Sunday, July 5

Independence Days from the Diet

So it sounded like a good idea at the time, taking one weekend off from my veggies and fruit, and living it up on my plate. After 2 days of not calorie counting and eating whatever I wanted, I was shocked to see 189 on my scale this morning. Yep, that means I am back to losing only 49 pounds. OUCH!

I figure that most of us spent the weekend celebrating the 4th with barbeques, cookouts, and potlucks. (At least those of you readers who are in the States.) And for those of us who are fighting the battle of the bulge, it leads to a sorrowful morning after when we assess the damage on the scale. Here’s the rundown of my weekend.

I started getting lazy on Friday, which was my darling husband’s day off. We splurged a little, and I thought one night wouldn’t hurt so bad. With gusto and resolve, I was determined to be a dieting superstar on the 4th, and show off my new healthy eating skills. I did great on Saturday at lunch, chowing down on fruit salad and a turkey dog. But then I was presented with pizza as an impromptu meal on Saturday evening. Pizza, like French fries and Oreos, is a weakness for me, and instead of asking my sister-in-law if I could raid her fridge for something healthy, I snarfed it down. Since I’d already blown it, I added some potato chips. From that point on, the rest of my food choices resembled something like a dieter’s rap sheet, or the temptation locker on the Biggest Loser. Yep, I kept right on eating.

And this morning, all I could do when I saw 189 was say, “I guess I earned that” and do my best to ignore the leftover peach pie and patriotic cupcakes in the fridge.

Now, we have got to figure out how to survive holidays, because they come around often. When you figure up all the holidays we celebrate in America, there are 10 biggies, not to mention birthdays, anniversaries, vacations, etc…and we celebrate all of them with food!!! And at least 3 of them with candy! So we have got to get a game plan together before we all have a diet busting holiday again! Here are my thoughts. Mind you, I followed NONE of them this weekend, and was a horrible example. But this is how we learn, right?

1. I hate this one. Eat your healthy stuff before an event. Fill yourself up with good food so you aren’t tempted to graze during a party. This one works well if you are going to a shindig that is short and sweet. If it’s going to last longer than 3 hours, don’t count on your low-fat cheese and yogurt to hold you. But it’s a great plan for birthday parties and open-houses.

2. Bring a healthy alternative to share with the group. Forget the veggie plate, make something exquisite that will cause a pile up at the food table! You can look on websites for fantastic appetizers, look like a real Martha Stewart, AND stick to your diet. You can’t lose on this one!

3. PACK YOUR FOOD. I mentioned this in the last posting about my red lunch bag. Unglamourous? Yes, very much so. Unreasonable? Not at all! My husband’s family did a great job of providing a very sensible meal for lunch time. Which was fantastic. But it would have been rude of me to expect the same for supper. Looking back, it should have been second nature to pack some extra nutrition for the day. I was just being blonde I suppose, but I honestly didn’t worry about it. And today, the scale made me pay the price. Packing things high in fiber like nuts, apples, and even my fav, Fiber One granola bars, will keep you feeling fuller longer, and can last you till you get home.

4. In a situation like I was in with pizza, ask if you can order a healthy alternative and pay for it yourself. I could have ordered a small whole grain Hawaiian pizza with less cheese, and it would have been better than a double meat double cheese double my serving pizza. But I didn’t do that either.


I hope that these ideas help. Do you have some of your own that have helped you in sticky wickets like parties and BBQs? Feel free to post them on the comments below, so other people can read how YOU are staying true to your diet. Heaven knows I sure blew it, and will be working extra hard this week to get back on track.

Which is a greater probability for something totally ridiculous will happen to me and ya’ll will get the funny blogs you love so much. Until then, I’ll be working off my 4th of July fluff on the highest incline my treadmill will go, and marching to my own particular brand of freedom!

2 comments:

shannon said...

LOVE the ideas....here is my issue: I LOVE food and food makes me happy. Even if I'm full, I obsess about the food that's around me that I CANNOT eat. It's like I spend the party, BBQ, etc focusing on the food instead of having fun with friends and family:) It's mental, I know and I need to be stronger...I guess it's just another curse a fat chick has to deal with.

Jenny - IUSON said...

Great tips Charlie...thanks for sharing and being so humble about your weekend. We all fall short of our expectations for ourselves and then beat ourselves up over it for days. I hope you are not drowning in your guilt over splurging this past weekend. We just have to pick ourselves back up and keep moving in the right direction.

My biggest downfall when trying to eat healthy is when I make poor choices. Instead of doing what I said above, I get trapped in the mindset of "well I have blown it now” then I just keep eating the things that make me feel good because of my emotions". By the time I get up enough strength to start eating healthy I've put on 5 lbs. It's like a never ending cycle for me.

So, finding out how to not indulge in the things that trigger me into a Bing is a great idea. I wish I had some tips of my own for all the events in our lives that revolve around food. I either have the will power to just walk away or I don't. This would mean to starve myself until I can find a healthy alternative. I will be trying out some of your tactics next time 

It's a new day; a fresh start each and every morning. It's up to us and the strength from God to make the right choices. I prayed on Sunday that God would help me do this. Since that prayer I haven't had one desire to eat fatty foods. Obviously my heart was in the right place because I’ve prayed that prayer before and had no success. I know it's only been 3 days, but it's getting out of that rut, that we all so easily find ourselves in, that is the hardest part for me. Once I start having more energy, feeling better about myself, and just thinking positive things it makes the hard work worth it.

Thanks again & again Charlie for allowing God's light to shine through you. It was just what I needed :-)

God Bless,
Jenny

 
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