Monday, September 27, 2010

Bite me

Exercise.  I get it.  It is next to impossible to lose a significant amount of weight, or to keep it off, if exercise isn't part of your daily life. Period.  And I even like it.  I'm not talking about the donning a lycra suit and making macho with the hard bodies at Gold's Gym kind of exercise.  I mean walking at a determined pace, or dancing my #ss off to some 80's tunes.  A 2 mile walk to the 7/11 with my kiddo (sugar free Slurpees?  Come on!) is the most fun EVER. The things that a 7 year old will say, notice, try out while walking are infinitely varied and amusing. And I still work up a sweat climbing our neighborhood hills.

I completely get it when Michelle, our group leader, and supposed diet Nazi, makes assignments that are designed to push us out of our comfort zones. "Include 10 minutes of an activity  you have never tried before." "Do something outside instead of indoors - or vice versa." These mandates are meant to assist we the round in embracing movement as a part of life.  Hurray for new things!

HOWEVER. The assignment this week is to get up early to exercise.  Great!  I already get up at 5:15am every weekday to participate in "Walk Club" with my daughter at her school before class. And when asked to share my plan for incorporating early rising into my life? I lay out this fact for the group members, who nod appreciatively. Right up to the moment Michelle asks, "So what are you going to do this weekend to meet the assignment?" Um...SLEEP THE F**K IN? Roll over on my pillow and thank the Supreme Being that I can remain in bed until my kiddo wakes me at the luxurious hour of 7am? What do you THINK I am going to do - given the fact that I get up before some farmers every other day of the freaking week?

It would seem, from the audible gasps, and looks of veiled shock that a rejoinder to your group leader consisting of the words "Bite me!" is not considered an appropriate response. Good to know.

Friday, September 10, 2010

The Long Good-bye

How did all my resolve melt away into to pretty much nine months of heavy eating and, yes, MORE pounds? No ready excuses, except to say that I? Love. Food.  My faithful diet pal and loving sister, Melissa, and I decided in July that it would be wise to re-visit the land of medically supervised weight loss - if only to keep from dropping dead and leaving our children motherless - but due to the endless hoop-jumping required to get into the program, we celebrated the end of eating real food with a series of what can only be called Roman Food Orgies.

If you have never been overweight and have never felt the need to diet, well first let me just say...DIE. NOW. But seriously, if you have either been blessed with some sort of miraculous metabolism that actually allows you to eat yummy, cheesy goodness in mass quantities without also exploding out of your jeans, or you are one of those rare persons who has an internal meter that says, "Hey!  You know, you have eaten enough now. The salad and three kidney beans you just consumed has made you full and happy - so stop eating!" you may not understand the need to bid adieu to every one of your favorite food haunts before beginning a serious diet. Let me lay that out for you...

Imagine, if you will, a party at which there is an international group of friends gathered to shout bon voyage as you prepare to sail off to a distant land.  The tall, slim Italian is there. The creamy skinned Greek. The burly Southerner.  There are representatives from every food culture on Earth, as well as one for each of the regions of the US. And you feel, deep within your soul, that you MUST bid each and every one of them a personal, and heartfelt, good-bye.

Yup. I personally ate my way through India (farewell creamy vegetable dish that I cannot pronounce!), Greece (Oh hummus!  How I love you!), Italy (okay, we had to part company more than once - Alfredo! I will miss you!  Stuffed shells!  Don't be a stranger! Tortellini, keep in touch!), Thailand (Pad Prik Chicken, farewell!)...well, you get the picture. So the long good-bye from July to September 1st resulted in 10 more pounds of which I must now rid myself.  Oh, but it was bliss while it lasted!

It is safe to say that I...might...have a small food addiction.