Hermiones Mom's Journal, 06 May 2016

I was stirring a baking dish of rainbow carrots and sweet onions and munching on a basil and tomato salad, when I realized something -- maybe not for the first time, but it was a flash of reinforcement:

First, even though I'm sure there will be days when I devote this journal to whining about being stuck at some annoying plateau weight above goal, I am no longer really worried about making it to goal. If I get stuck, I'm not planning on any extreme remedies, no radical shifts in diet. What I'm doing is the right thing for me, for life, and my downward path toward goal since getting back on my program demonstrates how well my plan is working.

Second, I honestly don't think I will ever have to worry about my weight again, once I get to goal. I know that's a big brash brag, especially coming from someone who has gained and lost the same darn 50 pounds about 5 times in the past 40 years. But this is the first time in all those years that I have truly changed my eating habits over the long term. Learning to eat low glycemic has truly changed my life and changed not just the way I eat but my tastes. Tonight, making those carrots, I didn't want French fries to go with my steak. I wanted those carrots. And then the IBS hit, and I had to shift again -- trim my diet back even further to do without even sprouted grains, to avoid all sources of wheat flour, avoid all sources of lactose -- sort of low glycemic in the extreme.

And the result is, it may be slow, but my weight keeps moving downward, even though I've been eating somewhat more calories that I have in the past. What I've learned is that so long as a) I stick with low glycemic eating; b) my carbs to fat + protein ratio stays at about 40% carbs to 60% fat + protein; and c) I always maintain a deficit of calories in to calories burned, my weight will continue to drop. It might take me a lot longer than it takes people who adopt more radical approaches, but my numbers are great, I feel good most of the time, and I have a lot more energy than I've had for years.

So seriously, I'm not boasting: It's more reflection than boast. But it feels very satisfying, very encouraging to be at this point -- even though I know it's going to be months and months before I'm at goal. But it's such an incredible relief to be at this point, to be able to look ahead with some kind of confidence.

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1541 kcal

Fat: 51.38g | Prot: 108.09g | Carb: 161.35g.   Breakfast: Honeycup Uniquely Sharp Mustard, Buckwheat Pancakes-Gluten Free, Wellshire Farms Uncured Turkey Ham Steak, Smucker's Natural Creamy Peanut Butter, Berryhill Blackberry Spreadable Fruit, Milk (Nonfat). Lunch: Bonne Maman Peach Preserves, Egg Yolk, Lactaid Cottage Cheese, Cooked Egg White, Frieda's Cara Cara Oranges. Dinner: Walnut Oil, Bland Farms Vidalia Sweet Onion, Publix Baby Rainbow Carrots, Green String Beans, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Parmesan Cheese (Shredded), Yellow Tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, Food Lion New York Strip Steak. Snacks/Other: Blueberries, Strawberries, Banana Oat Blueberry Walnut Muffins, Starbucks Nonfat Cappuccino (Grande). more...