Diet Notes

I guess I am considered very stable weight-wise. Mr. B, my nutritionist, looked back through the year and found I was the same weight. Being so stable, I was able to not see him again for two months, just before Christmas.

One of my out-of-state friends has been struggling with weight for years. After a difficult divorce, the death of her dad, the death of her brother and her children leaving for college threw her into a food tailspin. She is about 80-pounds overweight. She is now ready to face it and shed it. Her first appointment with a nutritionist was last week and, after hearing all about it, I think she found a good one. The woman figured out the daily calories intake for her to lose weight and encouraged my friend to do more exercising. My friend was very honest about her food intake. She has tons of good eating habits, does not eat fast food but she now realized that it was a portion control issue. She also loves ice cream. The nutritionist said that was fine but a lower fat and sugar ice cream in a much smaller portion would allow her to continue to love her ice cream. So smart. Something like this helps to stay on a restrictive diet over the long haul.

I encouraged her to play with the numbers in her head as she goes through the process. Lose 5 pounds the first week then three pounds the second then two the next and pretty soon, double digit numbers are being lost. Bit by bit. Day by day. Think of where she will be weight-wise next summer and a year from now.

Each night, I would pat myself mentally for sticking to my plan and exercising that day. I also mentioned that, if I had stayed totally true to the plan for the month, I would buy myself a small something to wear to the once a month nutritionist appointment. New shoes or shirt or earrings. Nothing expensive. Those rewards helped to keep me honest.

I will keep you updated on her progress. It is clear she is ready to do the work so I have no doubt that she will be successful in her quest.