Diet Secret

In my last post I told you that I was considering writing a revolutionary new diet book based on my real life, mid life, french life, former american life, diet for life, life. Do you think it would sell? Do you think that anyone would believe that I have come up with something revolutionary?

You're right - probably not. Mostly because I haven't come up with anything revolutionary, but hey - that's never stopped any of those other diet gurus before.

So what I did do was come up with a plan of sorts to get rid of my recently accumulated post menopausal spread. To the naked eye I looked fine (I DID NOT say that I looked fine naked) but a growing number of clothes in my closet represented a day sucking in my stomach if I chose to fight my way into them and having been a formerly always effortlessly thin person, my new aversion to anything that did not include stretch was just not working with my self image. For the last 6 months or so I traveled through the various stages of denial, rarely daring to step on the scale and figuring that after the next weekend/birthday party/house guest/holiday/fill in the blank event, I would get serious and start to lose some weight.

Well the New Year came and went and after celebrating fun visits with daughters, friends and my sister-in-law, it was time. Now what do I do? For the last 2 weeks in January I exercised a bit more, watched what I ate, felt like I was being good and........gained a few pounds.

Enough was enough. Here is what I started to do and have been at it faithfully (a whole 5 1/2 weeks!) and I am making progress and feel more in control of my life beyond just my eating plan (I hesitate to call it a diet) and my jeans are even getting looser. I have friends who are currently on the popular and strict variation of the Atkins/protein diet and they are losing weight rapidly, I know it works but the elimination of so many foods that I really enjoy (like fruit) just is not for me and beside, there is no way that that diet is sustainable for me in the long run. What I am doing hopefully is.

So what's the secret? Eating less and exercising more. Now that's a come down isn't it? But what has helped me is a website where I opened a free account that allows me to record everything that I eat in a day and what exercise activity I have done. It counts the calories for you (both ways - those you took in and those you exercised away). You set goals for yourself and record your progress. That's it. But what is weird is that as soon as I started using this, I have found it harder to cheat on my daily calorie intake goal because I then have to record it and I have barely skipped a day of exercise because if feels so good to get to put it down. For me it also somehow gives me structure to my exercise, like I am getting somewhere instead of wandering around jogging this day, waiting a week and lifting some weights, waiting another week until a get around to it again.....etc. The act of recording makes me motivated to exercise again.

Is this the most boring post ever? I just realized that talking about my diet plan was probably akin to sitting through endless tales of ski adventures when you are the only one in the group who doesn't ski. (Was that run a black diamond or a red?? There was so much powder that we couldn't get to that station around the back of the slopes, what's its name again and on and on.............god those were boring conversations!)

sorry if I have just written the diet version of bore those around you with endless prattle. I'll do better next time, I promise.

Comments

[Stacy]

Writing it down works! That is the premise behind Weight Watchers. Two weeks ago I couldn't take the belly bulge anymore and started tracking what I eat also. I only have 25 points a day, so I have to choose carefully. I eat really healthy most of the time but the plan allows you a few treats once in awhile. Good luck! Keep us posted on your progress.

[mary c]

25 points doesn't sound like very much! I am also eating really healthy, I pretty much always do, I just need to not eat quite so MUCH healthy stuff! (and less cheese, bread, wine,......) Hasn't been bad at all so far. Let me know your progress too. Love to Greg too.

[Carrie Dern]

As with so much else in all of our lives right now...Less is More! So glad I didn't hit one of those "too fabulous to be true" diet links...but I came close! Thanks for bringing me back down to earth and reality!