Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Memorial Day at Valley Forge

I'm going to make this brief, because I'm feeling under the weather today. But I did want to share some thoughts about my recent struggles with weight loss.

Over the winter holidays, I was particularly bad. I basically just cut loose, attending parties and social events with little thought to what I was eating. The end result was that I gained about 10 pounds.

I've been struggling since then to get back to where I was, with mixed results. It seems as if I'd lose a couple pounds, only to rebound back up again. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong.

Finally, I decided there were too main problems: overindulgence and not enough exercise.

The Gryphon and I keep a pretty active social life, and we end up socializing with friends or family, or attending a big event, nearly every weekend. This means tons of temptation, and I wasn't doing so well.

I thought that if I was simply good the rest of the week, I could overindulge on a Saturday or Sunday with little ill effects. But as I'm beginning to realize, it's not a matter of indulgence so much as degree.

For example, most weekdays my version of a late night snack would be low calorie popcorn and a low fat Weight Watchers popsicle. If I decide, on a Saturday, to have a slice of cheesecake instead, that's three times as many calories. Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that. But it does mean that if I'm planning on having cheesecake, I've got to be careful to cut back somewhere else.

So for the last couple months, I've been careful to monitor what I eat on the weekends. If I know that a big event is coming up later in the day, I'll eat a light breakfast and lunch. And when I go to that big event, I'm careful to keep track of what I'm eating. I no longer just give myself cart blanche to go hog wild.

I even went so far, at the Memorial Day picnic this year, to write down everything I ate as I ate it, so that I couldn't fool myself about how much I'd had. And I made a point to get away from the area where the food was, to get involved in other activities so I wouldn't start eating whatever was in front of me.

These habits go back a long time, to my family, where we had terrible snacking habits. Even though Mom stocked the cupboards and refrigerator with plenty of healthy foods like fruits, vegetables and nuts, we did ourselves in by the sheer amount that we ate. If food was available, we'd eat it. Such lifelong habits are hard to break.

Way back in January 2000, when I first committed to losing weight, I decided that I would change my lifestyle, not simply go on a diet. Sometimes it's a little like being in a 12-step program.

As I told The Gryphon the other day, I often see something on a menu that I would have ordered without a second thought only six years ago. And yet, I now recognize these rich, indulgent dishes for the diet busters they are. I say to myself, "That looks good, but not today. Today, I'll have the whole wheat pasta with shrimp and vegetables."

That doesn't mean I don't occasionally sample richer dishes, but I've learned that I can't make them a habit if I expect to keep the weight off. And as long as there's a healthier option that looks tasty, I'll order that instead.

Recently, I also realized that when I was last successful in losing weight, I was getting more regular exercise than I am now. So I decided that I would start adding more exercise into my regular routine. That, along with ensuring that I eat a good balance of healthy foods, including fruits and vegetables, dairy and protein, seems to be helping.

As of this morning, I still weigh four pounds more than I did last year at this time, but I'm optimistic that I'll soon be back on track. Then hopefully, I can lose the last 10 pounds to reach my ultimate goal.

I'd say wish me luck, but I've learned it's not about luck but about learning your limits and being willing to change.

Copyright 2006 by Alyce Wilson

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