet and low-maintenance when I'm old; consumed with you and concerned for others rather than consumed with myself." But I know that if I want to be like that when I'm old, I have to first be like that before I get old. You may have noticed, as I have, that whatever kind of person we are, our traits (good and bad) just seem to become more pronounced as we get older. So I'm trying to get a jump on being sweet and low-maintenance in the good old here and now. Preoccupation with self is just another one of those never-ending struggles.
Well, the treadmill is screaming my name! And I do mean screaming! : ) Have a great day!
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