Week Sixteen: Repeating Myself

I hate to have to report it, but this past week was fraught with dieting pitfalls, and Yours Truly fell off the wagon big time—two nights of eating out (and I’m not talking about stopping off for a Jared sandwich) plus a birthday party with cake and ice cream. Gah! With temptations like this, it’s no wonder I lost less than a pound. But, despite my shameful lack of willpower, I still managed to not gain—which is a good thing! Maybe I should just consider it more research toward weight maintenance.

I’ve said these words before, but I think they bear repeating. Portion Control!

Now, more than ever, I’m convinced it’s not so much what you eat as how much. For example: On one of the nights we went out I ate salad, BBQ pork ribs, and baked sweet potato. This meal can play out two completely different ways, depending on how you order: Salad—Diet friendly in its own right, except for the dressing. Instead of letting the kitchen pile on a couple hundred extra calories for you, ask for low-fat dressing on the side. Pork Ribs—By smoking the meat, you’re not adding any extra fat or calories. Great start! Now you can take it one step further by ordering dry ribs so you can also cut the calories and sugars found in barbecue sauce. Baked sweet potato—While this isn’t exactly a carb friendly food, if you’ve just gotta have it, try skipping the brown sugar and order the butter on the side so you can control how many calories and fat are added.

In the end, my meal consisted of about 1-1/2 cups of the salad, 3 rib bones, and a quarter of (being honest here) what was a pretty good-sized sweet potato. Much better than the old days, when I would have eaten the whole salad, at least 6 bones of ribs, and probably half (or more) of the sweet potato. I think it helps to know that I won’t need to give up foods I love once I reach my goal weight, just as long as I don’t eat myself stupid.

As for the birthday cake and ice cream, I ate about a one inch square piece of cake with about half a scoop of ice cream. Bad, I know, but the damage could have been much worse had I let it!

Since my weigh in on Wednesday, I’ve been extra-diligent about exercise and not straying into forbidden foods territory. Hopefully, I’ll have some good progress to report next week!



The Dieter’s Psalm

Strict is my diet. I must not want.
It maketh me to lie down at night hungry.
It leadeth me past the confectioners.
It trieth my willpower.
It leadeth me in the paths of alteration
      for my figure's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the aisles
      of the pastry department, I will
      buy no sweetrolls for they are
      fattening.
The cakes and the pies, they tempt me.
Before me is a table set with green beans
      and lettuce.
I filleth my stomach with liquids,
My day's quota runneth over.
      Surely calorie and weight charts will
follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the fear of scales forever.