Weight, Weight, Don’t Tell Me

Homemade Miso

In spite of adhering to Phase I of the South Beach diet, albeit not religiously, my weight loss seems to have slowed to a crawl and, from day-to-day, even to see-saw back and forth. Yesterday, I had lost 11.6 pounds since January 1; today’s weigh-in (after two cups of coffee and a breakfast of miso soup, because…I forgot) showed the loss at only 9.4 pounds, suggesting I had gained 2.2 pounds in just one day. I dunno; it doesn’t seem quite right, that bounce and rebound, but I remain firmly committed to shedding ugly and unhealthy pounds.

With few exceptions, I am having no trouble sticking to the plan. However, my focus the first week on keeping my carb intake at rock bottom and my caloric intake to 1300 calories or less (with an ideal target of 1000 or less) fell victim in subsequent weeks to a bacchanalian food fest (well, not really, but I am sure my calorie intake exceeded 1300 daily while I was at Dairy Hollow). In addition, living with someone utterly disinterested in starving herself boosted my intake a bit upon returning home. Yet both of us are highly conscious of what we eat; yet neither of us are willing to make losing weight a chore. Instead, we intend for this process to become an easy-to-follow change in our habits, a life-change, if you will.

Later today, after the temperatures climb a tad and the snow and ice have melted enough to assure me of good footholds, I will reintroduce myself to walking. I haven’t walked since I left Eureka Springs last Saturday morning because, in preparation for the trip home, I did something untoward to my lower back, resulting in excruciating pain and the inability to walk upright for several days. It was interesting, experiencing the world as a stoop-backed primate for awhile; I don’t recommend it.  Today, though, in spite of the fact that my back still hurts a bit, I think it has healed enough for me to walk, though I will plan on taking it slow and easy; no long-distance hikes for a few more days.

I have re-learned a few things about myself in recent weeks that bear careful watching: first, apparently I have a pecan and peanut addiction. I cannot seem to pass a container of peanuts without stopping to have a few. Peanuts and pecans are both acceptable on the South Beach diet but, like everything, they should be consumed in moderation. I am immoderate in my tendency to consume pecans and peanuts. The second thing is this: my gut does not tolerate high-intake of peanuts; when I engage in that behavior, my Crohn’s kicks in with a vengeance (really, when I overdo eating peanuts is the only time it does). I suppose it’s like smoking; you know it’s bad for you, but you cannot simply say “no more.” You have to play hard-ball to put an end to the bad habit. I’m thinking of something desperate to put an end to my peanut-overindulgence, like stabbing a red-hot ice pick in my knee every time I succumb to the temptation.

“Weight, weight, don’t tell me that,” you might be saying. But you’re probably not.