2013: The year I stick to my resolution to lose weight and succeed! Or, so I hope so.
Ever notice the more involved in the process to do something, the more contradictory information is available? I know that losing weight takes effort and a plan, but trying to figure what is going to meet the criteria to make this plan livable and successful at the same time is harder than ever. Really, nobody gains weight overnight, nor can they lose it just as fast, but really..... what is the magic act to make the loss consistent?
I know that I promised....way back when I started this blog).... that I would not share the frustration that seems standard when it comes to weight issues. Really, who wants to hear me whine and complain that this one goal, as simple as it can be on the surface, being painfully difficult to achieve? I know that people have setbacks, plateaus, and whatnot to deal with. I am no different than the average person. I have watched those infomercials that play in the wee hours of the morning while I was nursing my frequent back spasms, I have felt compelled to call that 1-800 number and order, and I also scratched my head at how these random people that suffered the same ailment as I do get to achieve what I have been feeling is the impossible with that one simple trick, gadget or exercise video while I just can't seem to do it on my own. I have joined groups like Weight Watchers to follow their plan, discuss ideas in meetings, and had the comfort that I was not alone in this quest for the ideal weight to be. I have done prepackaged meals, supplement bars, shakes, and whatnot to not see the results that others claim they work. I have suffered through cleanses, meal planning, measuring and weighing everything that is allowed to reach my lips, as well as its worthiness to be consumed.
There are compelling arguments to the notion about what to consume, when to consume it, and how much to consume. Some people say juicing is the way, others believe that if you can eat the actual fruit or vegetable... it offers more benefits than it being liquefied. Counting calories, fat grams, fiber, carbohydrates, and the number of recognizable ingredients (yep, I said it... recognizable ingredients) is supposed to educate us what we eat needs to be more natural and less processed. The battle between natural sugars, processed sugars (like corn syrup), and artificial sweeteners (like Splenda, Nutrasweet, and Truvia) can make a person's head spin if you read the contradictory information. The arguments between butter and margarine are even a concern. Iodized table salt or Sea salt.... which is more beneficial when it comes to blood pressure is a strong topic these days. Then there is the arguments over fats that can make your head spin.... limit your fats at all times, but it is okay to consume healthy fats found in olives, avocado and nuts, but you cannot count peanut butter as a healthy fat since it is processed. Even eggs are getting a bad rap! Yolks are bad one week and now they are okay to consume. Eat oatmeal, but not the instant stuff. Trust me.... I will take the lesser of two evils and eat the instant stuff (tastes less like paste). Special K cereal can get you to lose a jeans size in 2 weeks!!! Yeah, right. As long as you can survive on processed cereal, chemically-laced diet shakes, and roughly 2 bites of a "granola/cereal" bar as your food choices for those two weeks.
Sure, I can lose weight.... if I had my jaw wired shut and part of my intestines removed or stapled smaller. If I had the money, I could get the fat sucked out, but even that offers no guarantees. Eat less, move more is battling with eat more, move less when you choose the right foods for your body type. Sprinkle some stuff on everything you eat (Sensa) and lose weight, pop a pill to help burn more fat, or pop a pill to suppress your appetite. Trust me, I remember the Dexatrim days and being jittery with no appetite was no walk in the park for me. Alli (or whatever it is called) is made to be an aid in blocking some of the fat we consume, but it is the shock collar of diet pills when you do happen to eat something with even a smidgen of fat in it.... you would be required to eat in the bathroom because that fat shoots out of you faster than you can move. But in all honesty.... we need some fats in our diet. It can come from oils or the holy trinity of food choices (nuts, olives, and avocado). Those fats are to keep us functioning properly and to keep waste removal smooth, but all the rage now is Probiotics found in yogurt or pills. With all this in mind... we still have to count calories even when we are to balance a healthy diet according to the national health guidlines. You know what that is.... that food pyramid that he all learned in health class when we went to school. Even that sets us up for failure since everything we eat has a calorie number attached to it.
When it comes down to the math... we are shy of just taking pills to survive. The necessary levels of nutrients we are to get from food alone is staggering when the calorie counting dieter keeps a keen eye on the number. Speaking of numbers.... the dieter is focused on more numbers than a statistician or an accountant. There is the number on the scale, the number when it comes to measurements, and the number to where your clothing size is.... just add in the calorie intake, calories burned, fat grams, fiber grams, serving size, and carbohydrate count with the time you can consume or do such things and numbers are a huge thing to consider.
Why am I an this rant today, you ask? Simple.... I stepped on my friend/enemy the bathroom scale. I do this 3 times a week so I can map my progress before hitting the gym or going to my martial arts fitness class. I am still a member of weight watchers and track the foods I eat to meet their requirements of servings of specific foods and their accredited points values (yep, a double hit when it comes to numbers), as well as track my weight loss progress. Now, I understand that weight can fluctuate from day to day (and I am well aware of it), but when I work my tail off, pay painful attention to my water consumption, my food choices, the serving size, and my eternal battle with emotional eating tendencies (yep, I am so deep in being a food Nazi, hating dieter with exercise anxiety... deep psychological self-torturing brain-washer is what I have become), and gain a pound???? I am suffering a head scratching mental setback that can turn really ugly if I let it get to me, so I figured I would vent before I even attempt to make my breakfast, pack my gym bag and hit the gym today. Whew! With that rant set free, I can close the door on my pity party, pick myself up and do what needs to be done.
Well, no better time than the present to get my 2 glasses of water down before I eat my breakfast (a suggestion from a friend and fitness nut that is in perfect health and went to school to know all about it), pack that gym bag and haul my +1 pound sorry excuse of an achiever when it comes to losing weight (when I have a lot to lose anyway and regardless if this weight gain is muscle or water... I am a girl that focuses far too much on numbers because society places that notion in high regard and I will not be happy until I lose every stinking pound I need to lose to be at the weight the government ranking BMI number is placed before me, and meet such number). Fingers crossed I remember to eat my protein before going.... I do not want a repeat dizzy spell session like last time. Thanks for letting me vent.
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