Eight!

Yesterday I devoured an incredibly yummy cupcake at a friend's birthday party and tonight I divulged in chocolate covered blueberries and chocolate covered almonds!

Why is this so noteworthy, you ask?

It has been (painfully at times) a sweet-free zone for the last 2 months. But as of this week I am officially a size 8!!

A Size 8! She said!
I have shed the 12 pounds that I wanted to lose. It's funny how I even feel lighter - and thus better. It makes the sacrifice worth the effort. And I've been wearing clothes that I haven't fit into for the last - well - 3 years. Like this pair of really cute, comfortable white pinstripe pants that I got from Banana Republic a month before I found out I was pregnant! (Let's not talk about if they are out of date, I don't really care.)

It's maintenance time from here on out. shouldn't be too hard with summer coming on and bike riding in the near future.

I am glad to not be on full-blown diet mode. I get tired of being pushed into a corner and having to say "I'm on a diet" when acquaintances ask if I want something and I politely decline and they push, no really have some, and I decline again, and they continue to pursue until I confess that I'm dieting.

How do they respond?.. Why are you dieting? You don't need to diet! Have you ever noticed that 9 time out of 10 it's a person who follows with a statement like, "I need to diet, but I just don't have the discipline" or "Every time I diet I put it right back" or "You're doing that diet? Oh, you'll put it back on..." Ugh. I don't need to explain myself to someone I'm not close to and is just projecting their failure onto me anyway. Is it REALLY their business what I do? So because I conceal my undesirable body areas better, I don't need to diet?

Who are these people??

It's not unlike the people [older and supposedly wiser then I was] that I now curse [kidding - sort of] who used to say, Oh just you wait, it will catch up with you...because I was once a [very] skinny, shapeless kid. Why? Why, did you have the need to say that to a kid? And with all the eating disorders that we have in this society, did it ever cross your mind that if you say that to the wrong young, impressionable skinny girl it could just propel her down an anorexia disorder path? I'm sorry, did I offend because I was skinny and you were not? Did you really think that I bought into the idea that my [even then - imperfect] body wouldn't change? You didn't see my mom, I understand genetics, I saw myself in the future.

I guess what annoyed me most, recently, was a comment made to me about obtaining a flat stomach. I informed the person that I haven't had a flat stomach since I was 25 years old, that is not what my expectation was/is. And frankly, that bit of belly fat that I will always carry is a badge of honor for the birth of my son. for me, it is a reminder of the miracle of life.

Let me say it again...

My stomach is a badge of honor that I am proud to wear, a daily reminder of the birth of my son who is a gift from God.

That fact is, I needed to shed 10+ pounds that was getting me down. So after maintaining it for almost 3 years, I decided to get disipline and get it off. I'm now planted firmly in the middle of the normal and healthy BMI range for my height and body size. And I've doubled my whole foods intake [fruits and veggies] and decreased my sugar intake [soda and all things sweet].

I am healthier to keep up with a Toddler that is only going to grow bigger, get faster and more become physical. He needs healthy, active parents.

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Now I think I'll go eat a couple more almonds.

Caught!

Remember that diet?

Yeah, that's the one.
I'm still on it.
True story.

And.

I'm soooo desiring this today...


And although I had a dream nightmare that I snarfed on numerous desserts and broke my diet, I haven't broke it in my waking hours!

[Oh how I dream about it though.]

Then I found this in the fridge today...






Whoo-Hoo! Whip Cream!! No carbs, less than 1 gram of sugar and it's JUST enough to hold me over... for a few more days!



My Precious... Don't Touch it! It's Mine!




D'oh!














You caught me! Absolutely Yummy!

When All Else Fails...

Get a haircut!!

Although really, another day of diet patrol went just fine, no sweets. Woo Hoo! It's easier when I work at home because I didn't keep the junk in the house (except for that bit of left over candy from Easter and a couple lollipops from Halloween.) But it is only day 2.

So here is the haircut - mind you, I still don't like pictures of myself.

[I had to delete a couple that made me look like a man trying to be a woman...Eek!]

These were a couple I liked best.

Hello, My Name is Golightly and I Am a Sugar Addict

It's true, today was the first day of our diet.
[a.k.a eat healthy 98% of the time; a.k.a. kill the sugar addiction!]
We made it through day 1.

I went to work and sat at a desk next to an open office filled with coated nuts and Hersey's kisses and jelly beans and Hot Tamales and crackers and chips and honey pretezels and soda in the fridge. And each time I entered the room sweat broke out on my brow. How I wanted to grab a piece of candy! Or 10.

How is it that you just become hungrier and needier for the junk food as soon as you decide to be strong and diet?? Oh the psychological power of food!

Then as I'm meeting with the Executive Director to discuss some media, a person walks in with a container of sugar cookies covered in thick pink frosting and sprinkles. Mmm.

I declined.

I came home and ate a cheese stick. And a tomato.

I didn't buckle.

So for dinner the G.I.D. and I ate pork tenderloin, sauteed spinach & red bell peppers with garlic and a side salad. Not too bad for dinner; and food should be beautiful to look at.

But then I wanted sweets! [I remember there is some hidden chocolate mini-bunnies and jelly beans, OH! how about ice cream?! Don't we have some of that left over?!! Or one little spoon of Skippy peanut butter... Come on...

I'm like one of those women on Survivor who sit around and talk about all the food they can't have instead of doing some work around the camp. Then when they get voted off for not doing their share of work, they can't figure out why the heck they got voted off!

but I digress.

and today is only day 1!


BTW HipMamma, I do love my pasta and bread!!

Eat, Drink & Be Merry - For Tomorrow We Die-et

So I went to a wedding this evening that took place on a baseball field, complete with peanut vendor (from Dodger Stadium) At the reception we had popcorn, salted soft pretzels, nuts, beer, wine, hot dogs, salad, tri-tip, gelato/ice cream, champagne & traditional cake - and that's just what I had! I enjoyed it all because tomorrow morning, come hell or high water (or just an over whelming craving to eat some hidden chocolate eggs) I am going to start the process of losing weight!

That's right folks, between work deadlines and internet downs I will also start a diet to finally shed those unwanted post-baby pounds! I don't have much to lose, just enough to find my waste again. It's the disciple of doing it and the act of maintaining the healthy eating again that I need to cram into my little brain.

And if that isn't enough for me in one week, I will also be getting my locks chopped off! Yeah!!

Finally, I will be discarding half my closet, as I have not worn over half the clothes in there for 3 years. The word is, if you don't wear something for a year, get rid of it. But as usual, I can't let go of things.

I hope I like the new hair cut (the big event is Tuesday). I'll let you know.

As for the diet. I'm prepared and ready to go. And *gasp* we're doing the Atkins diet again. We had great success with it the first time and I lost 30 pounds. That was 4 years ago. But I've been undisciplined and anything that comes into the house that I don't let Harrison eat, well... the G.I.D. and I eat it.

After all, we have to protect our child from junk food, right?

So, with the junk food, and increased pasta intake and processed foods lately (for the convenience) our weight has gone up and our healthy eating habits have gone down. Atkins helps us kick start back into healthy eating and whole foods again, as well as burning off that unwanted fat layer.

I've got to stop the sugar craving COLD TURKEY!