The Good, the Bad, and the Real

The good: My clothes feel looser, I feel better, and I've become more aware of the difference between hunger pangs and emotional craving pangs. I am seeing the benefits of self-control, commitment, and determination - as of this morning, I'm down 15.5lbs. That is no small accomplishment. I'm halfway to my first goal, which is to lose a total of 30lbs by June 21st. What's my second goal? I'll let you know after I've reached my first.

The bad: It sucks to exercise, count calories, chart my daily weight, and log daily food intake. No, really, it sucks. There are plenty of days when I don't want to do any of the above. It requires way too much time and honesty. I also struggle with the afternoon munchies. The time between lunch and dinner is a long stretch...even with an afternoon snack. I've realized that this is the time of day when I'm most prone to eating handfuls of chips and crackers, or just about anything. And no, carrots are not a crunchy substitute for crackers or pretzels.

The real: The real honest-to-goodness truth about losing weight is that it's hard work because it's about breaking bad habits and replacing them with good ones. The real honest-to-goodness truth is that in the last few weeks on at least three occasions, I have spit out a mouthful of chips or crackers into the kitchen sink. Why? Because on those occasions I was eating emotionally/mindlessly/out of habit. Take your pick. The real honest-to-goodness truth is that right now it would be so easy to quit, so easy to settle for halfway; but I don't want to and that's why I need to chart my daily weight on a calendar so I can see the progress.

All in all, I'm happy with the progress and the changes that I've made. That still doesn't mean that it's been easy.