Weight gain'n'me

Back from vacation. Overall a very relaxing and stress free time. I adore the outer banks. I fantasize about being independently wealthy, moving to the Outer Banks and just reveling in the natural beauty of the barrier island.

Took the Catbird with me. Managed to get 2 flats of my own and one on Diane’s bike. I rode almost everyday. I had a mission to get to Corolla Light house about 20 miles from where we were staying. I almost made it; I was 12 miles away. I could have made it there but I wouldn’t have been in any shape to ride home, so I turned around and went back.

In other alarming news I continue to gain weight like no tomorrow. In June I was about 169 pounds. By the end of June I weighed 174. By September I was pushing 179 and today I weighed in at 186.

I freely admit I do not eat “well” but neither do I gorge on high fat foods or processed foods. I eat fruits and vegetables every day and at minimum I do a 20 min walk with the dog every day. Recently I ride 1 hour once a week with 2 30 min rides twice a week but not every week—more like every other. I eat a bowl of high fiber cereal for breakfast with ¼ cup of low fat milk and occasionally a home made version of the egg/Canadian bacon/cheese on a muffin sandwich for breakfast, salad or sandwich or soup for lunch and chicken or salad for dinner. I have a weakness for sweets but I do not eat them daily, not even weekly. I think my concept of portions is WAY out of wack and that is contributing to the extra calories in my diet. That doesn’t mean I “load up” or “super size” meals, but I think “healthy” portions are considerably smaller than what I would estimate.

I’ve tried many diets and exercise plans over the years and it always seems to me that I gain weight. I don’t quite know what to do. I think most people think I’m lying about my diet. I don’t know why. I don’t have any need to lie about it and I am pretty ready to admit that exercise, at least regular exercise is NOT part of my lifestyle. So if I say I am following a diet or exercise plan I am. And If I tell you that instead of dropping inches or pounds I gain them, well I am. I know it is counter intuitive but there it is.

I watched part of an episode on Discovery Channel this weekend: “you on a diet” and it was engaging enough that I went to the website to check out the health and fitness tips. I don’t know if the folks on the show were “typical” results on this diet/exercise program. I suspect not. There was a 20 second mention of one woman’s son who after the 3 months had not lost as much as the others despite being faithful to the program, he was “going to keep at it” I do know that they offered concrete examples of a healthy BMI and waist size, and exercise goals and portion sizes and real people living their lives in real situations. I would like to see these same people in 9 months to a year. Did they keep the weight off?

I’m going to try and follow this plan for 3 months and see what happens. They provide a meal plan and recipes and the plan counts the total calories, so that should be helpful. It seems like a lot of cooking, which doesn’t excite me as much so we’ll see if that is my undoing.