Diet Start Date

Tomorrow?

I mean literally January 12th, not tomorrow as in some random day in the future (lol, lol). I looked at the calendar on Friday and thought, "Hmmm. Monday would be good, I think."

My best option will be to count calories. This has worked for me in the past, and so this is what I'm going to do again.

(Sadly I've gained weight since starting this blog, so now I'm on a mission to lose 20! Yowsa.)

Starting Weight: 140 lbs
Goal Range: 120-125 lbs

I've found in the past that setting a goal "range" instead of a goal weight makes it much easier to maintain your success, because the normal daily fluctuations in weight (from retained water, etc.) don't bump you off your goal weight and make you feel like you've failed.

Why I gained it all back: two years ago, I lost 18 pounds and kept it off for over a year. To lose it I ate about 1500-1700 calories per day, and to maintain, I ate about 2500-2700.

Somewhere in that second year I started eating more. You know, grazing, indulging, snacking on bad things, eating entire pizzas, entire boxes of KD... you get the picture. Plain and simple, I was cocky and thought I'd never gain the weight back. I'd gain a pound, then two, and think "oh that's easy for me. I can lose that in a week. I'll start tomorrow."

Fyi, when I was in high school I was one of those lean girls that could eat an entire fridge a day and not gain a pound. This changed after pregnancy, sorry to say (although my babies are definitely worth it :-)

Step 1: Set up my new 2009 calorie counting journal!!

I'm off to do that... 'bye for now!
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Day 2 Of My 2009 New Year's Resolution!!

Yippee.

Day one was easy, because there's nothing like waking up tired and, uh, overindulged from New Year's Eve to curb your appetite. Now here we are on jolly ol' Day 2, with me being rested and feeling like my old self - my old piggly wiggly self!!!

I've not done too badly. For instance, instead of diving head first into the left over chocolate covered almonds (even I, with all my pigout prowess, failed to eradicate them by January 1st), I instead sucked on two brazil nut flavoured toffees. That's right - only two!!!! Yay me.

Sucked - as in, no chewing allowed!!! My new diet strategy: whatever treat I pop into my mouth has to last as long as takes for it to dissolve on my tongue (because asking me to NOT have treats at all is like asking the dog to not bark at his ball).

Hey why not? It's worth a try.
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Are You Getting Ready For A New Year's Resolution?

I make New Year's resolutions every year, and quite often fail at keeping them. Luckily for my poor fragile ego they're more for fun than anything.

I have noticed, though, that I'm more likely to succeed at keeping them if I do the following:

1) Write them down and read my list often.

2) Break each one down into smaller steps, and schedule completion for each step.

This year, as always, weight control is one of my resolutions. I've been thinking a lot about how I can devise a strategy that will actually work, as opposed to half-trying the same things over and over again.

I think what I need to do is examine my failed approaches in the past and figure out what went wrong.

For example: resisting impulse snacking!!!

(aw, who wants to give that up? Chocolate is gooood ;-)

C'mon now, focus.

(Pfffft. Fine.)

Step number one: on January first, I will take all the leftover Christmas treats and put them away in a really really hard to get at location (or just give them away).

As horribly un-fun as that may be, I think it will help ;-) Wish me luck!
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