Okay, as you all have noticed - and certainly let me know! - I haven't updated the blog all summer! My last post is from May 29. The primary reason for not blogging is that I just haven't done well at all with this newest effort. I repeated my same pattern of starting out enthusiastically, then having something happen to hamper one aspect of the plan, and then falling off all together! Who wants to blog about that? I thought the accountability of having a blog to journal about my progress would keep me on track this time, but no - I just went into my typical avoidance mode!
I haven't necessarily returned to ALL of my bad eating habits (although I don't know if Chase and Jenn would agree with that!) but I definitely had difficulty with the whole 300 calories every 3 hours. I mean - how hard is that? But yet I manage to find an excuse for not being able to do it. I wonder if it's the "pressure" of a weight loss program? Everytime I've done any kind of weight loss plan, I have the same pattern. And the more someone comments about the fact that I'm not sticking with the plan (Chase!) the more likely I am to emotionally rebel and go further off the diet.
When I was at the doctor the other day on another matter I asked him about it. Surely, I asked, there is some kind of safe weight loss or appetite suppressant drug that I could take that can help me - I just can't do it myself. But he just shook his head and said no - I shouldn't look for a fast or quick solution - just gradually alter my eating habits to get rid of the bad stuff and do more healthy stuff, and be satisfied to lose maybe a pound a week. What he had to say just really sort of woke me up and ever since I've been thinking about how to do that. There's no diet plan or weight loss program that I haven't tried, and I've had the same results everytime, so maybe it's just counting calories in a more relaxed way - trying to stay under say 1500 calories a day, but not obsessing about it.
The one tool I have that I think will help even with a non-stressful way of trying to lose weight is the Hungry Girl book and website. As long as they keep posting delicious recipes that you can eat for less than 200 calories, plus the great education they do on how many calories are in a lot of restaurant foods, at least I'll be mindful about what to order and what not to order. I highly recommend www.hungrygirl.com.
And the other thing I may eventually do is try to go back on the Blood Type food plan that will eliminate wheat and other products from my diet. I was the most successful when I was doing that, and I felt really good at the time as well. While not "classically" allergic to wheat - no celiac disease, etc. I do find that I do better with eating a lot of wheat products. I'm also thinking I might be mildly allergic to peanut butter.
Of course, my biggest bugaboo is still the lack of exercise. I was doing well for a while on the Wii Fit, and then stopped with that. At the time I blamed a sore back and hip, and I think it's true that doing the Hula Hoop routine wasn't great for my hips, but now I feel better and I don't really have any great excuse. Just lame reasons for not getting more exercise. At some point I'll figure that out!
So all this to say that this is my last Diet Wars blog entry! But that doesn't mean I'm giving up on getting more healthy, I just think I need to be more private with it. And once I achieve any reasonable success - believe me - my blog fans will hear about it!
However, do "stay tuned" for another blog adventure. I'm a writer, but writing the kinds of stories I want to write is another area where I lack discipline, due to lack of time. I've been thinking about the various story lines I've started that I want to get back to, so I've hit upon a blog writing exercise that I can include my friends in. Sort of an online writer's group. Once I've gotten started on that - I'll let everyone know and post it to FaceBook.
I want to sincerely thank everyone who did read my blog, who encouraged me, who shared their own difficulties with weight loss, and who bugged me when I wasn't posting entries. It's nice to know I have such a supportive group of friends and family.
