It is time for reckoning.
The struggle with mid-life weight gain is real and I am exhausted from the constant battle with the extra pounds that keep sneaking back on when I am not looking! Well actually, they do sneak on when I am looking but not at the scale. Instead they sneak on my hips when I am looking at the basket of bread the waiter leaves on the table without asking if I want it.
The extra pounds attack my waistline when I look at the fries that jumped on the plate next to my veggie burger and also when I look at the Café Mocha or the coffee with cream and sugar in the morning on my Starbucks run. This is my weak attempt at taking accountability for some of the weight gain. But honestly, in the past I have been able to eat an occasional fry or have a cup of coffee and not gain weight.
Yes, times have changed!
I am in the gym at least four days a week for 45-60 minutes. I walk several miles a week, stand at my desk for 3-4 hours each day, take a Zumba class, and I practice yoga. I acknowledge that I feel good going to the gym and exercising, but not seeing the results on the scale is just devastating.
My desperation showed up a few weeks ago when I asked my doctor if a starvation diet was a good choice. Come on now, I know it is not a reasonable thing to do, but desperate times call for desperate measures, right?
So what else should or can I do? Months ago, I started cutting all my meals into half portions. Even those I prepare at home using Blue Apron and Hello Fresh. I eat oatmeal for breakfast, prepare green smoothies at home for my morning snack, and eat a small lunch of leftovers, etc. I even stopped having wine for a few months, yep it’s true!
I hear my girlfriend Ari saying, “gurl you have to stop eating wheat, dairy, and sugar entirely!”
Yes, I hear and heard you Doc but come on, really? I know that this is childish and counterproductive behavior (the ranting), but I just need a point of personal privilege to pout, stomp, kick, and scream before I face reality and do what Doc says. Times have changed. I am not a spring chicken and therefore must undertake dramatic shifts in behavior and habits to make progress with weight loss.
So, to those of you who know me well, I need your help. When you see me reaching for the bread basket, slap my hand (gently) like Ari once did and remind me that if I want to feel healthy again and live a long life, change is necessary and inevitable. I may get cranky with you (after all I will be off of sugar and caffeine).
I want to live a healthy lifestyle for the people I love, albeit, one devoid of cake, bread, ice cream, and coffee with cream and sugar. Oh, and blueberry pancakes! Say it isn’t so.
Yes, the benefits will outweigh (pun intended) the sacrifices and I certainly will feel and look better in the long run. Cheers to me and wish me luck.
I share your struggle, but as long as you’re healthy and feel healthy, I think it’s perfectly fine to reach for that warm, buttery slice of bread every one in awhile. The more you deprive, the more you crave. Well, that’s my motto anyways!
I agree. Finding the balance is my struggle. I was raised in a family that enjoys food, bread in particular (my grandfather was a baker) so deprivation is off the table. Moderation is my new mantra! First control and then moderation.