By Diego Abeloos
 Editorial intern Diego Abeloos struggles, but resists temptation to join Town Crier staff in a pizza break. |
A few more weeks have come and gone since my diet began, and I must say, things don’t appear to be going too badly.
OK, so it hasn’t been easy, but I’m still sticking with my plan and I will see it through to the end.
One of the most frustrating and tempting things I’ve had to deal with is this: I’m on a diet when everyone else I know isn’t. For other dieters who have encountered the same problem, I feel your pain.
A common scenario the past three weeks has been me, salad and all, drooling like a dog at the sight of food I’m not supposed to eat - food that my friends and family continue to consume in my presence.
Although I’ve handled it well so far, I’m starting to get grumpier than a smoker stranded on an island with a wet pack of cigarettes.
In all honesty, this trend has caused two very invasive thoughts to circle in my head for quite a while now.
The first is that I can’t wait to reach my goal weight so I can finally eat something bad. The second is that I really can’t go back to my old eating habits once I reach my target weight, or I’ll balloon up like a person allergic to shellfish.
There has to be an answer for me that lies somewhere between those two thoughts. What should I do?
When I spoke about this with my wife, she offered me a simple piece of advice: Know when to say when.
I know, this is the same line commonly used for drinking alcohol, but hey, food can be destructive, too.
What my wife basically meant was, once you’re finished dieting, don’t go and eat yourself sick just because you like a particular dish (a lot). Eat sensible portions of food, no matter what it is.
If you decide to eat pizza for lunch, keep it to one slice and couple it with a salad. Don’t go back for more, and definitely don’t eat another bad item the rest of the day (that means no McDonald’s for dinner).
As always, exercise is the key. If you take the time to go for a swim, a run, or even a walk, you’re helping your body stay fit and lean.
So, without any additional blabbering about my philosophies (or my wife’s), here’s a synopsis of how my diet is going.
The past few weeks have been relatively busy for me. First, my wife and I moved to a new place down the street. This was great because I got the workout of my life moving all our furniture (you try moving a large couch down three flights of stairs). Granted, my body was sore like never before, but it was worth it.
The one negative aspect of this experience was that I was unable to resume my regular workout for a couple of days, as my body was recovering from nine hours of lifting, transporting and once more lifting furniture.
As for my regular workouts, I have been swimming like a fish on a daily basis, thanks to the wonderful pool at my new apartment complex. Instead of struggling through 30 minutes of jogging, I now happily swim for approximately 45 minutes to an hour each day. It seems to be paying off too, as I’ve noticed an increase in my stamina when working out.
Perhaps the greatest part of my workout routine is that it’s so simple. The pool is maybe 50 yards from my front door, which makes it a hassle-free routine to get into. It seems to be working for me, so I’m sticking with it.
As for food, it seems that there’s only so much tuna and lettuce a person can take. It has become boring and repetitive. In the past week, I’ve tried to spice things up a little by barbecuing chicken (skinless and boneless) marinated in low-fat dressing. While this has offered my taste buds a slight variation in flavor, it is still boring.
The food issue has become a source of frustration for me. There are times when all I want is a hamburger and fries, but then I snap back to reality and sadly realize that both items are not diet-friendly.
There is one food item, though, that has offered me some relief - watermelon. Lately, I’ve been finding great deals on watermelon at local grocery stores, so I’ve been buying it up like there’s no tomorrow. Sure, there’s still sugar and calories in watermelon, but it has some nutritional value and it tastes awesome. (Do you see how desperate I am?)
Every night, after I painfully chew through my usual, boring meal, I slice up a small bowl of watermelon for dessert to satisfy my craving for sweet stuff.
I know, this will probably get boring too, but let me have a little joy.
On to the burning question: How much weight have I lost?
Well, my scale (and it is accurate) tells me that I’m down to 173 pounds, 5 pounds lighter since my last update June 23. This means that I’m only 3 pounds away from my target weight, 3 pounds away from ending my misery, 3 pounds away from … well, you get the picture.
Three more pounds to go.
