A New Era

So, I finally go in for a physical. Fasting blood test to check my thyroid levels and cholesterol. I have gained some weight, but everything was fine, except...

My triglycerides went from 98 to 166. Oops.

Although there is rampant heart disease on both sides of my family, I figured that since I exercise a lot and have low blood pressure, I was okay with eating just about anything I wanted.

Nope.

I don't want to go on cholesterol-lowering drugs, so I am changing my eating habits and will go back and get checked in another couple of months. I'm not taking any more meds! I take enough, what with the vitamins and the thyroid stuff. I'm kind of granola-hippie-ish when it comes to taking care of my body. I don't like artificial stuff and I don't believe in taking hormones or, really, anything that is not absolutely necessary. And I don't think cholesterol meds are necessary for me, if I am eating properly.

However, ever since I had cancer four years ago, I have been eating to comfort myself. I didn't feel particularly comforted by anyone or anything else, frankly, and I honestly didn't think I could give up the food. I felt like it was the only thing enjoyable in my life. Hence, I gained 14 pounds on top of the 4-6 I already had to lose. Enough to make me hate my body and feel uncomfortable. I just didn't know how to stop, though. And I didn't necessarily want to. The carbs and chocolate I ate too much of just really did it for me.

Well, not anymore. The party is over.

I found a new book in the library, Shrink Yourself by Gould. It's fantastic--it's a treatise on why we emotional eaters derive so much from eating. He takes the reader through exercises that teach how to solve problems without eating to stop the feeling. This is good for many areas of your life, not just times that prompt you to run to the chocolate. I found its insights extremely helpful and wish I had known these things 20 years ago!

It came together with a triumvirate: the higher cholesterol, and a woman I saw on a PBS fundraiser who advocated eight eating habits that will make you healthier and slimmer.

Drum roll please: after two weeks, I am down five pounds.

I am cautiously optimistic that I will get there this time. I really wanted to conquer the food addiction; while I am not grossly obese or anything, I want to be back into my size fours and sixes. I already exercise 4-5 times per week, and at some future time I was going to really knuckle down on my eating. Well, the future is now.

The eight habits (acronym DIET FREE): 1. Drink lots of water. 2. Include breakfast, and quit eating 3 hours before bedtime (I quit at 7 p.m. unless there's a party). 3. Eat fruit or vegetables first before snacking on something else. 4. Tame your sweet tooth with fruit. 5. Check the fat in everything you eat. 6. Real food--steer clear of processed foods. 7. Eat only until you are satisfied--not stuffed. 8. Exercise, preferably every day.

Now, I knew all these things; the trouble was putting them into practice. And The Four-Day Win by Martha Beck helps with this. She also has a very insightful way to help readers change their habits by baby steps, using her four-day plan. This book has been extremely helpful for me, too. She has the reader imagine two parts of herself: a wild child that is all impulsive emotion, and a strict Nazi-like authoritarian who is constantly trying to tame the wild child. Naturally, this internal war goes back and forth, and she suggests you try to take your real self out of it and imagine these two as tiny different individuals, who the real you simply wishes well. The imagery works!

What I do is avoid carbs and junk, eat lots more fruit and vegetables, and have a little chocolate (about 100 calories' worth) every day. I eat only a little dessert at parties, and I drink a lot of water. I usually keep the diet sodas, if I drink them at all, to one a day. I also eat dried apricots as a sweet treat.

The other thing I do is weigh myself every five days, concentrating on losing only one pound at a time. I figure 1 pound every five days is feasible for me, and so far, so good.

I will have a recap at the end of June--we will see what my weight and cholesterol have done by then!