Weekly recap

I started my diet again this week, in a slightly modified way. I realize that I am prone to extremes. Often, I'm not living in the middle ground. Case in point - when I did 20/20, I really did 20/20. I followed it religiously and even turned down cake on my own 30th birthday. Then, when things wound down and we got to the wedding/honeymoon phase of last year, I totally went in the opposite direction. I ate anything and everything, and threw all of my knowledge out the window. Guess what that got me, especially when I started having awful health problems for a few months? Lots and lots o' pounds put back on the ol' ass.

So, this time I'm allowing myself to have some of the best of both worlds. I did really well this week. All protein shakes, lean proteins, veggies, lots of water, and only a few diet sodas. By Friday, I decided that I could indeed have a 6-pc chicken McNugget meal at McDonalds with medium fries and a diet coke. And yesterday I had a chocolate bar. I made sure that this still fit within a good caloric range and ate well the rest of the time. And guess what? I feel much more satisfied. I think it's unrealistic for me to think that I can never have any of the foods that are "bad" for you, when it's just as unrealistic for me to believe that I can subsist on those alone. So, the key has to be moderation, something which I'm not always great at achieving. But somehow, I think that this plan might work out better over time because it puts less focus on perfection, and more focus on living within my means.

At the end of the week, I'm down 5 pounds, which is really probably mostly water weight, although I did get out and walk a lot this week when it was nice. I also steam cleaned my carpets (no easy task), mowed the yard, and weeded. So, I got some good physical activity in addition to the reasonable diet. My hope is that if I continue with this, some of the weight will just continue to work itself off, even if it is at a slower pace over time than it was when I was in the 20/20 program. But that's OK. I've got time.