Diet, 6th week

Actually we just had class 7 last night, but you must realize our actual diet began the day following our first meeting. Therefore we have just finished our 6th week. In that time I have lost 28.5 pounds. That's not quite five pounds a week, but not far off. In fact last week I weighed in with only 2.5 pounds lost. I had to step up my exercise program a notch to regain my goal loss of 5 pounds. Everything else is so regulated that it is only the exercise that is a variable for me to adjust. And since my arthritis prevents walking for any measurable distance as exercise, I am limited to riding my now stationary bicycle. If week 12 finds me 50 pounds lighter I will be on schedule, and rather pleased with the results. Soon after that we begin to modify our diet with the addition of real (though soft and meager) food. We need to learn a different style of eating habits, as indeed we already are. We are reading and discussing healthy dining habits, but reality tests theory in these matters, and at this point our dining habits are only theoretical.

Frankly my gut looks almost as corpulent as it did before. No one seems to notice that I have lost anything--let alone some 30 pounds! Perhaps my jowls are not quite as paunchy as they were the day I started, but other than that it is really hard to notice. It is disappointing to find that those shirts that were too small for me before are still too small for me. This portly little man must have lost all that disgusting lard from the lining of my intestines and other internal hiding places. I really believe it is easier for me to breathe, and I guess that is more important to me than physique. Be patient, all that fat loss has to show somewhere.

I still think allot about food. I watch Emeril Live and salivate. I have downloaded some recipes for veggies and good healthy stuff. I fantasize about the fancy dining I plan to indulge once I am finished. Although I believe I will get sick if I dive in too soon after this radical change. And already I find myself dreading the possibility of regaining this weight. So my same resolve that sent me on this stringent diet in the first place is likely to make me fanatical about keeping the weight off when I finish.

I'm sorry to bore you with these reports, but frankly it is a large part of my life right now and it is hard for me to think about much else.