Thursday, April 24, 2008

Losing weight one bite at a time

Now that I've lost 30 pounds I cant tell you how many people have asked me how I did it. And for all the people that asked I would say 98% of them showed visible disappointment on their faces when I told them I'm counting calories. When I see their disappointment I hasten to add, "But that's all I'm doing. I ha vent started exercising yet."

Why do I feel like I have to make this sound simple to everyone? Dieting is hard work and there's nothing simple about it! I know people want me to tell then Im taking a magic pill and they can get a hundred of them for the low price of $9.99! But that isn't how this weigh is coming off.

I'm losing weight one bite at a time. As a stay at home mom the food is always as close as the kitchen. That makes it doubly hard. If it ever quits raining I'm going to begin walking but I'm not stupid enough to start something to start a new thing in the rain and then quit. That will set me up for failure. It would be the same as starting a diet the week of Christmas. It just isn't going to work.

So I continue to count every bite and I continue to prowl my kitchen in search of something good and lo cal. When you count fat grams or carbs or protein grams there's always something to eat that has zero of the stuff you don't want in it. When you count calories there's no such luck; almost every tiny thing you put in your mouth has to count. I rely on coffee, tea and sugar free jello.

I bought a South Beach Diet box of chicken tortillas that you put together yourself. It has two tiny whole wheat tortillas in it, a tiny bag of chicken chunks the size of the tip of your finger, a bag with about a tablespoon of ginger dressing in it and about 2 Tablespoons of crunchy chow mien type noodles. There wasn't a lot to it.

I discovered though that I could eat one of those tiny tortillas with half of the ingredients from each bag and come out with about 105 calories. So that's what I've been doing the last two days for a snack and for a snack its pretty good. It's amazing how we change our ideas about food when we actually decide to eat healthy and take off the pounds.

I haven't given up all sweets though. Many evenings I have a quarter of a cup of ice cream. It tastes wonderful because I don't have any other sugar in my body so I can taste all the individual flavors of the ice cream. I buy intense flavors for this reason.

This journey to thinness and wellness is not easy, but it can be done! It takes determination and lots of dedication but it will pay off in the end. Think of summer around the corner whenever you want to eat something you shouldn't! Think how much better you are going to feel in the heat when you have lost weight. it's all going to be so worth it!

14 comments:

  1. 1/4 cup icecream- I would be sucking down the spoon! That is discipline.

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  2. Im with southerner.
    :)

    my husband hath dicipline in the face of frozen tasty treats but thus far I cant tap into it/figure it out!

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  3. Mmm ice cream.

    I like your point how people assume it's all going to be easy once you've done it. Great work!

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  4. I'm with the other ladies, I have a hard time stopping the sweets consumption. It does help to serve a small portion and put the rest away.

    ----------------------------------

    Just a thought, how about dancing to some music with Tink to break up the monotony of your rainy days. You could have some fun "girl time" and get a little exercise at the same time. A little break with physical activity may also help Tink with her studies.

    When things start getting crazy around here and I'm thinking straight, we'll take a break and do something physical. Sometimes, we just stretch. The other day we started our school time by dancing and doing aerobic type moves to three fast songs.

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  5. Thanks for visiting my blog. Congrats on your 30 pounds, that is great! Dieting is hard, it's great to read about others success.

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  6. I want to join the group. I need to lose 50lbs.

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  7. Sure you can join. Just be here Tuesday for weigh in. Leave your pounds to goal and if you lost weight this week.

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  8. And while I'm thinking of this, I would be right in saying your Tuesday is my Wednesday (South Australia) I've worked it the right way haven't I?

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  10. Yeah I think thats right from what Ive gathered from the weblogs of those down under!

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  11. Hi, checking in with a MINUS three pounds. yayyyy!! :]

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  12. I have to do it a day early in case I forget tomorrow!!

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  13. Mrs D.
    It's crazy the misinterpredations people have these days. It's all about "I want it all and I want it now" attitude. Don't people realize you didn't gain all that weight overnight so It's not coming off overnight. And furthermore if it doesn you are probably going to gain it back if it were to come off overnight.
    Oh my goal is to loose 50 plds before my birthday in December, that's a modest goal right?
    Vanessa

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  14. love this.

    all of it.

    from the savoring the ice cream taste to the acknowledging is isnt easy.

    AND I hear you on the fact that people want you to say: I just did this one easy thing (hello pill popping america!) and POOF it was done ;)

    M.

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Thank you for taking the time to encourage me on my journey! Your comment is appreciated!