Return from Provence: Gearing Up to Lose Weight

Summer Fruits, 2011

Last blog entry, I admitted that I slipped up. I didn’t maintain my weight during our summer in Provence.  Instead, I gained four pounds!  Extra wine and desserts were too much of a good thing. 

What am I going to do now?

The first step is setting a target. My goals are to:

• Lose the weight I gained; and

• Lose four more pounds by the end of October and then maintain this weight loss.

I can use some encouragement just now. “Success is never final.  Failure is never fatal.  Courage is what counts.”  Thanks Peggy Murrah for putting this quote from Winston Churchill on Facebook today. 

What else am I going to do?

• Resume writing down what I eat and drink daily.
• Walk, bike, and exercise on the elliptical for an hour a day. 
• Fill up on low calorie food and drinks like watermelon, other summer fruits and vegetables, and iced mint tea; 
• Drink less alcohol (2 glasses of wine a week instead of 7) and eat fewer desserts (a slice of tart once a week instead of one a day).
• Go to Weight Watchers and weigh in weekly with my buddy Judy.

Like many others, I’ve struggled with my weight over a number of years. 

I’ve been on a weight maintenance plan for the past 3 years after having lost 12 pounds on Weight Watchers. 

Weight management tips:

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 cites these behaviors with the strongest evidence for helping manage body weight:

·        Focus on the total number of calories consumed.

·        Monitor food intake.

·        When eating out choose smaller or lower-calorie options.

·        Prepare, serve, and consume smaller portions of foods and beverages especially those high in calories.

·        Eat a nutrient dense breakfast.

·        Limit screen time.

What steps have you found most useful for managing weight?

Yours in joy and health!

Kay

Summer Tomatoes, "The More the Taste, the More the Pleasure," 2011