Starting Again-Again: S-l-o-w-l-y Getting Into the Groove

It’s been a bumpy 2 weeks, but progress has been made. On September 16th, I was 218.4 – and last night I was 210.0 – big difference in 14 days.

Stress is still a big factor – I live on the East Coast – not known for it’s laid-back style – and work in an industry not known for short hours nor laid-back approach to deadlines.

The stress was consuming me about 10 days back – now it’s just chomping on my leg. It’s not pleasant by any means, but within my threshold of manageable.

For example: I held a discussion with my coworkers as to all the different ways a  presentation we need to make last Monday could possibly unravel and become a Turkey-shoot – with us as the turkeys. I estimated a 50%-50% chance.

I can manage that. It went quite well, actually.

I’ve started this iteration of weight loss following the mantra – whatever stress eating you may do – just keep it low carb.

So this casts off the ‘good for you’ requirement – at least for the present – while I get my mojo back. The weight loss is a motivator itself, and if I can keep up the momentum, I can swap out the low carb crap habits with better low carb choices and still not be tempted.

And the temptation is all around me. My kids eat strawberry shortcake off plates in my lap. Fast food chicken nuggets and fries are left next to me on the couch. Abandoned plates of pasta. Home made dumplings offered in a gesture of generosity.

Some of you reading this might say you’re not tempted by these things anymore – good for you.

I am, unfortunately.

Perhaps the miracle of my keeping 50+ pounds off for over 5-years is made amazing not by my strength, but rather by my weakness – despite a seemingly consistent string of dieting failures, combined with no exercise, I’ve kept off a lot of pounds for half a decade.

I attribute it to an ability to shrug off failure and not give up, combined with low carb, which most certainly works for me, though I’ve come to see that, for a number of reasons, it might not be for everyone. I lost large amounts of weight twice before calorie-counting, but I gained it all back, with interest, both times. Calorie-counting isn’t sustainable for me long-term.

So where was I? Oh yeah: what have I been eating if not the high-carb goodies described above?

Bologna. Yep – those nitrates might be bad for you (or maybe not) – I should be eating organic grass-fed beef…but I’m not. Pounds and pounds of bologna. And I lost 10 lbs. this week. Go puzzle that out, you calorie-counters out there.

(Psst: here’s a hint: you excrete calories in certain circumstances. You don’t hear that too often, but it’s true.)

Kentucky Grilled Chicken. Zero carbs per piece, pretty darn tasty. At the moment I can’t think of any other fast food that is so low carb-friendly. KFC did good here.

Low carb bread. Not as much as before, but at least a slice or two a day.

American cheese. I’ll bring a half-pound a week to work and have maybe 2-3 slices during the day.

Atkins Bars. My snack at work.

Atkins Shake – my breakfast. I’m not particularly hungry most mornings, so it’s my way of having breakfast and washing down my vitamins.

Tall glass of fiber therapy. In the evening when I get home.

A pot of coffee. I splurge and drink the organic coffee. Like someone said – if you drink a pot a day, it should be good stuff. I drink caffeinated and now I drink it black: I love cream, but don’t need cream – and while I said above that calories can’t really be counted, it’s true that there’s limits to the number of calories you can intake – so this was an easy way to jettison a few hundred calories a day.

Some stir-fry veggies. Maybe green beans – or eggplant. Or tomatoes and eggs. Tomatoes and eggs make a surprisingly good stir fry – as does celery.

Made a pot of chili – first real cooking in a while – really vegged it up. It was yum – I should post the recipe.

I noticed an odd, headachy feeling the other day, which I thought odd – I don’t usually get headaches – and never take anything for them when I do. I was puzzled as to why – then realized: I bet I’m going into ketosis – which, since Atkins is my core plan, is great.

I screwed up over the weekend, then went back, and while I wouldn’t say that I’m totally in the groove, I am slowly turning the battleship – and it takes a bit of work to turn one of these babies.

I’ll keep plugging away. For me cheating isn’t failure – giving up is failure – and I won’t give up – just too darn stupid and stubborn, I guess.