Well, once again I find myself in a position where I have to lose some weight — fifteen to twenty pounds if you ask my doctor but more like ten if you ask me. I’ve always felt better being just a bit rounded — and it’s an easier weight to maintain. I got pretty skinny a few years back and all I can remember is month after month of counting calories and feeling guilty every time I put anything in my mouth. Put me in a size 10/12 though, and I can usually stay that way without any trouble.
Of course, times of stress can mess anything up. :=)
So here I am, dieting again. I’ve done it before. Back in college I wandered up to about 220 lbs. I was barely fitting my size 18’s and fingering a pair of size 20 pants when I got my reality check and decided enough was enough. Besides, back then I wasn’t eating well at all — fast food all the time and sweets whenever I could get my hands on them really isn’t healthy.
I have a huge sweet tooth. I had to get it capped to make the diet work. Capping a sweet tooth isn’t easy. There’s a period of withdrawal involved that can make you pretty cranky, not to mention insatiably hungry.
That was a long time ago, and some days I still keep my sweet tooth capped through sheer force of will. When I start to feel stressed or depressed, the cap comes off and I put on a few pounds. Now, it’s time to lose it.
I’ve done a lot of successful dieting over the years. My favorite way to diet is by breast feeding. I don’t care what the miracle diet pill people want to tell you, the only real way to eat a lot of food and still lose weight is to have it coming out another way. Alas, I had to wean sometime. :=)
Aside from that, I have usually lose weight through restrictive 1200-calorie diets that leave me hungry and irritable. These diets are very easy to quit. When I’m on that kind of diet I go through life dreaming of my next meal and then feeling disappointed when I get there. They require a lot of willpower and I don’t always have that. Picking up the size 20 pants might have been a good motivator, but in the meantime the thought of a 1200-calorie diet makes me wonder if size 14 is really that bad?
So I’ve got a new plan this time, and we’ll have to see if it works. It will undoubtedly lead to far more gradual weight loss than the more restrictive diet, but I think I will be happier following it. Basically, I’m only reducing my calories to 1400-1500. Those few extra calories allow me to eat a real dinner that I can look forward to and keep me from feeling ravenous throughout the day, even if I’m not entirely satisfied.
I am also starting a daily walking program – something I had been doing a few months ago but stopped for various reasons. I got back into it today, on one of the hottest days of the year. If I can do it today, I can do it any day, right?
We’ll see. Wish me luck!