Today marks one week since I officially started my latest diet (Original post here). I started cutting back a few days prior but I still had some junk to clean out of the pantry and freezer, so Monday was the official start day. Since starting the diet officially, I’ve already lost nine pounds according to my fairly inconsistent scale. I’ll get a new one of those after I move. Since the day I decided to start a new diet, I’ve dropped eleven. I know the first few pounds are easy because of the change in food intake and such, so I’m not trying to get too encouraged thinking I’m going to keep losing weight this quickly. However, it is nice to dream.
All in all, I feel pretty good. I had been having some problems with getting the shakes and being drowsy during the day which I thought would only get worse once I started the diet, but the jitters have yet to come on since beginning this journey. I’m constantly hungry, but I try to alleviate this with several light snacks throughout the day. A V-8 between classes for a mid-morning snack, a granola bar or Rice Krispies Treat when I get home for an afternoon snack. I’ve also started eating dinner much earlier, which I believe was a major problem with my eating habits prior to last week. I’m pretty lazy when I get home from work or school so I often don’t eat dinner until after 8PM. This is still a problem since I work until 8 and 9PM on weekends, but seeing as though I’m eating less for dinner, I don’t think it will really have an effect. I do have a snack while I’m watching The Daily Show at 10, but it’s usually just a handful of Wheat Thins or a granola bar. I did my weekly grocery shopping this afternoon and I picked up some grapes and watermelon in order to fulfill my evening snacking needs without being too unhealthy about it. I also picked up some apples because, let’s face it, a Yoplait Light and a Diet Snapple don’t make a very fulfilling lunch for a 230-pound aircraft mechanic.
The main thing I’ve been focusing on is portion control. Where I would eat half a package of mac & cheese with my chicken for dinner, I’m now eating 1/4 can of green beans or corn. I realize that I don’t have to completely cut out all of my favorite not-so-healthy foods, I just have to cut back and control how much of it I eat in one sitting. The cravings aren’t all that bad just yet so I haven’t had any fatty food relapses, although I do think I could use improvement on controlling my snacking habits. Hey, it’s my tenth day of this thing, give me a break, Self.
At any rate, I’m not dead from starvation yet, I’m not heading out to Chili’s tonight to eat a plate of wings and mozzarella sticks or cooking a big dish of baked ziti and eating the whole thing. So far, so good, and the more I lose, the more motivated and impatient I become to get all this weight off my feet. Last week, I realized another big positive note that will come from this: I’ll get what little self esteem and confidence I had when I was younger back. Besides the obvious health benefits, that will be the biggest reward.
Scenes of Solitude 