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Monday, September 17, 2007

The First Three Letters Are D-I-E

I hope that by admitting it publicly I'll be shamed into developing some will power.

Yes, I'm on a diet. I started it this morning. Which means in another couple of hours I'll be ready to throw myself off a cliff.

Why am I torturing myself? I've gotten too heavy. I am 5'9", but that's no excuse for putting on the weight that I have. Plus, my eating habits are truly atrocious. Personally I think vegetables taste like tree bark, but everyone keeps telling me I should be eating them.

So what is the plan?
  • Eat less.
  • Skip the fast food. None. Zilch. Nada.
  • Drink more water.
  • No soda.
  • No happy, fun, delicious junk food in the apartment.
  • Exercise a little bit every day. Even if it's for only 10 minutes. That's way better than what I was doing which was not exercising at all. I'm also going to incorporate quick walks on my lunch break at work.
What I won't be doing?
  • Giving up chocolate. There would be a dozen dead bodies within 24 hours. Instead I hope to limit my intake and try to satisfy my cravings with lower calorie alternatives.
  • Giving up sweetened tea. I need my morning caffeine and I need it sweetened. Plus I figure a spoonful of honey is way better than dumping some bizarre, chemically engineered sweetener in my tea.
  • Weighing myself constantly. I weighed myself yesterday and don't plan to step on the scale again for a month.
  • Beat myself up if I stumble. Frankly I fully expect to have "bad days." I've already got one marked on the calender. The southern California bloggers hope to get together on the 29th and I just don't see myself saying "no" to dessert.
My goals?
  • My dream is to get back down to a size 10. The men reading this blog post are probably thinking "OMG, what a heifer!" but I was a size 10 when I graduated college and was very happy at that weight. Plus, I'm 5'-frickin'-9" and come from good German and English farming stock. Wearing a size 6 again would mean looking like Nicole Ritchie, and frankly me (and my doctor) don't want to go there.
  • Lose fat, gain some muscle, lose weight (God, I can hope!)
Cripes, I'm depressed. Anyone got some surefire weight loss tips that don't result in surgery scars, dead bodies or mental illness? This girl needs all the help she can get. In the meantime, a little dieting humor:

22 comments:

Melissa said...

I am in the same boat. Eactly. The trick to exercise is, DO IT WITH SOMEONE ELSE, it will actually motivate you 75% more than doing it by yourself. Another weight loos trick is to, instead of put healthy snacks next to you while your reading or blogging. I eat when I read powerful contemporary love stories like The Sapphire Pendant. So I put some freshly washed grapes and cut apples in a bowl, set it next to me while reading (which I know you love to do) and then maybe sipped on some vitamin water, cause ya know that plain water can be just way to bland sometimes. I've got tons more tips.

Nicole said...

I'm starting over dieting too. I've kind of fallen off the wagon, so to speak. So if you need a buddy, I'm here.

I like having serving size packages of stuff. And the 100-cal packs are good. Love the Lorna Doone cookies they have. And Crystal Light is great to add to bottled water. They have a pomegranate berry that is to die for delicious. And a wild strawberry that's really good, too.

Sherry Thomas said...

I've spent a solid year on my butt, with the degree and the manuscript. My butt is not looking tip-top shape.

My plan is to give up the car for as much as possible, after I finally hand in my ms and have a bit of breathing room.

We already walk the kids to and from school. I'm going to get on my bike for the library and the coffee shop. And I'm going to cook. Cuz I think my food is much healthier than anything I can buy, and I have the advantage over Wendy of liking vegetables already. ;-)

Meghan said...

I wish you the best of luck with your plan. Back in February, I put myself on a "lifestyle change" (I refuse to use the word diet because, in my head, that entails that you go off it at some point and that's when those evil pounds reappear stealth-fully in the night). Since then, and with the aide of the glorious food tracker over at Calorie-count.com I've actually lost 35 lbs.

So! In an effort to not sound like an advertisement, I say "good luck!"

I also find that reading a romance novel while on the elliptical makes it seem less like exercise and more like fun.

Rosie said...

There's a weight loss competition of sorts going on at work. People plunked down $20 and the person who loses the largest percentage of weight wins the pool which is $640. As you can imagine with that sort of money at stake people are taking it pretty seriously. Yours truly didn't sign up. I wasn't in the mood.

I'm eating better, drinking lots of water and exercising faithfully for the last two years. It's what I can do.

Your goal of getting in a size 10 is doable I think. I'm feeling a very good vibe about this. You will look fabulous by the time we go to RWA in SF. Does this mean I have to D-I-E.... too?

Jennifer B. said...

Cutting soda accounted for a good portion of my weight loss a couple of years ago. I was a coke-aholic. Didn't full out deny myself, just stopped buying it for the house. Replace soda with water--like your plan indicates--and you'll be amazed. Good luck!!!

Nora Roberts said...

Sounds like you've got a solid and sensible handle on it. If you go crazy, give up everything, start doing three-hour workouts, you'll last about a day and half.

For me, exercise is key--and I hate every minute of it. But it's what does the job. Start with that ten minutes, try to slowly work up to thirty. And mix it up. Exercise is boring for most of us. Cross-train, do some yoga, find a routine you can tolerate.

And don't, really don't, kick yourself if you want a cupcake once in a while.

Wendy said...

Thanks everybody! My problem has always been emotional and late-night eating. After dinner last night I actually said out loud, "I will not eat anything else today." We'll see how long that works.

And Nora - I agree, I can't stand to exercise. All the great minds out there and nobody can come up with a way for me to lose weight while sitting on my butt reading?

Gail K. said...

Late to this comment thread but oh well.

It seem you kinda already know this but eat dinner before 7pm, 6pm if you can swing it with your schedule. As early as you can. Limit your intake in the evenings to liquids/ hot tea/ etc. This kicks something into gear with your digestion/metabolism. Also, cut down heavily on sugar, either processed in carbs *or* as sweeteners in diet sodas (sugar subs have are low cal they make you crave more sweet stuff).

As mentioned by others, the workout buddy is key, too. You need someone to call you and drag you off the couch when you are tired after work to go for a walk or to the gym. Exercise energizes you and makes you want to be more active. It's one of those rare, good cycles.

Now if only I can take my own advice on a regular basis...

Lil' Sis said...

Ok - I've been exercising straight (I mean 5 times a week!) for two years. I dropped two sizes - but ugh, hit a brick wall. I just joined Curves and I LURVE it! It's really fast (30 minutes) and does both cardio and weights! Plus, it's only women and it's really group oriented so you aren't alone.

Oh, and it's pretty cheap - 30$ a month - which is great for a gym. :)

AbbyThompson said...

I recently started a diet, which I fooled myself into starting it by calling it a "Season of Good Choices" rather than a "diet." I found Hungry Girl's website and daily email's helpful in identifying ways to cut calories with out cutting flavor. Here's the website: http://www.hungry-girl.com/. (The site's a little too cutesy-pink, but the info's good. I made the pasta-less lasagna the other night and it was a HUGE hit with The Boyfriend.

Wendy said...

Gail K: My workout buddy during the day is Sue Grafton LOL I'm downloading audio books to my MP3 player and taking quick 20-minute walks on my lunch breaks at work. I've got E Is For Evidence going right now. On the weekend I need to start dragging The Boyfriend out with me.

Lil' Sis: I'm thinking about Curves. Want to get started on my own first though.

Abby: Thanks for the suggestion! Always on the lookout for another place that will give me dinner ideas.

Big Sis said...

Step away from the scale!!! MEASURE yourself!! (Thighs, butt, waist, neck, you get the idea). You'll lose inches a lot faster than pounds. Like you said you have a size goal, not a weight goal. DO NOT STEP ON A SCALE! It's depressing.
Stick to a healthy diet and then on Saturday's if you done good, have a little chocolate. Savor it and make it last. It can be your personal reward for a job well done.
As far as your tea goes, you'll have to look up honey, but I know that real sugar only has 16 calories a teaspoon!
Good luck babe! Think about our family's health issues to help you out. Any remember, if I can quit smoking, you can learn to like veggies!

Gail K. said...

I had a college roommate who would not touch a vegetable (she also would not touch raw chicken but that's another neurosis) and now she's a complete health freak so it can be done! Try fruits before veg. They're a bit more tasty.

sybil said...

WOW I am tres impressed... you go with your badself!

Uh I have no suggestions err not healthy ones but I can cheerlead!

I keep telling myself I am gonna be good and eat better and drink water, I generally tell myself this while getting a shake or something. So I am all proud of you, I should do it too.

Alie said...

I totally understand! I'm 5'11 and I'm just over a size 12. I want to get back down to a 12 again. I was a size 9 in high school, oh the days!

Gwen said...

Fiber, fiber, and more fiber. With a chaser of tons of water.

Plus, simply more calories out than you take in.

Those are the only tricks that really work. As obvious and simple as they are, people (myself included) keep ignoring them.

I eat lots of veggies. LOVE cabbage cooked with a little chicken stock and some fennel seeds - very yummy, low cal, high fiber.

One of the things I do with veggies to make them tasty but them into bite-sized pieces, toss them with just a smidge of olive oil, salt, and pepper, then roast them in a hot (400-F) oven for 20-30 mins, less for soft veggies, more for hard. This gives them a nice color, flavor, and texture without making them mushy. And you can use less fat cooking this way than on the stovetop. And ANY veggie works with this - haven't met one yet that didn't and I love to cook.

Gwen said...

That was supposed to be "...CUT them into bite-sized pieces..."

("but them into bite-sized"?? WTF? LOL)

Megan Frampton said...

Wendy:

I am weighing in late (ha!) here too, but about twenty years ago I lost 40 pounds, and have kept it off...I did one day on, one day off, so I'd promise myself a treat every other day, so I didn't feel deprived. I also ate huge amounts of veggies and exercised. Still do.

Good luck, and do the measuring thing rather than the scale thing, for sure.

Lori Devoti said...

My two favorite "tricks" are fitday.com where you can keep track of everything you eat...calories, grams of fat, carbs, fiber, everything and eating 30 to 35 grams of fiber a day.
I'm also horribly geeky about calculating out how many calories I can eat to maintain my goal weight. I double check it all the time--what was that again? Surely I can have another 100 calories. :D
Oh, and GREAT high fiber snacks All Bran Snack bites (100 or so calories per bag) and Fiber One granola bars (150 calories per). Love them!

Charlie Horse said...

Don't worry what us guys are thinking Wendy. Most of us don't know squat about women's measurements and I couldn't tell a woman's dress size from her shoe size.

Your blog is one of my favs by the wa :)

Wendy said...

Charlie:
LOL - The Boyfriend once asked me why women's clothes aren't sized like men's. You know - BY MEASUREMENT! I told him because that would require more common sense than clothing manufacturers apparently have.