Halfway to Goal

Well, I've finally achieved a weight loss of thirty pounds, which puts me halfway to my goal of 60 pounds.  It took a little longer than I thought, but I think I will have a better chance of not gaining it back because of the length of time it took.

Quick weight loss seems to be everyone's goal, but that's only because, I think, they run out of patience with their eating plan. They just want to get it over with. Believe me, I understand that impulse completely. I'd like to lose 60 pounds overnight too, but I know that if I did, I'd only gain it back because I hadn't learned to keep it off.

Learning is the key. Unfortunately, learning takes time, sometimes a lot of time. The learning curve on this project is not too steep, but it's long. This past week I tried to work step 8, to write down my food before I ate it; I succeeded about half the time, I'd guess.  I'm not sure if it helps or not, since I almost always contemplate the consequences of eating a meal before preparing it.  Once in a while I eat something impulsively, but not often. I'll have to keep trying this technique before I can decide whether or not it's useful for me.

Being prepared is important though, and important to emphasize yet again.  When I went on a little day trip yesterday I made sure I brought a lunch so I wouldn't be caught without food at a time when I was hungry.  (It's a good thing, too, since the place we went didn't have food.)  I still got hungry though, and was wishing I had brought more food to munch. But it was nice to have food right on hand instead of having to go somewhere to get it. I don't know what would've happened otherwise.

I also got hungry before bed yesterday, which doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it's usually on weekends. I don't really know why I was hungry.  I didn't eat the right kind or amount of food, I guess. Or maybe it was the exercise I had, though I doubt it.  I took care of the hunger, though, by eating more than was allowed on my menu plan. I don't want that to happen again, so I'm going to have to figure out a better strategy for days off.

But thinking about what to do, making a plan and sticking to it is what this project is all about. And writing about it helps immensely; not only am I making a kind of after-action review and report, but I'm also getting the whole business out of my head and on paper where it can be read and thought about by others, and perhaps especially, by me.

See you next week.