Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Ugh


I need to lose 20lbs. (eek, that sounds so....fat!) And at 50yrs. old I realize that this could be a rather daunting task. But I am tired of snug fitting pants and of looking at clothes I don't even bother trying on anymore because I know I won't be able to close the zipper. So, today I start the first part of my two-fold attack on blubber....walking at least 3x a week. The other is cutting back on eating and as of now I am hoping that the addition of exercise on a regular basis will be sufficient to avoid the dreaded 'diet'. I've never been a big believer in diets. At least not in the sense of withholding certain foods for an indeterminate period of time- just long enuf to lose the weight ...then back to the cheesecake.

We have a pretty decent lifestyle diet here in the Garver house....plenty of fruits and veggies, pastas, chicken, whole grains....not a lot of crap. Though I guess whole grain Tostitos are hardly a health food and I'm sure there's a box of Cap'n Crunch in my cupboard as we speak. We rarely eat red meat and I try to keep things simple and use as few processed foods as possible. I used to shop once a month at Whole Foods in Fresno...but the hour drive got to be a bit too expensive and seemed to defeat the purpose of buying organic. Now we shop at the local Savemart and Winco (she says guiltily....tho better than WalMart, the whole big-box store concept is not something I am entirely comfortable with). We grow a lot of our own vegetables and were it not for feeding the kids, Steve and I would probably be content eating out of the garden almost exclusively.....add a freshly baked loaf of bread and a glass of wine...what more could you want?

So, tho I do think I eat pretty healthily....I guess I just eat too much of it. Darn. I hate the thought of giving up my glass of wine with dinner (or the one I drink while making dinner). I do so love the whole process of cooking and eating. It is one of the simple pleasures in our life and I don't want that to change. Which pretty much means the success of this mission hinges on the commitment to exercise...regularily...beyond gardening and cleaning house and painting and plastering and furniture refinishing.....

....geez, I certainly don't feel like I'm living a sedentary lifestyle.

3 comments:

Julie said...

You don't sound sedentary to me! I've always thought that I would be a vegetarian if I didn't have to feed a meat-and-potato-lovin' husband and the kids. I have cut back a lot with Sid out of town. Maybe that will translate into some lost pounds. *crosses fingers* Fresh vegetables just make me happy!

Nancy Winningham said...

First of all, if you lose 20 pounds you will look gaunt! Unfortunately, as we get older, our metabolisms slow down but our appetites don't! I'd skip the butter before I skip the wine (except the wine gives me headaches now, so I'm forced to eat more butter. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Maureen said...

LOL....sounds good to me!

and as for the guant comment...that's exactly why you're the best friend ever :)