Or should I title this entry Life On the Plateau? There’s a reason why I haven’t posted a weight-loss update in quite sometime – – – there hasn’t been any to report. I’m not ballooning (is that a word?) – I’m holding nicely steady after having lost just over thirty pounds – but by no means do I weigh what I should. In fact, judging by the chart at Weight Watchers, I should weigh something roughly akin to the typical American gymnast- and I’m talking about the females! Seriously, WW has come under some flack for a chart of ideal weight that makes very little distinction between men and women and which suggests that I should be shedding another eighty pounds or so. That is not going to happen – but I certainly hope that this plateau is only my temporary home. The pounds were really coming off when I was microwaving vegetables for myself almost everyday, but I’ve gotten out of that habit. . . I’m also falling prey to something talked about in my “Eat This Not That” book which says that there is a real danger in going to places with healthy menus, like Subway or Taco Bell (if you order from their Fresco menu) and eating too much food because it’s healthy. (Is it called the Halo effect?) One study showed that many people end up consuming more calories at Subway than they do at McDonald’s. I’m trying to avoid that pitfall. I’m also trying to hold at bay certain urges I have for things like Chinese food, which isn’t terrible for you except that I tend to eat too much of it- and it’s hard for me to resist ordering it with garlic sauce, which is not ideal. And try as I might, I just can’t follow the Oprah Rule of eating nothing after 7pm- not even a grape. I did visit Dottie’s Restaurant Zone a couple of weeks back – a place where you can see how much various fast food and restaurant items are in Weight Watcher points- and discovered to my surprise that a sausage biscuit at McD’s is more points than an Egg McMuffin. . . (9 vs. 6.) So I’ve converted to Egg McMuffins, which are way down on my list of favorite things, in the hope that 3 points every morning will add up to something. (Yes, I know- I should limit myself to granola and some fresh fruit for breakfast. It’s ain’t gonna happen.) Of course, the biggest factor will be if Kathy and I start exercising. . . but right now our most strenuous physical activity tends to be things like using the remote or hitting the snooze button on the alarm clock.
I didn’t weigh myself for awhile after NYC, fearful of what damage I had done out there – but when I stepped on a scale again, I was relieved to see 243. So then I tried to be really good – but with the above-mentioned pitfalls – in hopes of cracking into the 230’s. . . but to no avail. Then three days ago, I stepped on the scale and saw 238. . . Hallelujah! but had no camera handy to document the breakthrough. So I grabbed my robe, ran downstairs, came back upstairs with the camera, climbed on the scale, and saw the number 241.5 with my wondering eyes. I tried twice more to no avail. How someone can gain 3 and a half pounds just from running down the stairs and up again is beyond me. (And yes, I did remember to shed my robe again. Believe me, I do everything except shave my head before I step on that scale.) So it’s starting to look like this is only going to happen if I’m really and truly good, even if it kills me!