June 16, 2021

Three Weeks In

It's been over three weeks now since I started participating in a DietBet. I had no idea at the time that it was going to be just the push I needed to get my diet back on track.

I kind of dislike the phrase "back on track"--it implies that I was doing something temporary and now I'm getting back to doing that again. The changes I had made before, when I lost all the weight and then the couple of times I had to "get back on track" and lose some that I'd gained back, were changes I'd made with a lifetime goal in mind. I made sure I only made changes I was willing to live with forever. (I just re-read that post I linked, and wow--it is helpful even to me, and I am the one that wrote it! Haha)

And that's still true. Somewhere along the way, though, I developed some bad habits and the good habits fell to the wayside--which is how I gained back a big chunk of weight. When I say "back on track", I am just talking about getting back to the good habits that helped me lose the weight and keep it off (for the most part) for so long.

The past three weeks have been great as far as changing my habits. The biggest one, obviously, is counting my calories. I REALLY didn't want to have to do that, but after a single day of it, I realized it's not so bad. When counting calories, there is no question about whether I'm eating a "normal" amount. It also helps me get used to smaller portions and to only eat the things I really want. I don't want to waste my calories on something that I think is just so-so tasting; I want to use my calories on foods that matter!

I've also fallen in love with fruit again. I've always loved fruit, but I haven't been eating nearly as much of it over the past few years. Since starting the DietBet, I've been eating a LOT of fruit--mainly grapes and watermelon. I tend to eat fruit for breakfast, then fruit and cheese for lunch, and then a good, filling dinner. I like to save a lot of my calories for dinner--that way, I can cook with "real" ingredients (not trying to skimp on calories) and feel full enough through the evening so that I don't want to snack all night.

Yesterday's dinner, for example, was 750 calories. It sounds like a lot, but it wasn't an enormous amount of food. I made pork, mushroom, and carrot bibimbap (I used the recipe from the Hello, Fresh kit that I'd tried a while ago). It was SO delicious!


I took pretty much all of the mushrooms--can you believe that I'm the only one in my family that likes mushrooms?!

My final weigh-in for the initial DietBet is next Tuesday, and as long as I keep doing what I'm doing, I'm definitely going to win my money back. I'm glad I am signed up for the six-month one because hopefully that will keep me going until my habits become very strong again.

Now, I'm off to attempt Couch to 5K - Week 4. I'm nervous! But I'm going to reduce the treadmill speed quite a bit and hopefully I'll make it through. :)

3 comments:

  1. You inspired me with DietBet and I think I joined the six month one you are in. I also joined one that ends at the end of the month. So far so good...I think it will be helpful with the habits. Thanks!

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  2. Congrats!! Have you seen Ree Drummond's article on how she lost the weight? Until I read it, I had no idea how little protein I was eating... changing that seems to have finally move my scale in the right direction... Perhaps you will get som useful info out of it https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ree-drummond-life/a36716462/how-ree-drummond-lost-weight-and-got-healthier/

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