Someone recently asked me what my goal weight was. I said “I don’t know, but I’ll know when I get there”. There isn’t a certain number on the scale that I want to get to. I might have a number in my head but I could get there and look awful and feel awful. About fifteen years ago I lost a lot of weight and weighed about 115 pounds. I had friends, good friends who I knew really cared about me and were being honest, thought I looked unhealthy. Some asked if I had an eating disorder, some thought I was depressed and someone even asked me if I had the big C. I remember I was having dinner at a good friends home and after dinner I went to use the restroom and she starting pounding on the door and asking me if I was throwing up in there. I’m sorry but I am a foodie and foodies do not throw up a good meal. It’s funny but at that time in my life I thought I looked great. I want to get to a place, not a number where I feel good. Where I feel comfortable in clothes, new size clothes, Without feeling like a stuffed sausage. I want to feel healthy, be able to exercise and feel light on my feet. I want to be the best me, not a number.
Author: vfaraca
The Stink Eye
The other day I was talking to my good friend Gretchen about how nasty and cruel other women can be. Not all but some. She was telling me a story about how she was going to visit her sister at work and stopped and got some fast food on the way. Gretchen is a very busy business owner who sometimes like most of us grabs something on the go. It’s not a crime, right? Well she was sharing how some of the women in her sister’s office were giving her the “Stink Eye’ like, “your eating that”. I can totally relate to that experience. Here is a funny story from my flight attendant days. Now flight attendants can be funny about that eating thing too. On a long flight we have enormous amounts of food. Sometimes really good food. But you have to be really careful about eating as a crew member. I swear, every flight attendant watches what another flight attendant puts in their month. I don’t think its even a conscious thing, I think it goes back to our weight check days. Anyway, we were baking fresh baked cookies in the galley, for the passengers of course and I was dying for one of those cookies. Now there was no way I was going to just casually take one and eat it in front of my fellow co workers, nobody ever did that. I did not want to get the ole “stink eye” from anyone. So I waited till nobody was in the galley and I stuffed one in my pocket. It happened so fast! My head was spinning, now what was I going to do with it! Thank goodness that the coat closet on those airplanes are eally big. I made sure no one was looking and I went into that big coat closet and ate that big delicious cookie. Talk about shame! When I look back now I think it’s hysterical. I’m sure I’m not the only flight attendants who has ever done that, trust me. Remember don’t give those “STINK EYE” people power over you. They are probably pro’s at being sneaky too.
Chicken Chili Relleno Casserole
Viva la France
Now that I am eating a low fat diet on my weight loss program, I don’t think it was a good idea to go to a cooking school in France. It was wonderful and amazing but I came back with a whole different attitude about butter, cream and cheese. You see in France they are a staple in their diet. They are not afraid of fat. And I came back not afraid of fat anymore also. Because of course everything taste better with butter, cream and cheese. But it doesn’t quite work for the American lifestyle. In France especially in the countryside the French don’t eat fast food. I don’t remember seeing one fast food restaurant in all of Provence. They eat much smaller portions, no supersizing there and they get much more exercise than we do. They walk everywhere. They walk to visit friends, they walk to the market to get their butter, cream and cheese, they walk walk walk walk walk. You will see very elderly people walking everywhere. Are you getting the picture? So because I don’t have the luxury of living in the South of France, I need to go back to tailoring a more healthy diet for my lifestyle. It doesn’t mean I will never be able to enjoy the occasional buttery, creamy French entrée. It just means those fatty delicious foods cannot be a staple in my refrigerator anymore. Merci.
Wednesday Weigh In
Only 1 1/2 lbs. Okay, I am a bit bummed out. I expected more but at least I didn’t gain 1 1/2 lbs. And that is still a total of 40 quarter pounders lost so far. And on the bright side, I’m not craving a Quarter Pounder. It’s all about perception. Now I could have gotten so bummed out and said “Screw it! I knew this wasn’t going to work!” But I’m not even feeling the least bit tempted to say that. When I look at the big picture and realize that is 10 pounds in 3 weeks, that is a milestone for me and I should feel proud. Sometimes we have very unrealistic expectations. Gone are the days when I was young and could skip a couple of meals and lose 5 lbs. Those L B’s just don’t come off that easy the older we get. So today I will feel good about myself and proud of myself that I was able to rid my body of 10 extra pounds it does not need nor will miss.


