How did I get here?

Doesn’t it seem we are always “waiting or weight-in” for something in our lives? When it comes to people wanting to lose weight there are, “the patient ones”, sticking to and being rather disgustingly nonchalant about the whole eating and exercise plan, that a whole other group forms which I like to call, “the impatient ones”. These guys aren’t singing, “We Got A Long Way To Go” by Jerry Reed in their morning shower by any means. Some days they are banging their heads in frustration when the scale simply won’t budge and may even go up! This group is the reason the diet pill industry is according to DietPillCentral.com, “expected to reach revenues of $40 billion in 2006.”

Well, there are days when I plug along just fine and dandy and there are days when I find myself on BodyBuilding.com, desperately clutching my credit card as I order, yet another bottle of Xpel. As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m my own worst enemy. I find myself getting closer to my goal and yet I still struggle daily with my eating. Did I mention I exercise 5 days a week, over an hour at a time? I actually enjoy strength training and with the right music, cardio isn’t too shabby either.

Almost a year ago, December 2006 to be exact, I bought copies of two magazines, Fitness, and Fitness Rx for Women. These were their New Year Specials and I can’t possibly begin to tell how helpful they have been over the past year. I lost over 30lbs. but because I’m my own worst enemy and since I exercise like a fiend, I’ve been on a plateau for the past few months. In the January/February 2007 Fitness Magazine, Dawn Jackson Blatner, RN, LDN developed a 7-Day Start Diet*. An eating plan consisting of Breakfast, Two-Snacks, Lunch, and Dinner recipes for one(!) along with the entire calorie intake for that particular day. For four full months, I became “patient”. I followed Dawn’s eating plan. (No cheat days!) I followed the Spot Accelerated Plan in Fitness Rx for Women. I lost weight fast! Friends, family, co-workers were astounded. How did I do it, they asked? I showed them how and gave them shopping lists. Boy was I full of myself!

After a while, boredom sets in. I alternated the plan to suit my tastes. I’d have weeks of vegetarian meals only. I learned to eat sweet potatoes, peanut butter, and celery. I don’t know why I hated peanut butter, I love it now. And celery? This is the first thing I will grab on a vegetable crudite’. However, after a long hard stressful day at work and an intense workout creates one heck of a ravenous appetite. I began to cheat at night and weekends. (See Self Sabotage: What’s With the Cheese? Post.) And here I am so close…so close; I can taste it between patient and impatient weight-in for the sun.

*Pending approval from Fitness Magazine on reprinting of the 7 Day Start Diet. Dawn said it belonged to Fitness and she didn’t mind if I reprinted it for you all. I’d like to cover my bases just in case. She added me to her testimonials, too.

http://www.dawnjacksonblatner.com/about/test.php

"I can't tell you how many of my friends have been very successful using your Fitness Magazine 7-Day Eating Plan! I know there are others who'd be interested, too, and I would love to share the plan and your website with them on my blog. Thanks!"
--Lora
Boston, MA