Distant Strangers

I don't like veggies- I never have, and I don't know why. I tend to keep them at a safe distance away from my plate. If you are a fellow Weight Watchers member, then you know how much the program stresses eating vegetables. At least my leader does. She is always trying to steer us away from the evil that is processed foods, and into the direct oncoming path of a whole food freight train. Perhaps it's because at her house, she and her two children suffer from celiac disease and she has to pretty much make all their meals from scratch so that she can control the ingredients. Still, anyone on WW also knows that veggies are low in points, and since we are limited in the number of points we can consume, and since we all got overweight by eating too much to begin with- well, we try to combine quantity with low points. In other words, we're all trying to eat as much as possible but still stay within our points limit for the day. Enter the vegetable- most are low in points, some are even zero points.

Logically, we would all shove aside the fatty (high point) foods like burgers or pizzas or nachos and instead consume vegetables morning, noon, and night. Logically. So why can't I see beyond stinky broccoli or flavorless cauliflower? Why can't I eat any other vegetable besides buttery starchy corn? I can make myself a gigantic salad loaded with plenty of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, but my salads are also loaded down with cheese, bacon, croutons, and lots of dressing. I know in my head that I should be serving fresh vegetables with every meal, but my taste buds usually overrule my brain cells. But for dinner this evening I'm going to give it the good ol' college try, and open up this scary looking bag hidden in the freezer. It's six pounds of vegetable madness, and I'm going to dish it up tonight. Mind you, not all six pounds at once.

The ironic part of this tale is that my husband absolutely LOVES vegetables, he swears he could adhere to the vegetarian lifestyle and be mighty happy about it. So as a dutiful wife, do you think I could put veggies on the dinner table a little more often? Yeah, I'll have to work on that...

Sandy


(Spider is ready to help Mom make dinner tonight.)

Where Did I Go Wrong?

It was hard work, losing those 45 pounds since Christmas of 2008. But it was barely the halfway point. Then somehow, somewhere, my resolve slipped away without me even realizing it. My bad habits started to creep back into my daily routine and I didn't even notice. Or did I? Over the summer it seemed like whenever I went into town for an errand, I managed to find myself reaching into the little cold case at the register. I'm not sure what internal conversation I had with myself every time, to justify yet another bottle of Coke and maybe a small pack of cookies to go with it. The occasional treat turned into a weekly habit, and then suddenly I lapsed every time I was in a store- be it Target, Kroger's, CVS, even PetSmart- oftentimes now it is two or three times a week. Once last week, I even bought two Cokes at the same time- one to drink while I was in the car running around town, and one to take home for later on that night. I'd skipped breakfast, it was lunchtime, it was Friday. There is always an excuse. After all, I'm an adult, I don't need anyone's permission to have a soda and chips in place of an actual healthy meal. Right??

Then there is my habit of always ordering the biggest thing on the menu, whether it's a fast food combo or lunch at an Italian restaurant. A very old habit, and one I still struggle with, and I probably always will. I know, the easiest way to nip that in the bud is to not go out and eat. But I love going out with James, and I don't intend to put the kibosh on date night with the hubby. After all, there really are healthy choices out there. I just don't make them. Something inside of me makes my eyeballs skip right over the salad section of the menu, and go over to the pasta or the burgers. I open my mouth to say water, but Coke comes out instead.

But it's the start of a new season now, we're getting ready to flip yet another calendar page over. The weather is cooling off, the skies are a clear bright blue, and I'm going to take a good hard look at my habits and the choices that I make. Both need to be overhauled dramatically. Before the food extravaganza known as "the holidays" gets here...

Sandy

Back to Basics

Well, I've decided to start a new blog, about my weight loss efforts. Which have seriously faltered lately. I haven't been going to Weight Watchers regularly (my leader keeps sending me postcards that say "we miss you!"). I rarely count my points anymore, and can't even find my food journal. I don't remember the last time I got on the treadmill here at the house much less the one at the gym. After reaching a glorious 199 for about all of five minutes last month, this is where I'm at today (below). I have no one to blame but myself, and no excuses that can justify this slide backwards. I fell off the diet wagon all by myself, no one pushed me off. So I am going to rededicate myself to the Weight Watchers program and regain my focus on exercise. I know it's a lot of excess pounds to carry, but I'm climbing back up on the wagon as of right this second. I realize it's going to be a bumpy ride, but I'm going to do my best to hold on tight and not get thrown off again!

Sandy