This week is
the eighth week that I've done something I haven't done before in my
twenty-nine years.
That is diet.
I've been
overweight a good portion of my life—since about third grade—but I never cared
to diet or try to lose weight. Oh, I made those New Year's resolutions and
every year I ignored them. Why stop eating what I love to eat? I'm just going
to die eventually anyway.
Yeah, that
was my attitude about it. I would try to eat better. For a day or two, maybe a
week. Then when I didn't see results, I would give up. I tried exercise too
much to the same effect.
As I near
closer to thirty, I want to change. I'm tired being like this. Plus, it's
setting a bad example to my sixteen-year-old sister. It was time for a change.
The past
eight weeks I've watched what I eat. I'm a vegetarian, so I focused on soups,
salads, and those frozen Healthy Choice/Lean Choice/etc. meals. I changed my
yogurt to low carb. I eat a better cereal. I bought healthier snacks. I had to
change my carbivore ways to more herbivore-like. I told myself I would make
better choices and see what would happen.
The results:
I've lost 14 pounds.
That's more
than I've ever lost—except when I was on anti-anxiety pills and dropped twenty
pounds without trying—and all just by changing my diet. I haven't even added
exercise yet, but I plan to soon. I still have a long way to go to a healthier
weight, and no, I won't tell you what I weigh now so don't ask, but it feels
good to be fourteen pounds lighter.
I would like
to lose another three pounds before the James River Writers Conference in
October. I think I'll be able to do it. Of course, the true test comes in
October, November, and December. Those holiday months are terrible for people
trying to eat better.
Oh, and since
I talk about writing a lot on here, let's see. Dieting is like writing. It's
something you have to work at day by day, but it's awesome when you see
results: acceptances, publication, etc. The key is not to give up, even on
those weeks where you stay the same weight or even gain a pound...or receive a
rejection letter. Have goals. Trim the fat/words.
And don't forget to make it fun too.
