Slow and Steady Wins The Race

I really, really, really wanted to do a post this week about how I was celebrating reaching the 10 lb. weight loss mark.  I had my entry written in my head and was looking forward to be able to say that I was finally in the double digits.  I have been eating healthier for 8 weeks now - you would think that I would have reached 10 lbs. awhile ago.  Except for the occasional treat, I've been disgustingly good.  My reward was going to come in that number on the scale.

But NOOOOO.  I didn't make it.  Yes, I lost weight this week.  But not enough to hit 10 lbs.  Not enough by 2/10 of a pound.  My immediate reaction?  You've got to be kidding.  Okay, so the language may have been a tad stronger than that, but I am trying to keep this blog family friendly.  All this work, all this denial of the foods that I love, and I STILL can't say I've lost 10 lbs.  Never mind the fact that folks are beginning to notice the weight loss and have complimented me on how great I look.  Never mind the fact that I feel better than I have in months.  Never mind the fact that I have now lost over 5% of my original weight.  This is an important milestone - research suggests that losing 5% will stop fatty liver disease from getting worse (it takes 9% to 10% according to studies to possibly reverse the damage done.)  On top of that, how many articles have we all read that state losing 1 or 2 lbs. a week is the healthiest, most efficient way to lose weight...and the one that will very likely lead to permanent weight loss?  Fad diets don't work in the long run.  I've seen too many cases of folks who have lost a good deal of weight in a fairly short period of time, and then gain anywhere from half to all of it back...in some cases, even more than the total amount lost!

Yet as a society, we want it, and we want it now.  We are a bunch of hares running here and there expecting instant results.  We obsessively count calories to a point that's frightening (oh no, this is 50 calories, I really need to have this one instead because it's only 45!)  I've never been the rabbit type in any aspect of my life, why here?  I like turtles.  They are peaceful, serene and wise.  One step at a time.  Week, by week.  Revel in the small victory.  I lost weight this week.  I'm still on track, still in the race.  Somewhere down the road I'll slowly walk by, the hares sleeping off a sugar/fat binge on the side, the finish line clearly within reach.

Weight Lost This Week:   0.6 lbs.
Total Weight Lost:            9.8 lbs.

The Taste of Food

My husband and I recently celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary and decided that each month on the anniversary date we were going to do something "different."  It could even be something that we would normally have done, as long as it was not the "same old, same old."  In April we went to a restaurant that we only visit once a year.  In May we played cards with friends.  In June I simply showed up to watch my husband shoot pool (he plays every week, but I never go to watch.)  On Friday, our anniversary date, we were invited to go out to dinner with our lake neighbors (we have an RV at a campground).  The invitation was totally unexpected - our original plans for the weekend fell through, and we had stopped for breakfast on the way up to the camper just to say we had done something "different."  I was now faced with a second temptation to succumb and eat all sorts of unhealthy food items.  I glanced through the menu, immediately deleting any item that began with the word "fried."  As we ordered, I heard this surreal voice speaking "I'll have the shrimp platter, grilled please, and for my two sides: baked potato with butter and sour cream on the side and the vegetable medley."

WHAT?  That voice...that sounded so much like my own, actually said "vegetable medley!"  Who is this woman?  What alien life form has taken over my brain?  Grilled?  Butter on the side?  VEGETABLE MEDLEY?  Less than 2 months ago I would have ordered the fish and chips without giving it a second thought! 

But an amazing thing happened that night as I began to eat.  EVERYTHING tasted wonderful.  I noticed for the first time the intricate taste of each item.  The shrimp, a naked potato - even I commented that the veggies were the best I had eaten in a long time.  The meal was really good and I raved about the restaurant on the way back to the camper.

Interesting thing though...everything I have eaten since then suddenly tastes better.  Eggs, peas, even cereal and milk suddenly has more flavor than it had in the past.  Each flavor is more pronounced, more refined.  Suddenly I'm enjoying eating again because the healthy stuff tastes great.  I've read before that when you drastically cut down on sodium it takes awhile for your taste buds to recover - but they do and you begin to really taste food the way it was meant to be eaten.  I'd go as far as to say not only the salt, but the sugar, sugar substitutes and the fat all mask the true flavor and deaden your own sense of taste.  On Friday it was as if someone had thrown a switch - and a whole new world has opened up!

Weight Lost This Week - 1.0 lbs.
Total Weight Lost -          9.2 lbs.