Soup's On

When I want to know what I weigh, I go to Publix.  They have those ginormous scales there, right at the front of the store in full view of everyone in the check-out lanes.  It may seem like an odd place to weigh in, especially for someone who could stand to shed a few pounds.  But I decided many years ago that  1.) I don't want to have scales at my house, because I will weigh myself obsessively, and  2.) I don't really give a crap if the whole world (at least the world of Publix) can see what I weigh.  It's not like anyone will see where the needle lands and think, "SHE weighs THAT??  I never would have guessed it!"  Seriously?  Let's be honest.  We may be able to draw others' attention away from those extra pounds with strategic accessorizing, but we can't actually hide them.

So, off to Publix I went yesterday morning, intending to verify that I did, in fact, weigh what I thought I did.  Just wanted to get my official "starting weight" as I headed into day one of a seven-day dietish-cleansish kind of thing.  Imagine my frustration when I discovered I had somehow gained three pounds.  WHAT??  This is not exactly how I had hoped to start things off.  But, I guess it's not all bad, because it resulted in an even greater determination to actually do this thing.  Sooooo, I bought all the stuff I would need for the week, and later that day I had to dig out extra supplies from our craft stash to add to my visual weight loss motivational tool (a.k.a. pink beads in votive holders, pictured below).  Each bead represents a pound, and as I shed real pounds, beads will move from the "pounds to lose" container to the "pounds lost" container.  Thank you, Pinterest.

 

 

You can't tell by looking, but there are twenty-eight beads in there.  Twenty-eight.  This feels a little ambitious for me, at my age and, well, historical lack of follow-through.  But I just really need to get my act together, honeys, so I'm goin' for it.

So I found this cleansy-dietish thing on Pinterest.  Click here to check it out.   Upon further investigation, I discovered it's just a variation on the well-known Cabbage Soup Diet (here's the 7-day plan and the recipe for the soup), which I did many years ago and lost several pounds.  If you're not familiar with it, let me summarize:  Eat specifially prescribed foods on each of seven days (i.e. all fruit one day, nothing but bananas and milk on another, etc.), supplement with unlimited quantities of near-flavorless rabbit food soup, and drink enough water to float the Spanish Armada. 

As I contemplated the whole thing, I started to have second thoughts, because I know good and well that this is just a quick fix and is by no means the "lifestyle change" that we all know is necessary for meaningful and long-lasting weight loss.  But that's not the reason I'm doing it, and I decided that the reasons I do have for doing it are still valid.

1.  I want to lose several pounds FAST.  Let's face it: results are the best motivation for sticking with a more long-term plan, so I need a kick-start.  Especially after that not-so-fun visit to Publix.  I have no intention of using this diet to lose all twenty-eight pounds.

2.  Eating this way for a week will go a long way toward curbing my near-insatiable appetite for all things sweet.  I suppose this is the cleanse-like element of the diet.  I know I could accomplish that by just fasting sugar for a week or two, but whenever I try that I always end up filling the void with other, less sweet carbs, like salty crackers and stuff with all kinds of chemicals and preservatives.  It will be good to purge myself of all of that, and having specific boundaries is pretty much the only way I can ensure I'll do it.

So how am I doing?  Well, I'm on day two, and I've already screwed it up.

For starters, I didn't eat any of the soup yesterday.  I was a little confused about when to start eating it, based on the version of the diet I found on Pinterest, so I just never got around to making it.  So all I had to eat all day yesterday was fruit.  Good thing I love fruit.

The other monumental fail was that I pretty much forgot about that whole "drinkwateruntilyourbackteetharefloating" thing.  Totally slipped my mind until about 2:00.  But once I got with the program, the bathroom and I became best friends.  And we're just getting cozier today.

Now, before you start to think I've fallen prey to the lure of the fad diet, let me assure you that I'm also exercising a lot.  I'm mostly walking/running, and I plan to throw in the occasional Zumba via XBox.  I did an Insanity workout with Tony a couple weeks ago, but that resulted in my not being able to walk for a few days.  Or bathe.  Or pick up heavy objects, like pencils and styrofoam cups.  Tony has encouraged me to give it another try, so we'll see.

I must confess, though, that I am allowing myself to cheat in one area.  The diet allows coffee, but no sugar or creamer. 

Um . . . what.ever.

I can do without the sugar, friends, but I just cannot drink my coffee black.  I know this makes me, in the eyes of many, a coffee faker.  A phony.  A lightweight.  But I really don't care, and the only way I could go without my beloved half-n-half is to go without coffee altogether, and well, that idea is drowning in crazy sauce.  Makes me think of that quote . . . I'm paraphrasing, of course, but I think it goes something like this: "Man cannot live by bread alone, but bread and coffee would probably work."

So, dear readers, I'll let you know how it goes.  For now, just know I'm loving cabbage like this . . .

 

 

And water like this . . .

 



 And making lots of trips here . . .

 And trying not to think too much about things like this . . .

*sigh*  Six more days . . . six more days . . . six more days.  :-)