I Did Not!

Mindfulness Awareness is often stressed in dieting: Stay aware. Keep track. Count your calories. Plan your meals.

It's a lot of work, and while we reward ourselves for the things we do eat right, I think we should reward ourselves—and stay aware—of all of the crap we don't eat.

Because there is always an opportunity to go off of the diet. If I take advantage of each of those opportunites, I could find myself need to lose 50 pounds!

Wait. Oh, yes, I DO need to lose 50 pounds.

I started my diet on Friday. I've journaled every bite I've put in my mouth.

Well, I find it rewarding to also celebrate the hurdles, and keep track of what I did not eat. Where I maintained a little discipline! Yay me!

So, in 3 days, here is what I did NOT eat, that was before me:

Crescents, cinnamon rolls, cake, licorice, bagels and cream cheese—from the work table.

Popcorn from Rural King. Free, right at the door as you walk in. At lunch time.  Always I get the popcorn!

I mean, always I used to get the popcorn. I did not eat it.

I did not sample anything from the Sam's club tastings on Saturday afternoon either.

I did not eat sushi, at my favorite sushi restaurant, tonight, but stuck with chicken skewers, seaweed salad, and clear soup. I love sushi. I did not eat it.

In the next week, that I know of, I have dinner with a friend on Thursday, a spa-girls night (with wine!) on Friday, and a day-long roadtrip with another friend on Saturday.

I shall practice awareness.

Diet Genesis

I'm jumping right in: A Diet Blog. Time will tell if it's overzealous overkill, or if it will serve as a useful sounding board.

I'm on Day 3 of the South Beach diet. I'm participating with friends which is a BIG bonus, but I've been on the brink of diet desperation (oh! The drama!) for the last week or so anyway. That my plan coincided with the girls next door (next cubicle) was pure serendipity.

I've jumped in with both feet on this one. Digging in to this diet (again, I lost a good deal of weight on it another time in my life), makes me aware of how difficult it is to get started. Why people start and stop any program after just a few days: Starting a diet cold turkey is HARD.

• You still have the "old" food left in the house. I'd been roasting baby carrots lately, and turns out I can't have carrots for the first 14 days of this diet. I have 4 lbs of them in my crisper.
• You need to READ and study.
• It's expensive to get set up so that you're comfortable enough to stick this out. I need new groceries. I need to update groceries I already have. Goodbye fat free mayo, hello Hellman's (doesn't that sound backwards?) Fat free Greek Yogurt is $4 a carton. 
• Snacks! Acceptable snacks, not the snacks I already have. All the snacks you already have need to be tossed. If I "wait until I eat them all, and then start the diet," I will likely never start the diet.
• Work! Prep! Buy the vegetables, clean the vegetables, chop the vegetables. Boil the eggs, grill the chicken, be prepared. 
• More money! Buy the App! $2. Yay App! Wait there's a catch: That app has more to offer, for $4.99 a month. A lot more to offer. Do I jump in for 5 more bucks a week? Decisions, more thinking.

I am 50 years old. I am 5'6" tall. Friday morning I weighed 199 pounds. It is too much. Mentally and physically, it has become too much.

I'm restocking. I'm studying. I'm reading, tossing, working, exercising, and spending $5 a week on myself.

I'm going to lose 10 pounds.

Five times.