Nine weeks on program

I can't believe it has been nine weeks already.

If anyone reads this as a source of inspiration, I need to say that while I am following program closely, I am not following it exactly. I don't plan to ever work for WW so I am not figuring out the points on an occasional Nips coffee candy. At 30 calories, they are certainly better than the Milky Way Caramel candy bar that had been my candy of choice, or the mindless quantity of M&Ms that can be consumed while you type or read. Ever reach for another one and wonder the last few went? Look at my waist. That's where they went.

I also didn't count the smear of I Can't Believe Its Not Butter that I used on both slices of low calorie bread that I used when I made a grilled cheese sandwich with WW brand American cheese. It was laziness on my part that I didn't want to measure and look up the point value, but my rationale is that I am eating so much better and under the allowable total on most days.

At the cottage on Saturday, I had a lean hamburger on a Slimwich bun with a dab of fat free mayo. The rest of my plate was filled with green beans. Probably 2.5 cups of them! In the old days, old being over two months ago, I would have preferred a bar burger (not wonderful at the place near the cottage but it meant I didn't have to cook) or a burger from McDonald's. Fries probably would have accompanied the bar burger and a sundae would have come from McDonald's. Neither of the burgers would have been better than what I fixed at the cottage. The buns might have been tastier but truthfully, bread has never been my downfall. Warm rolls, yes. Desserts, yes. Ice cream, definitely.

I grew up in the 50's and 60's. Canned veggies were the norm in my mom's house, frozen for a few items that you couldn't buy canned. Same thing in my husband's background. He still prefers canned and likes frozen broccoli over fresh. For most of our marriage I cooked this way. I also used boxed potato, rice and noodle dishes.

Part of my failure to lose in the recent past has to be due to the quality of the food I ate. I thought I could cut back and see success. When it didn't happen, at least not with much speed, I gave up easily and ate the amount of food that filled me, usually more than a single serving according to the box. It shouldn't be big news to realize how good fresh vegetables taste, but it is true. I'm not embarrassed. I know better now, so I do better now.

I haven't cut out fast food completely. The difference now is that I think differently about what I am ordering and even plan for one of these meals occasionally. Alone for dinner yesterday, I had a Southwest chicken salad, grilled, from the McDonald's and a caramel sundae. I had enough points to do this and enjoyed every bit of that sundae. It isn't something I need to repeat today or this week. That compulsion is gone.

One of the rewards since early eliminating fast and processed foods is that I haven't had swollen ankles in two months. I don't know that they were ever large enough for someone else to notice, but I knew and I knew that wasn't good.

Without further ado but with a 9 second bit of fanfare....


I am down another 2.5 pounds for a total of 21.3 pounds. That is almost equal to the birth weights of both my sons and my grandson.