common sense weight loss (or my HOT30! diet)

So. I plan to lose at least 30 pounds by my 30th birthday. It's not hard to do, or wouldn't be, if I had more self control. But, then, if I had more self control I wouldn't have quite so much baby weight to lose.

I'm not daunted because I lost 30 after I had Nathan with a little common sense. And whenever I felt that I just couldn't do it, that it was too hard, that I loved ice cream too much, I would remind myself that I have (as always in the George home) SCIENCE on my side! A calorie deficit will mean pounds lost. Each bite does make a difference. As does each step (especially when I'm pushing an eighty pound stroller). To create that deficit, all you have to do is eat less or exercise. Simple.

Except that I like to give up. It's one of my lifelong struggles. I'm a quitter. I'm much less so now (whew!) that I'm an adult because I can talk myself out of being morose and I figured out how to motivate myself, which is where the second step of common sense weight loss comes in. Set a reasonable goal (I gave myself 8 months to lose 30 pounds because Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a trip back home all occur in that time and I know that I probably won't lose during those times, I hope only to maintain).

Then set a lot of mini-goals within your bigger goal. At each 10 pounds lost, I buy something for myself that I would not normally buy. For this coming 10 pounds lost I'm buying a J. Crew purple wool coat that I've been drooling over. I'm thinking of setting some little goals for each 5 pounds lost, but I haven't come up with any ideas. Setting up food as my reward has worked against me in the past for many reasons, so I don't recommend it. It's easier (because success breeds success) to look toward mini goals because the reward is in sight. In fact, it's almost in my grubby hands! Five weeks is a short time to wait for a gorgeous coat, while eight months seems like a long time. As you reach each mini goal, you'll begin to see the results of your weight loss and that alone can be exciting enough to push you to the end.

Other tips to help: Write down (or track on your smart phone) everything EVERYTHING you put in your mouth. Then you'll see patterns and will know your weaknesses. When I tried to diet without writing everything (yes, EVERYTHING, even those three goldfish you swiped from your toddler!) down I didn't see how much cheese I was eating. It seemed like a moderate amount to me, but it wasn't. Cheese, ice cream, and salty snacks are my downfall. I literally have to count out a serving of chips before I begin eating. I even count the broken ones as fractions. ; )
My other bit of sage advice is to try to eat veggies at every meal. (Did you know that a cup of salad greens is only about 7 calories? You can pig out on those and then have enough of your daily allotment left over for your ice cream!) Even breakfast, if you can swing it. Ratatouille with an egg on top sounds like a heavenly breakfast to me. Or a veggie omelet?

Daphne

This is a picture of Daphne at eight weeks. Daphne died tonight at barely over seven years old. We've lost both of our dogs in eighteen months. Losing Wilson was very hard. We watched him hurt and tried to make his days enjoyable until he couldn't enjoy them. Then we put him to sleep, which was very hard to agree to and to do. Just saying the words to the vet is difficult. But, Daphne died within 36 hours of realizing something was wrong with her. It was easy to tell she was seriously ill because it was so sudden. We're still not exactly sure what caused her death even though Andy took her to the doctor as soon as we realized she wasn't well.

I wanted to write about her tonight because she's been a part of our lives for so long. She was with us for seven of our eight years of marriage. She has lived in three states with us, has gone canoeing and camping with us, and gave us lots of joy. She was a hyper dog, but only because she really really really loved people and had trouble calming down around new potential pals. She was also very aggressive, but only because she was protecting her family and her territory. There were many nights when Andy wasn't home that I only felt safe because Daphne was there. She loved to swim and run and didn't bite Nathan when he repeatedly ran into her with his toy bus. She was always excited when we came home. We loved her and we'll miss her.

newbie

I used to have a blogspot blog. It had over three hundred brilliant posts. Then I had a baby. I'm not sure if I'll keep up with this one, but my friend Frank inspired me.

Tonight I'll blog about hosting company with a newborn. Most company hasn't been helpful. Here's a bit of wisdom: do not complain about being tired to a woman with a newborn. Unless, of course, you also have a newborn. I cannot tell you how many people have complained to me that they are tired! Do they not see my black puffy eyes? Honestly, when you're talking to me I'm trying so hard to concentrate on what you're saying because my brain is completely malfunctioning. It's about all I can do not to tell you how big of a moron you're being. You don't complain of hunger pains to a starving man, do you?

In closing I promise to even out my negative posts with positive notes, because I know I can be, as my sister calls me, a "Debbie Downer." Positive thingy: I made this amazing sorbet last night. You must try it. It's a 1/2c of silken tofu, a 1/4c sugar (you can reduce this by half and it still tastes amazing), a pound of frozen fruit (so far strawberry is the fam fav), and I added a dash of vanilla extract, a pinch of salt, and then just enough cream to make it, well, creamy. It's heaven in my mouth. I got the basic recipe from Mark Bittman's "Food Matters" and tried it so that I could trick Nathan into eating more protein. Although I try not to support the soy industry AND I'm wary of giving my young sons soy. However, you can exchange the tofu for yogurt, but try it with the tofu first. It's amaaaaazing.