Everything in moderation

Almost daily, I see headlines (and sometimes I read some of the article too) on Facebook, or Yahoo, or on Google about tips to lose weight. Lose a pound per day! Lose 10 pounds this week! Lose weight fast with these easy steps! While I don't doubt some of these methods might work - it irks me that these programs promote rapid weight loss through really harsh restrictions, crazy amounts of exercise or that magic pill (yeah, right). Who can sustain the lifestyle that some of these diets promote? Give up sugar, give up flour, give up pasta -- why not just give up eating! Spend 3 hours per day exercising -- who has that kind of time? Well, I know I can't and I don't.

Or, maybe, I just don't want to...

I don't want to give up sugar, I don't want to give up carbs, I don't want to give up fats. Let's face it, our bodies actually need these things to remain healthy. Now, that's not to say that too much of anything is good, just because I say I don't want to give up, doesn't mean I'm not willing to reduce and I have done that, significantly, especially sugar. It also doesn't mean I'm not willing to change the types of sugar, carbs and fats I consume, for the most part. Fruit is a good carb and sugar source; olive oil and almonds are good fats. Counting calories and keeping tabs of what I'm putting into my body has made me hyper-aware of exactly what foods are really bad and where I can indulge a little and sometimes cheat.

Case in point, Memorial Day Weekend, big grilling weekend for most American families. Big weekend for family and/or friend gatherings. We all know, as soon as you get multiple families together, all contributing to the meal, there's going to be a lot of food and a lot of food that is not on anyone's diet plan. Our gathering of four families included smoked pork BBQ (awesome!), hamburgers, hot dogs, mayonnaise based potato and pasta salads, baked beans, fruit salad (my contribution) and a chocolate brownie/pudding/whipped cream trifle http://instagram.com/p/oeU91JOv4V/# (also my contribution) - just because I'm trying to lose weight doesn't mean everyone else has to as well ;) Oh, and lots of alcohol - wine, beer, vodka, sodas, lemonade, iced tea - you get the picture. We had enough food and drink to feed 6, maybe even 7 families - of course there were 6 teenage boys in the crowd - so I guess they easily count for 2 adults each when factoring how much food 4 families can eat. I'm fairly proud of myself - could I have done better - of course, but I managed to drink mostly water all afternoon and evening, only had 1 full drink of vodka mixed with lemonade. I ate a bowl of fruit salad as my appetizer (filler) so as not to partake in the chips and sour cream based dip that was out. But, then there was BBQ -- yum!! So, I skipped the bun and indulged in the meat. I had a good helping of potato salad (guilty pleasure) and just a tiny spoon of baked beans -- if I had to measure I'd venture it totaled about 3TBS. I did partake in a lil' bit of trifle later in the evening -- but again - I probably had about 1/2 cup. After measuring for some time now, I've become pretty good about eyeballing my portions (although I still measure, religiously, when at home.) So, all in all, I think I did fairly well that weekend - nothing crazy but I still managed to enjoy myself. Result - I was up 1/2 lb. on Tuesday morning. But, you know what -that's okay! Because I knew going in I wasn't going to entirely deprive myself of what I like and that I may have to repair the repercussions later. And I did! I'm down not only the 1/2 lb. that I put on, but another 3/4 lb. beyond that this morning.

So, getting back to my original thought about this blog entry... In the battle to lose weight, I think a lot of folks (including me) see the big goal at the end of the line and miss the changes that need to be made along the way. We are all looking for the quick fix -- how do I lose a ton of weight as fast as possible? As I stated before, I've done this weight loss thing in the past (haven't we all?) and I made changes and lost a significant amount of weight. I know what I need to do in order to do that again (I just need to NOT get lazy this time once the weight is off.) Some time ago, I read an article that made sense, it said that we don't get fat overnight. For me, it's been a slow and steady weight gain of 20lbs. over the last 4 years. Therefore, the weight is not going to come off overnight (or in a month) either. Yes, I know, there are many diet gurus and trainers out there who will tell me that I can take off 10 pounds in a month and have 30 gone in 3 months time. But, then what? If I restrict my diet and exercise to the point of exhaustion over the next 3 months in order to quickly lose 30lbs. -- what happens when I stop doing that? Well, I think logic tells me - the weight will slowly (or maybe not that slowly) creep back on. I need to make changes that are sustainable. And, if I make changes that are too restrictive, those will not be sustainable. There's a reason for the saying "everything in moderation," because moderation allows us to enjoy life without going crazy. It allows us to eat smoked pork BBQ and potato salad on Memorial Day weekend. It allows us to live life and have fun. So, that's my goal -- to make lifestyle changes (more time being physically active and smaller portion sizes) without entirely giving up everything that I love and enjoy.