168.4 Oh, the sweetest of success

A major barrier overcome. I can attribute the last four days to Instant Protein, ha ha. This morning, I am comfortably wearing slacks that have hung in my closet for years, unwearable. I definitely don't follow the "if you haven't worn it in xxx months" throw it out. Although yesterday I tried to try on my wedding dress and discovered it's time to face reality and buy something else for the wedding. The jacket could be worn, slightly tight at the shoulders. The dress itself has no zipper. Simply laying it across my body, there's a four inch chasm. I truly think that one day I will be there, mostly because of how thin my dad and his mom had become late in life. But not for May 22nd. Who knows when daughter two will marry? There is no melancholy in this realization. It was a noble goal and motivator. I hate shopping, but will now start to do due diligence.

Purchased a plastic colander yesterday to cook ground meat. It was a trick I learned over 25 years ago. Put meat in colander placed in a glass pie pan into the microwave. All the grease drips out. Then paper towel away any residue and place meat into flying pan. Add some water and a lot of chili powder and cumin. Voila! Taco meat that is indistinguishable from fried. If hubby wasn't on his diet, this technique would have been pooh-poohed.
Day 49

170.2 great weight, but today it's all about hubby

Now, in our family, I am the one recognized for willpower. Let me say, I totally am in awe of my husband's adherence to Instant Protein. For two days, he religiously ate the most god-awful concoctions; last night it was pudding. He asked me what flavor he should have, and I replied my favority was butterscotch. The next minute he is whipping this milkshake up; it wasn't cooked pudding. After it chilled, he proceeded to eat what had an overwhelmingly artificial, strong butterscotch aroma. I try not to ask how anything tastes, as it is all uniformly awful and it is simply his determination that is making him comply. It took two days for him to see and change in weight and then suddenly/gratefully on the third morning, there is was FOUR POUNDS DOWN.

It's been said that there are two types of people and you need to know what type you are: one group can eat a little and stop, the other is better off with deprivation. Well that diet is takes the latter to its extreme.

Having tried many types of diets in my life, one thing I know is that I don't want to eat anything that I don't like. It makes no sense to try to develop a taste for new foods, if the idea is that that will somehow substitute for eating things I love. That's why South Beach and any diet that prescribes menus won't work for me. They are fine inasmuch as they may introduce you to new foods; I came away from SB really enjoying ricotta as a dessert and snack. But if what someone tells me is slated for Monday night and it doesn't sound good, for goodness sake, unless you are a guest at someone's home, don't eat it.

So there we have Rule two of A Year of Eating Wisely: don't eat what you don't like.
Day 48

172.8 Controlled Recovery

No matter how sleek the marketing, I have, possibly unfounded, a distrust of for-profit diet plans. However, the DVD that accompanied IP did provide support for recovering from my most recent disaster. I had only protein all day, with the exception of a salad and broccoli for dinner. Another noteworthy dictum it offers, differs from most of what is said in dieting but seems to make good sense for me. A diet is a diet; it is not forever. It is stage one in a two stage process, the second being stabilization. Stage one is radical and unbalanced to cut the time needed to achieve a goal. I am proud that since Thanksgiving I have lost eight or nine indisputable pounds. I have changed my eating habits and made eating a conscious activity, for the most part less "uncontrolled". However, as my immediate goal is to fit into that wedding dress, I am open to taking more active measures. I think I needed to hear and it was comforting to hear that I need to "diet for a fixed time" and then apply my eating sensibly plan.

So, did "Controlled Recovery" work, or would the results been the same if I had simply eaten normally today? Who's to say, but... and it's a big but, instead of hammering myself with guilt and possibly succumbing to even greater diaster, I had a strong conviction to follow which took quite little self-control. Specifically, for one day of super control, I was rewarded with a step back into the reasonable realm. Not bad.

In my Year of Eating Wisely, this is a new key to success.
Day 46

175.3 Disaster raged, even as I was fully aware

Hubby was "having his last meal" actually his "last week' leading up to today when he would begin the Ideal Protein diet. Watching its video, IP is basically a low-fat high protein, zero carb diet. I found it interesting that for a day after a disaster, he advocated a total protein day.

I am not sure how the next few months will pan out, but I hope to have more control over what I am eating. I am giving up alcohol on a daily basis; will substitute white for red wine when socializing. I like aspects of The Skinny: glass of seltzer before meal, glass of water with it; soup or thick liquid, salad and vegetables, shrimp or seafood cocktail, main course, then 1/2 c beans or carbs if necessary.
Day 45

170.8 Lot of lettuce - Hubby contemplates a French high protein diet

Rather like the tortoise, my weight is gradually slipping down. I would expect that short of divorce, there is no way to speed its decline given the superb dinners hubby makes regularly. Last night I even gave in to a small second helping of crabmeat au gratin. There seems to be less need for recording what I've eaten. I can tell what satisfies me - I simply never awaken hungry so I prefer to breakfast between 10:30 and noon and lunch around 2-3. That helps stave off the 5 pm cravings that are my almost daily downfall. I would simply rather eat dinner early, and that coupled with the fact that I have never eaten in the evening, would probably have a very positive effect on my weight loss.

A friend started a business promoting a French protein diet. She looks marvelous 30 pounds down (no more marvelous than the friend who lost 50 pounds for the price of the book The Skinny and some willpower). Each claims to have relearned how to eat and both feel that their methods were relatively easy. Of course, the French alternative is in excess of $100/week. Every diet claims to be potentially of great benefit to diabetics, but isn't that simply the benefit of losing weight. So my husband brings home the literature. One to two teaspoons of oil and 1 teaspoon of skim milk. Now, there lots of protein options for dinner, but where is the joy of eating? Breakfast and lunch consist of purchased foods.

My husband, aged 74, is a desperate man and desperate people are the bread and butter of diet claims. I slowly read him what he could and couldn't eat; the latter included all fruit and minimal if any green cabbage or green beans, and no diet beverages or juices. Three days ago I accompanied him to his internist who helped me better understand diabetes. Hubby has regular sugar lows and was surprised when the doctor corroborated what I had been saying about the need to eat lunch and to eat regularly. When these lows occur, there is a feedback breakdown. The need for sugar is immediate and overpowering; it goes on far longer than necessary leading to a sugar high for the next day or two. Having read many diabetic books, I realize that controlling carbs and eating regularly are essential to his health. While this diet probably addresses these factors far better than he now does on his own, I question where the re-training is. I cannot imagine him 30 pounds lighter, freed from his weekly counselor, and not returning to a heavy diet of fruits, minimal vegetables, and all the sweets he has craved. Also, it is an alcohol free diet. Thanksgiving two years ago, he successfully went cold turkey on booze; it lasted four or five months. Within a week, he was back to 2 glasses+ of wine and 1 1/2 to 2 drinks each night. Now if he would simply give up the booze and quit eating by 7 pm, he probably would lose 30 pounds in a year. Am I to seriously believe that someone whose hobby is belonging to a wine club, will make it on this diet?? One year from now he may have lost 30 pounds, but I would give him 20:80 of stabilizing at 10 pounds off. And that's a gift.
Day 40

173.8 Return from vacation guilt-free

There is simply no reason to "go back on the wagon" or any similar epitaph about a return to dieting and exercise. I took a week's pause in writing while on vacation away from a scale and ensconced in 'sthe eater's paradise of New York. Did restaurant week dinner in Manhattan at Pigalle, dinner at Gallagher's steakhouse, and on Long Island, a tremendous meal at The Afghan Grille and Mama Theresa's. Home again, and pleased that this weight is not terrible for having done minimal exercise and excessive eating on a daily basis. It seems fair to say that one needs to temper diet with enjoyment - sharing wonderful dining experiences with my husband and visiting with friends without imposing my diet. The weight I find myself at is wonderful. No regrets.t I am prepared to move forward. While a friend who runs a diet business advocates taking off one day a week from "the diet", I believe taking a vacation from dieting is better mentally - a oh, the lovely memories.