Who are We Kidding - Weight Reduction with no Rules?

So Monday was to be day one … but I was not prepared. By avoiding too many rules, I rode the pendulum the opposite way – a diet without a plan. The grocery store was busy, my husband and I went late in the day and tired; anxious to leave, we purchased a bunch of Lean Cuisine meals and fled.

There’s no escaping the hard stuff. Like a student writing “what I did for my summer vacation” as the perennial essay on the first day of school, I start this plan with “why I want to lose weight:”

1) Better health
2) More energy
3) more attractive appearance
4) to be more attractive in an uncertain job market
5) Make buying clothes more joyful and as a confirmed tightwad – everyone knows there are more bargains in “normal” sizes!

What do I want from a plan?

1) When I have been the most successful, I reduced my calories to a HEALTHY level either at a conscious by or unconscious level. Consciously by searching through a calorie guide or unconsciously by using a plan which provided food groupings of a similar calorie family and value and a plan formula for making choices.

2) I also want to track for my health’s sake – cholesterol, sodium and maintain a nutritionally balanced program based on established guidelines, nothing radical.

3) Tasty prepared foods to cut down on the shopping, planning and preparation time. (Did you ever notice when you start a diet, all that time spent on “s, p & p” mentioned above has you thinking about food MORE than before?)

4) To be able to seek information, see other people are doing - in essence, all the perks of joining a group without the pressure of being the slowest “loser” in the group.

So much for an anti-rule weight loss project. There will be more self realizations, successes, relapses and restructuring to come. Note: these are MY rules … WOOT (personal family success holler) - that feels good!