Diet?

Back from vacation...it was wonderful, if not relaxing. How can a vacation truly be relaxing when you have kids to take care of and you don't have the comforts or necessities of home? When you have a child with life threatening food allergies, there is no eating out. At least not for this family. I know there are those that do it, but my husband and I have not yet learned how. So we still have to make/cook every meal and snack and drink. And somehow do it in someone else's kitchen. And there is still nap and bedtime, but the kids are in strange rooms. And there is the get up and go every day because we were off to see something or do something and we had to get it in before the baby had a meltdown. Then there were the meltdowns because the baby had had his limit. It was an exhausting seven days. But the kids had a great time, therefore, Mom & Dad had a great time. All of the work getting there, being there and getting back was well worth it, and we are thinking about next year already!! I know, I am insane!

BUT now that vacation is over, and I am at my all time highest weight (other than while pregnant)...it is time to diet. God, how I hate that word. I have never dieted in my life. I am not the type to weigh myself every day or even once a week. I might weigh myself once every two to three months. I have changed my eating habits to try to be healthier; I have increased my activity level to try to maintain a current weight; but I have never dieted. I am no good at limiting myself when it comes to food. If I want it, I make a choice to eat it or not. The times I have said to myself, "Okay, now you need to watch what you eat." Or, "you need to start making healthier choices." I can't stick to it because I am no good at denying myself when it comes to food. I have always adhered to a philosophy that if I deny myself something that I really want, then I will eventually go crazy and gorge on that item, and twenty others because I have been denied!!

But I have to do it now. I am getting uncomfortable in this body and my fat clothes (come on, everyone has them) barely fit. It is time to make a change. I already switched to Diet drinks and using Splenda in my coffee. It didn't stop the weight gain. Now I need to make some serious changes to my eating habits. I need to, gulp, ulk, UGH, DIET!!

No more popcorn at night while I read. No more chips with lunch or sweets after lunch. No more snacking on Cheez-Its or animal crackers an hour before dinner. And it is time to add in some physical activity. Because no diet (ugh) works without exercise.

Today was the first day. I was successful in the morning and for lunch. (I ate grapes instead of a salty snack with my lunch - yeah me!!) But I slipped up this afternoon...I ate some leftover tortilla chips from a take out dinner last night. The greasy ones from Chili's. And dinner wasn't great either, but I didn't have much choice in that matter. It was Favorite Dinner Night, which is a FAMILY thing. Stress on FAMILY. We all eat the same thing, together as a FAMILY. That is the point. It was my six year old's pick and he always picks breakfast for dinner. So I had bacon and pancakes. Not the best diet food. But, I watched my portions, did not eat any dessert, and no snacking tonight. So that part of my day was successful. Baby steps!!

What I should do is pretend that I am nursing a baby with allergies...limiting my diet that way always forced me to shed the pounds and it was easy to do because I was doing it for the baby. Unfortunately, not eating any dairy, nuts or soy is not the healthiest thing to do for a woman my age. But boy does it work to drop the pounds!! Because you are left with very little that you can eat!

Oh well, I will take my baby steps to dieting, and hopefully I will be left with a better diet overall. A healthier diet for the long term, and I won't have to deny myself those little treats, I will just have to come up with a new definition for moderation!