I’ve been on a quite a few weight-loss or get-healthy plans, but after doing well for a while, some how something goes wrong. I lose my motivation. I get bored with what I’m eating, etc, etc.
I’m happy report that I’ve now been at this for 2 months, the longest I’ve stuck with any “get healthy” plan in years. I’ve lost weight at a slower pace than in the past … but I’m still going down
… what’s different this time?
Well, for starters, I told myself this isn’t a race, I have the rest of my life to straighten myself out … but that putting it off is NOT an option! I also gave myself “permission” to NOT be a “perfect dieter”. What exactly does this mean … well for me, this means that I don’t choose foods ONLY because they are low in calories. TASTE MATTERS!!! I have never liked “fat free” salad dressings … so this time I’m using “light” dressings: more calories and, in my opinion, better taste – the result of this is that after two months, I still look forward to eating salad … where as in the past the thought of a salad w/ fat-free dressing would have been annoying after a couple of weeks and I would have made less healthy decisions. The same goes w/ the yogurt … I don’t like aspartame-sweetened anything … sure, I could get the same protein/calcium with half the calories if I went with the low-cal yogurt, but after a week, I probably would have replaced it w/ a candy bar which has slightly more calories than the sweetened yogurt, and none of the nutritional value … so fat-free w/ no artificial sweeteners is the way to go for me.
And what about cooking? In the past, I tried to do EVERYTHING from scratch. Lots of work and easy to say “never mind” if you are pressed for time. This time I’m allowing myself some convenience … bagged salad greens, frozen veggies, and for “emergencies”, a couple of Lean Cuisine dinners in the freezer at all times. (Although in two months, I’ve only eaten 2) And … take out is not something to say “NEVER” to. We get pizza once a week … on Monday or Tuesday when it’s “the 2 for $10” at our local shop. Only I’ve learned to buy a salad (or open my bag of salad mix) to go w/ that pizza so I stop at 2 slices. And it still gives me the convenience of leftovers to put into my kids’ lunch boxes.
Enough about me … what’s different for YOU this time? I'd love to hear from everbody ... those just starting out and those of you who have been successfully doing this for more than a year.
Thanks!