
My New Year’s Resolution:
Lose weight.
That’s my resolution every year except last year, when I didn’t have a resolution. I had lost my spouse just six months before and was too devastated to care about much of anything.
After losing a lifelong partner and friend, the grief was overwhelming. The last thing I thought about was losing weight. It was easy to eat, especially high-calorie foods. They provided a quick fix. Nutrition bars that were calorie loaded, candy and fast food poured the weight onto my body. Clothes suddenly shrank. It was easy to try to fill the emotional void with food.
Losing weight is easy. Eat less and exercise more.
Right.
That takes discipline. Do I have enough?
Christmas brought the usual temptations in the form of cookies, candy, cake and too many other tasty foods. It’s hard to say no.
Saying no now?
I don’t really have to. There are so many easy ways now.
There is a diabetic drug used by some to lose weight fast.
There are pills guaranteed to have the pounds drop off.
I can have half of my stomach banded or sliced off. You can’t eat as much that way.
I can have fat sucked out.
I can have fat frozen, heated, radioed out, lasered, killed and metabolized into excess fluids.
These are quick fixes, relatively.
They all have unintended consequences, side effects that have to be monitored and addressed.
Major loss requires removal of excess skin through surgery.
All of them recommend exercise regimes to tone muscles, and maybe increase metabolism.
All of them caution that weight will return without a change in eating habits.
Eat less, exercise more.
Other than looking better, feeling better and decreasing chances of associated medical conditions, what is the motivation for losing weight and keeping it off?
It’s the New Year. It's a timeline, a definite starting point. I want to feel better and have more energy. I want to stop having to carry those five-pound buckets of sand around with me with every step.
I’ve lost weight in the past. Once by a lot of increased exercise and another time by eating less. I’m not in a position to increase exercise right now.
I don’t want to do the quick fix. That is tantalizing, but short-term outcomes are often short-lived.
I am going to do the decreased intake regime. This is my regime. It isn’t a recognized regimen prescribed by professionals.
I eat half.
Half of what I usually have for breakfast
½ eggs, toast, bacon, and so on.
1/2 sandwich for lunch.
Cut out the four daily breakfast bars, candy and ice cream. Limit myself to two M&Ms.
½ of the usual dinner.
Maintain adequate vitamins and minerals through selected foods or supplements.
Drink water. A lot of water.
It took resolve the last time I did this.
My stomach had to become accustomed to smaller amounts and complained at first, but got used to the idea. There would be an occasional associated reward, such as a small amount of ice cream or cake following a designated time period or a certain number of pounds lost.
This is a big challenge. A loss on top of the loss of my loved one. I still have grief. I still want to fill my emptiness with food.
Can I withstand the loss of both?
And what am I going to do with that big box of candy?
Let me know how you are doing. I care.
Contemplation: What is the most effective weight loss method for unique individuals?
Sincerely,
Lynn Brooke
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Photo Credit: © 2024 Rachel Gareau
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