So, How's the Diet Going?

So glad you asked!

I've been on diets before.  They were torture, and here's why:  I worked hard at a stressful job.  I felt that self-indulgences were my reward for that.  And my weight climbed and climbed, while my self-esteem flagged with every pound.  When I decided to lose weight, I cheated whenever I could get away with it.  Although that is obviously self-defeating, it didn't seem that way at the time.  I deserved the foods that I liked and craved.

I have no idea what inspired me to lose weight this time.  There just came a time when I decided to quit griping and feeling like a failure in life.  My daughter had lost over 30 lbs and still going.  I guess I figured I could do it, too.  I had all of the tools.  Could I find the will power??

It sounds cliche' to say that something snapped, but that is essentially what happened.  I took a couple of days to acclimate myself to shifting gears, then just did it.  I put myself on an old Weight Watcher's program (two programs ago).  I don't go to meetings or pay fees.  I have made it a challenge to eat what I like as light as I can make it, even getting online to determine what I can have before I go out to eat (which isn't often).  I haven't cheated.  I haven't indulged myself because I thought I deserved it.  I gave up my beloved wine, increased my fruit and veggie intake, and even found that I had accidentally been vegetarian a day or two (because I didn't want to spend the points on meat).  Something is just different this time.  I've been watching my food intake, writing everything down, and counting everything that goes in my mouth.  Even when I splurged with a meatball sandwich from Subway, I counted it, and still ended the day with points to spare!

So what's different THIS time?  I wish I knew!  Every pound I lose contributes to my wrinkles, but also contributes to that much less for my poor heart to handle.  Maybe it's because it's spring/summer.  I'm not shut in with less daylight to keep my mood down.  Maybe it's because I am seeing results.  Maybe it's because every pound I lose is just one more that my knees and back don't have to deal with.  Maybe it's because I have some things to look forward to--my sister's arrival for a visit over the Fourth, and my grandchildren here for a week later in July.  I've just not been tempted to veer away from the healthy diet.  That's quite a change from the old me!

I'm proud of myself.  Too bad I had to reach 70-years-old to find the strength to manage without food as my guide.  This is a life change for me, and I'm feeling good.  I've lost a few pounds.  Have many, many more to go but feel, for the first time in a LONG time, that I can do it!