Week 1, Day 2

Today my stomach hurts a bit.
It may be constipation.
It may be dehydration.

It may be that I really need to force myself to down the water. Just stop arguing and do it.

My sister said to me, "I want pancakes, and I am going to eat them. And I want pizza and pretzels."

She is supposed to be traveling down this low-carb road with me. She said that she was going to indulge just a little because it would take forever for her to reach her goal weight anyway. And I said, "Well, every little indulgence makes the goal farther away." I then said, "Do you want those pancakes more than you want to be thin and healthy?" And she said, "Yes, I do." And I know that she didn't mean it. I get it.

This is hard. As I have proven over and over again. It is hard to stick to something for the long term. It truly is. I have yet to be able to stick to something for longer than 6 months without going off plan.

And it is mostly because you lose sight of the goal. It seems so very far away.

This is actually why I don't even focus on the overall picture. I have set goals as little as five pounds away. Whatever it takes. You find something that you want to do that you are unable to do until you lose five pounds and you focus on that. If I focus on the fact that I have to lose about 130 pounds in total, I am not going to make it.

But, if I focus on the fact that I want to go ziplining and the weight limit is five pounds less than I am now, well then, that, I can do. That I can foreseeably accomplish.

Does it always work? No.
But, it definitely increases the success rate.

Day 207 (13 restart): Don't let yourself get hungry...

Today I had to go to Virginia for work.

I did not plan very well and so by lunch time, I was exhausted, dehydrated, and starving.

What I noticed was that when I am in that condition, I want to eat every carb in the book.

But, of course, I resisted and my saving grace was that they brought my salad before the carb-filled appetizer my friend had ordered or else I may have caved.

As soon as I ate the salad, I felt better. My resolve was back and I had no desire to eat any of the "cheat" foods.

Lesson: Don't let yourself get hungry. There is no reason to on this diet. Bring pepperoni, bring cheese, bring boiled eggs, bring anything you have to. But keep yourself hydrated and keep yourself full.