Worthy Witness

I’ve always been a healthy eater, carefully balancing leafy greens with proteins, starches and carbohydrates.  In fact, it’s because of that understanding of nutrition and thoughtful eating habits that I’ve always thought of myself as being a healthy, thin person framed in a chubby, slightly out-of-shape body.

Whenever I ate a candy bar in the past, I justified its protein content by its generous helping of peanuts.  If I ordered cake, it was always “carrot.”  And, if I needed ice cream, it was nutritionally rich, frozen yogurt.

In all of the years I’ve lived, I’ve deplored the word “diet,” and not let it enter my vocabulary.  My use of a scale and measuring tape was only useful in those early years after five pregnancies before the age of 30.  I preferred to coin a new phrase…an adjustment of eating habits.  I have, however, dusted off the scale and ordered a new, more efficient tape for this phase of my journey.

In the past, I’ve always been able to rationalize my weight:  After all, I still am large-boned; I could but no longer can justify  PMS three weeks out of the month; I had and still have a sluggish metabolism.  Over the years I learned to accentuate the positive – good legs a firm bust, sparkling smile.  With today’s stretch pants and voluminous, cover the butt tops, I actually look pretty good.  If the arms aren’t bared, and I keep my chin straight, no one can guess the bottom line.

If the clothes fit, why worry?  Have you noticed that even though the weight has increased, you can still wear a Size 12 or Medium.   I understand that there is a new product that stretches east to west, north to south.  I used to wear one of those; it was called a “girdle.”  Could these fabrics be at fault for causing my increase of girth?

The new secret to achieving a healthier lifestyle and shedding pounds seems to be reverting back to little or no carbohydrates (bread, pastries,) eating copious amounts of protein, selected vegetables and named fruit.  In our household we have been using a salad for dinner plate for years, so for me, it’s not cutting back on portion size.  No, I need to create a fat burner, and since I have so little time, it will have to be a furnace.

My doctor, who shed much poundage in the past year and dubbed me “obese” told me about a new study that shows defined exercise as not being as important as was thought for weight reduction and keeping off pounds.  Surely, the pendulum swings on many things.  I gave up aerobics when I thought I’d die from the drill-sergeant cadance of too many leg lifts.  Noticing spidery veins in legs that had previously been thought unspoiled, I gave up the run.  Besides, there were no bathrooms on the route.

Just took a break and weighed myself.  Now I understand why we weigh in at the same time each day!  Weight up two pounds from yesterday.  How to achieve thin?  I’ll settle for a waist.