I realized this past week that cheat meals and days are acting as a catalyst for a weekend free-for-all. I am obsessed with pasta and could eat it forever and ever. I tried limiting myself to one pasta dish a week but the result of that was that I would eat as much pasta as I could, knowing that I wouldn't allow myself to have it again for a whole week.
While I know that pasta is definitely my weakness, I am not ready to eliminate it from my diet altogether. Perhaps in the future I will decide that it is worth giving up pasta. That I want to be thin and healthy more than I want to eat pasta. But for now my mindset is "don't do anything on a diet that you can't/won't do for the rest of your life." And there is no way that I will ever stop eating pasta forever.
Rather than allowing myself cheat meals or cheat days, I am going to attempt the moderation route. One 2-oz serving of pasta once or twice a week (with a protein and a veggie of course!). What I am slowly coming to realize is that losing weight is an individual process. I need to learn what works for me. And when something doesn't work, I need to recognize my mistakes and chart a new course.
With that said, I would have put money on me posting my first weight gain this week. I ate poorly through Sunday and aside from walking around the mall a few times, I did no exercise. Somehow, the Scale Gods were being kind this week and I weighed in at:
Starting weight: 272 lbs.
Current weight: 258.7 lbs.
Weekly loss: 2.8 lbs.
Total loss: 13.3 lbs.
I love pasta, too. I cut it out entirely at first but have started adding it back into my weekly menus. Two ounces, measured. The trick to pasta, I think, is to realize it's the side dish and not the main course. When I have pasta for dinner, it's covered in veggies and lean meat. I can still enjoy the pasta and feel fuller thanks to all the produce.
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