2003-08-19 - 12:53 p.m.
Food fight
My weight has always been a struggle for me. I started getting fat when I was 9, and I never really stopped. Most people wouldn’t call me fat, though—I’m chunky, zaftig, overweight, big, curvy… whatever. I was looking pretty good about two months ago. I’d been working out, and my hips had slimmed and my waist was smaller, and even though I was the same size and probably the same weight as I had always been, my shape was slimmer and I felt better.
Then I put it back on. And then some. Well, maybe not quite. But all I know is that my pants don’t fit properly and my jeans are tighter.
It’s the beer. And the barbecue. And the wings. And the pasta. All that stuff that made the first six weeks of grad school so much fun. Oh, yeah, and the hot dog and the sushi and the Mexican food in New York.
So, I’m taking action. I’m not a dieter by nature. I hate diets. I refuse to listen to all of that Atkins and Weight Watchers and Sugar Busters talk, because I hate it. I prefer to diet privately, if I diet at all, and these days it seems that all anyone ever talks about is weight and fat and calorie-counting. It’s boring. If I’m going to go out and spend money on dinner, I’m not eating a salad, thank you very much. So if I don’t want to eat the fattening food, I just won’t go out. That simple.
My plan of action is an easy one, although it will probably be tough for me after a while. I went to Wegman’s yesterday and stocked up. No sour cream. No cream cheese. Lots of veggies. Fruit. Yogurt. Lean meat. Last night for dinner I had a big salad with a teaspoon of dressing, then a sushi roll. ONE roll instead of the usual two rolls and several pieces of nigiri and a bottle of Mike’s Hard Cranberry. No more alcohol for a week, and then only one vodka drink or a Michelob Ultra. Lots of salads—I even bought sardines and celery to make my salads more interesting. Very few carbs. A piece of meat and some veggies for dinner. No more than ½ a cup of low-fat ice cream for dessert, and only if I’m hungry. Maybe salsa and a few baked chips instead. Lots of water. Plenty of diet cranberry soda. Splenda in the coffee instead of sugar. Protein breakfasts—turkey sausage, an egg, some cottage cheese. One piece of fruit for a snack, and maybe a crispbread with a little hummus. Plenty of exercise, especially this week when I’m not walking to classes. I walked for about 35 minutes yesterday, then did some stretches and exercises with weights in front of the TV.
It doesn’t read all that easy, but trust me. It’s easy. I eat pretty well anyway, so I just have to stop going out and cut down on my carb intake. And drink more diet cranberry soda, because that will fill me up. I don’t expect to lose tons of weight. I just want to get rid of my new stomach roll and maybe an inch or two of ass. That’s all I ask. Is that too much?
Give me strength. I’ll need it if I’m going to deprive myself of chocolate.
Hmm. Maybe ½ a teaspoon of syrup on my low-fat ice cream isn’t such a big deal.
