Dieter's High

I am now on day 4 of my quest to better health and weight loss. I've been meatless for 4 days and this is my first day gluten free as well. Right now I'm experiencing that "dieter's high". You know, when you start a new diet and it's all new and exciting. I'm finding all kinds of cool things I can eat and it's fun which makes it easy. Since I fed my son, Bear gluten-free (GF) for 3 years I know all the good GF foods I can enjoy. I'm finding foregoing meat and gluten is not too restricting. When I add dairy in a couple of days that will be challenging. I'm absoluting dreading giving up sugar and I'm honestly scared to give up caffine. But that's why I'm doing this, right? So I control food instead of it controlling me.

I would love to rid myself of this albatross that has been around my neck since my late teens. the albatross being extra weight on my body and an addiction to food. I had a friend when we lived in Arizona who had actually "recovered" from a food addiction. She had weighed 280 at her heaviest but when I knew her she was 125 and had maintained that weight for over 3 years. She felt like she had control over food. She said she hardly thought about food anymore much less obsessed on it. When she was hungry she ate, whatever she felt like eating and stopped when she was full. She had lost that fear that many of us have when you go to a resturaunt or even sit down at your own dinner table and you are totally freaked that you are going to overeat (again) and feel horribly guilty later (not to mention bloated). I must admit I was compeletly jealous of her. Not just the trim little figure she had but the freedom to just eat when you are hungry. I don't what I crave more the smaller body or the peace of mind.

Honestly, I want the peace of mind that I'm being good to myself. And I want the freedom to think about other things besides what's my next meal. I'm continuing to pray for God's help in all this beacuse I haven't a clue how to solve this problem.

Man Around the House

Housework was a woman's job, but one evening Jenny arrived home from work to find the children bathed, one load of laundry in the washer and another in the dryer. Dinner was on the stove, and the table set. She was astonished!

It turns out that Ralph had read an article that said, 'Wives who work full-time and have to do their own housework are too tired to have S..E..X!

The night went very well. The next day, she told her office friends all about it. "We had a great dinner. Ralph even cleaned up the kitchen. He helped the kids do their homework, folded all the laundry AND put it away. I really enjoyed the evening."

"But what about afterward?" asked her friends.

"Oh, that. Ralph was too tired."

Meatless-Stage 1

I want to do that "21-day health challenge" where you don't eat any meat, dairy, animal products, gluten, sugar or caffine for 3 weeks but doing it all at once in one day totally freaked me out. I think if in one single day I became a gluten-free, sugar abstaining, uncaffinated vegan my body would go on strike. I have visions of being carried out of my house in a straight jacket. So here's the plan, 3 days with no meat then on the 4th day delete gluten also. On the 7th day add dairy/eggs to the "no-no list and on the 10th day subtract sugar too. Then on the 13th day go for broke and eliminate all 5 and maintain that for an 21 additional days. Yikes!

Can I do it (and avoid the straight jacket scenerio)? I think so. Why do I want to do it? I feel totally out of control with what I'm eating. It's like my body has a mind of it's own shoving whatever it craves down my throat. Sugar and wheat especially. So I decided I want to give my body a rest from the foods I've been binging on in an effort to regain control. Make sense? I hope it works. I am so tired of looking at an empty box of cookies with regret.

I picked meat to start with because it's the easiest one on the list for me to abstain from. I went totally meatless yesterday and it was very easy. The only trick was making sure I had enough protein from vegan sources. Even though I haven't eliminated dairy yet I know it's around the corner and I'm trying to think ahead. I had a black bean and rice burrito for lunch. I don't think that was enough protein for an entire day but I'm working on it.

My plan after the 21-days is over is to reintroduce 3 of the foods (caffine, dairy and meat) but continue to abstain from sugar and gluten for a while. Sugar and wheat are the things I binge on so I think they are the things I should keep out of my diet for longer. I'm not sure when I will feel "safe" eating sugar and wheat again. Of course all of this is not just an effort to regain control of my eating but also to shed a few (okay, many) pounds. I'm looking at this 21-day challenge as a jumping off point for a weight loss diet.

Well, I'm off to enjoy some vegetarian spaghetti leftover from last night and a lentil salad. I still have a day and a half to enjoy pasta.......................

It's the Little Things That Count

Is it just me or do you do a victory dance when your kids pass a milestone or "get" something? I want to shout it from the rooftops that my 3rd grader UNDERSTANDS REGROUPING!!!!! Finally, after many, many tears at the homework table and even an outburst at school, he "gets" it!!!!!!! What is "regrouping" you ask? They called it "borrowing" back in my day of elementary school math. It's a tough concept for most kids but I guess the struggle makes the victory even more sweet. I'm so proud of Bear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quote of the Week

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. -Plato