Losing weight, per se, is not one of my New Year’s Resolutions for 2014.
It’s just a given, as always: I’m going to track what I eat, I’m going to try to move more, and I’m going to continue my seemingly never-ending journey toward a healthier weight and body composition in general.
The fact that I’ve gained and lost the same six pounds during 2013 is discouraging, but not surprising — I’m so into this “it’s not a diet” idea that I kind of forget that, by most standard definitions, I am on a diet. I’m actively trying to lose weight — ergo, I am on a diet. Once I lose that last 20 pounds (or more), I’m not going to go back to the way I ate, say, ten years ago, so it’s also a lifestyle change… but I need to remember that I’m trying to lose weight right now, not maintain. The only way to do that is to follow a plan, and not do things half-assed. If I’m doing Weight Watchers, I need to do it, and follow the plan. If I’m doing Lose It! with my Mom, I need to do it and track every day, not just when it’s convenient and will look good on my charts.
During a recent Weight Watchers meeting, the question came up of how to use “want-power” to bolster your willpower. I put out there that the goal is to remove the decision entirely. In your mind, the decision is already made; there IS no decision. No willpower necessary. That piece of pecan pie isn’t even an option.
I can talk the talk, but I don’t walk the walk. I’m still gaining and losing the same six pounds I’ve been seeing come and go all year, thanks to me playing Do As I Say And Not As I Do.
I’m reminded of the discussions we had in church when i was a teen: make your decisions now, so you won’t be tempted later to do something you’ll regret. Back then, it was physical boundaries: kissing, “petting,” all those naughty things. Now it’s whether I’ll eat a doughnut if someone happens to bring them to work, and will I check after lunch to see if there are any left?
Doughnuts aren’t even really that good. I mean, yeah, they’re good, but are they THAT good? Not really. Not good enough to sacrifice most of an actual meal.
Non-Scale Victories (NSVs) for the holiday season:
- Discovered I had 75 cents in change — enough to buy a snack from the bottom row of the vending machine — but stuck with my plan to buy a 60ยข can of Diet Mountain Dew.
- Put Connor to bed, then came downstairs and enjoyed a Caffeine Free Diet Coke instead of mindless munching.
- Thanksgiving Buffet instead of hosting the meal meant no leftovers! (Except for that pecan pie…)
- Kept several dollar bills in my wallet without using them to hit the vending machine.
So, what’s the diabolical plan? How do I keep myself on track?
Modern diet wisdom says that the best diet for you is the one that you can stick to. So far, I’ve had good success tracking with Lose It — possibly more so than with WW. I also signed myself up for a few Challenges, all involving how many consecutive days I can track my meals and activity. I’ll continue attending my weekly WW At-Work meetings and weighing in, but for now I’m going to track on a different program.
It’s been said that no man can serve two masters, but I think this will work out just fine — for now, at least.