Confessions of a struggling dieter...

Yes, it's been quite some time since I've posted anything. After "maintaining" for three months, I then had six months of some of the weight slowing creeping back on. I've had a good week followed by a couple bad weeks, then another good week followed by more bad weeks. It seemed to be much easier when I said "No, you can't eat that!" than when I tried to allow myself some exceptions. My exceptions easily led to a spiral downward on the sugar train. It seems when I have a little sugar, my body then craves more sugar and overtakes my brain and before I knew it, I'd be downing my third or fourth exception in one day. I don't know it you've ever experienced such a frustrating roller coaster. Since I see diet tips and tricks on the front of 90% of the magazines on the shelves each week, my guess is many people struggle with the same problems.

So, I'm now up 20 pounds and have determined that I need to be serious again to take off these pounds plus my additional 20+ more that I initially wanted to lose last year.

I feel like I'm Kirstie Alley reporting, or Oprah or Wynonna. Well, I guess I really am like them. It seems, we who have had to fight weight gain all our lives, will continue to have to face the battle daily for the remaining days/years that we have left. I just need to remind myself daily that it is a battle and I need to stay focused to win.

I've read it's not about the destination, but rather it's all about the journey to the destination. I believe this is true in living a healthy lifestyle, as well. The daily journey needs to be lived in such a way that I remember my eating choices are about being healthy and minimizing my chances of chronic health problems. It is a daily choice to choose the right food, the right snacks, and simply the right time to say "no" to eating anything at all.

I'm also learning that stress is a huge stimulator to eating poorly for me. There have been stressful times over the past six months that have taken a lot of my energy. I think it just became easier to just "treat" myself to a little satisfaction with chocolate when other things around me seemed to be out of my control. The problem with this thinking it that I was also losing control of my body... it really wasn't a "treat" but another time that I lost out to my inner struggles.

So, back to my renewed vigor to get back on the bandwagon. The Biggest Loser finale proved again that weight loss is possible... with a lot of hard work. A friend of mine recently started dieting using a similar tactic that I used last year - no carbs and no sugars. In 15 weeks, she reported that she had lost 28+ pounds. I know in my mind it can be done. I witnessed it first-hand in my own life last year. And, before spiraling any further down this slippery slope to fathood, I must take charge of my life, my mind and my mouth. I am cutting out the carbs and sugars as of today. I will report back on a weekly basis to let you know where I am. I need this accountability. And, through this process, hopefully I can motivate you to eat healthier and choose to live life to its fullest, too.

Good luck to me... and good luck to you!