I'm On A Diet...........Again.............

It seems that I have been on a diet my entire adult life. Looking back I see that it was a waste of time because I was not consistent. I remember When I was in my 30s thinking I was fat. I am 5'3 and at that time I was nearing 120 pounds so shed about 5 pounds and tried to reach 110.I know I got to 112...........well. I was size 4/5 at that time. Back then counting calories was the way to do it. It worked and was efficient and I didn't starve. You can eat a lot for 1200 calories.
Move on to when I turned 40 and it seems everything just fell apart. I think by then I was 135 pounds and heading for 140....back to the diet. I never got down to where I had been but was happy if I could stay at 125. It seemed each year after that I put on 10 pounds. I gave up I figured I could not go up much higher. Then I would get on the scale and panic and go on a crash diet and try so hard to get down again. Winter was the worst. I never liked salads, and I could not manage them in winter when I wanted stews. I wanted bread and butter, potatoes and those lovely filling winter foods. By the time I turned 50 I decided I would try to be the best I could be..........and was determined to loose weight. I tried the Atkins diet at some point and it worked really well. I was very encouraged.I got down to 145 and for my age I looked good enough at size 8. I did not really want to be much slimmer than that. The Atkins diet is not something one can live on forever. Two weeks of strict adherence to it brought immediate results, loosing a pound a day for a time. Getting back to regular eating though just did not work and one can not live forever on meat,eggs, cheese and fatty foods....no carbs. So bit by bit it came right back.
By the year 2000 I was at my highest ever at 180 pounds. I would loose a few and got down to 165 pounds but as soon as winter came .....back came the pounds. Every time I said I would not let it come back but it did. So now I find myself this week, I started on Monday on yet another diet. I began at 182.7 and have lost 4.2 pounds. That gives me hope. If I can keep a steady loss I can stick to the diet.
What have I learned?
1. Its not a diet, it's a way of life.
2. Diet is simply what you eat.
3. If is a lifestyle then it has to be sustainable.
4. I need results right away to encourage me.
5. When you mess up get right back to it and do not be discouraged.
6. It is a matter of will power.



What does this mean for me? I must choose an eating style that allows me to cheat now and then.If I want to go out to eat, or a birthday or something else that is a part of normal life, then I can not be obsessed with food. I will set goals.Go slowly. When reaching a certain goal I can reward myself with something I like to eat that is not in my "diet" like a baked potato with butter. Or something else I enjoy. Or maybe go out to eat. I know that we should not reward ourselves with food but that's what I choose to call it. In order to keep "on a diet" one has to be allowed to splurge once in awhile. The trap is when we do not get back on track right away and throw it all away when we gain the inevitable pound or two. It is critical to get right back to the diet the very next day or if possible to make it up the same day as best we can.
What is my diet? Well I am eating fruit, vegetables (fresh when possible) and lean meat or fish.
I have a scrambled egg cooked in butter one day, then the next I eat fruit. I alternate like that through the week.
Lunch consists of salad and if I had fruit for breakfast then I have some meat with it. If I ate egg then I just have salad. I am not a big breakfast person so if I can wait and eat breakfast late I can have the egg with the salad.
For supper it will be (for example) meat and vegetables. Maybe a small steak and asparagus, or other fresh produce. Maybe fish with some frozen stir fry. Chicken with stewed tomatoes and green beans. Anything but carbs...........oh no!!!!!. No potatoes, no rice, no pasta, no French frys (ack!!!) No bread. I can have canned soup though, there are some great vegetable soups or vegetables and beef so those I have had for lunch or supper with a salad. Its not the same without the bread and butter but that's what got me in to this mess. I could live on bread and butter. My preference for breakfast is toast and butter, or should I say butter with some toast to hold it. I love baked potatoes, face it I like potatoes any way they come. Mashed with loads of butter. All off this diet I am afraid.
I will see how I do on this regime and report back in a week or so. I need to loose the weight for my health now, not vanity so much, although that too. I love clothes and they just do not look good on me any more. I have issues with my knees and cholesterol, blood pressure ETC. Even though that is under control it would be nice to get off the meds.
My goal is to get back to 145 pounds and see how I look then. I should try for 135 after that but more slowly. I have to be careful not to end up wrinkled and fragile. At my age I can not afford to weaken my bones they are good so far. I can at last get out and walk again after the winter of being sedentary. So here goes. Mild exercise until I loose a bit more, then maybe the walking will kick in some more weight loss.
I have written this down and so I am accountable. My last ditch effort to get back into some sort of shape.