So, I’ve Come To The Conclusion That I Need To Treat Candy Like
An alcoholic treats drink.
I don’t mean to make light of the disease of alcoholism. I don’t believe that a person can be addicted in the same fashion to candy.
For one thing, eating too much candy also doesn’t impact people around you in the same way. I am not, for example going to eat a pound of M&Ms and get in my car and kill someone riding home from work on their skateboard.
I am however, nuts.
I’m not a “volume eater.” I am easily satisfied with a single slice of pizza, maybe two. I don’t like fried foods or creamy sauces. My alcohol consumption is light to moderate.
But candy. I could eat pillow cases full. My considerable body weight in candy.
Small candy though. M&Ms, Kisses, Hugs, jelly beans, Raisinettes, spice drops. That was actually hard to type. I want to hop in my car and run to Wegmans now. Sick.
So I definitely have that whole powerless, impulsive out of control thing going on. I also have that “what are you, a spoiled child?” shame thing going on.
So it seems like some of the same addiction principles would apply.
Now my knowledge of Alcoholics Anonymous is mainly based on Lawrence Block’s Matt Scudder, but one thing I do know is the concept of one day at a time.
So every day, I’m not having any candy today. So far I’m about ten days in.
One day at a time.
There Are Things in the Back of My Fridge Older Than This Fitness Blogger
But I like her anyway.
Her name is Cassey Ho and her adorably named website is Blogilates.
She is impossibly cute and upbeat, but not annoyingly perky.
She publishes a new fitness calendar every month so that you don’t get bored. Every month has a different area of concentration and each day features different exercises.
The Blogilates site is loaded with easy to follow instructional videos. I was able to follow them with modifications even though I am 167 years old and have the muscle tone of custard.
She has meal plans and recipes which I haven’t dug into in detail, but what I looked at seems sensible and focused on Clean eating.
Thanks to my daughter for showing me this site. Definitely worth at least checking out.
As Cassey says, “Train Like a Beast, Look Like a Beauty.”
New Year, New Lease
Like so many, I am greeting this shiny new year with great enthusiasm. As I mentioned, I am once again on Weight Watchers. I lost about 45 pounds a few years ago, but a good chunk of it trickled back.
The new 360 Program is more comprehensive than previous iterations and I am heartened by the cheery tone of their latest commercials.
You can do the program via meetings or online. The meetings are silly and inconvenient and they tell you stuff you already know.
But meetings work for me. I’m not usually much of a joiner, but their you have it.
I have also joined a challenge on my favorite Weight Watchers message board with a bunch of other posters who hope to use 52 pounds in 52 weeks.
I should have all the tools and all the support I need.
Here’s to a lot less of me this time next year.
Do You Feel Looked Down Upon at the Gym?
This Jezebel Article written by an overweight, but fit woman talks about how she feels at the gym or otherwise being fat in public?
Do you feel uncomfortable or unwelcome at the gym?
I feel a bit uncomfortable, but more because I’m clumsy than because I’m weight conscious.
Group classes are out of the question, I’m left when I should be right, up when I should be down and I zig when I’m supposed to zag.
I’m also afraid that I will make a fool of myself get on and off the equipment by leaving a stray limb behind.
But other than that I’m pretty okay at the gym.
How about you?
Points, Plus a Whole Lot More
Well, after about an 8 year hiatus I dragged my sorry (large) ass back to Weight Watchers. It’s a pain to track everything, the meetings can be hokey, and it’s kind of old fashioned in a lot of ways, but for me in seems to work.
For anyone not familiar, the Weight Watchers program works my assigning values to food and activity. In its current iteration, these values are called Points Plus. Weight Watchers tweak it’s program every year or two, not so that you have to buy all new stuff, although I’m sure they don’t mind that, but because they keep adapting both to new data, but also to try to close loopholes.
The Points program that I used about a decade ago was a little more rudimentary and really you could nearly “follow the program” on booze and chocolate. No, that doesn’t make it better.
Now, booze is pointerifically expensive and fruit is free. Those are just a couple of the factors that makes this an improved program. I’ll share more details here as time goes on.
What Really Makes Us Fat
Here is a really interesting article on the effects of low-fat high carb diets:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/opinion/sunday/what-really-makes-us-fat.html?_r=1
Losing Weight With Bigger Meals
Sounds counterintuitive, right? It’s working for me. I had the eating habits of an eight year old. I basically ate what I had to at dinner to save plenty of room for snacks later.
I’ve never had a big appetite. I love pizza, but one slice is usually plenty, maybe two at most, BUT, (and mine is a big butt) I could easily eat my body weight in M&Ms. In fact I am currently hauling around about 50 pounds in M&Ms, Raisinettes and Hershey’s Hugs.
That all came to a grinding halt about a month ago when my doctor told me, no white flour or sugar. Big adjustment. Huge.
People talk about wanting steak or lobster or Fettuchini Alfredo as a last meal and I could never understand why anyone would want more than steak and chocolate.
Well all that had to change. No more white toast with lemon curd for breakfast. No candy from the vending machine to defeat mid afternoon slump. No scones with my cappuchino.
Getting accustomed to doing without was surprisingly simple to adjust to, after a few days at least. The tricky part was getting really genuinely hungry when I didn’t bring enough legal food along. I soon learned to remember to bring Greek yogurt, cheese sticks, canned or pouched tuna along (don’t try the lemon one, it tastes like furniture polish). As well as fruit or vegetables.
The other tricky thing was to actually eat to fullness rather than save room for snacks later. Especially dinner. I eat way more for dinner than I used to, but I’m full. I don’t graze all night. If I need a snack, I have a small bowl of whole wheat goldfish ( my daughter found those) or a sugar free Wegmans frozen fudgicle.
It’s working for now. I have lost 4 or 5 pounds which is really quick for me. I’m sure at some point, I’ll plateau and need to begin tracking my intake. Also, I will add the occasional treat in from time to time.
But my snack centric diet needs to be gone for good
