thoughts on dieting.

Now that I'm a whole whopping 23 pounds lighter, more and more people are starting to notice the changes. I keep getting asked "how do you do it?" and the answer is: no extraordinary means.

I would like to make it abundantly clear, in case it wasn't before, that I AM NOT ON A DIET.

As far as exercising goes, I commit myself to 35 minutes of cardio EVERY SINGLE DAY (more if I'm feeling good, less if I really can't go longer). If I have a serious time crunch, I'll take one or two days off per week. But I almost always make up for it by doing an hour of Pilates at home. The point is, exercising has to be a constant part of my reality regardless of what weight I'm at.

But back to the food thing, that's the part that troubles people the most. Today, I was given leftover pizza at work and my coworker suggested that I eat the taco pizza instead of the all meat pizza because the taco has more veggies on it. I looked at her funny and told her, "as far as food goes, I eat whatever I want... as long as I go to the gym." And that, my friends, is the truth. I went with the taco pizza in the end because I just appealed to my tastes at the time, but under no circumstances would I consider the limp, warm lettuce on top to be a serving of vegetables. I had one slice of pizza for lunch and I plan to have another slice for dinner, and not once am I going to feel guilty about it.

Don't get me wrong, a person cannot survive off pizza alone. But pizza is what I have today and I'm feeling particularly indulgent, so pizza is on the menu. Before my workout today I ate an apple, just because I sounded yummy. Now, I am snacking on some vanilla yogurt and I tossed in the arils from a small pomegranate (currently on sale for $0.69 each). I'm not eating yogurt because I believe it to be healthy, I am eating yogurt because I find it delicious. And the pomegranate was a special treat to myself! Since they're such a seasonal item, I look forward to this time of year to partake in their blood-red seedy goodness.

I truly enjoy and crave apples and pomegranates and yogurt and green tea (I'm sipping on a cup now). I am NOT forcing myself to like them out of some misguided perception that I should eat them because they're healthy. It's also true that I love and crave things like pizza and milkshakes and pumpkin pie. And that's okay too! But when it comes to those foods, they feed my soul more than they feed my body.

Above all, I must constantly remind myself: NO EXTRAORDINARY MEANS. I am proud of the 23 pounds of progress I have made, and I'm looking forward to the next 23 pounds and everything after that. But this will be an ongoing, lifelong process that I must learn to love, because if I hope to have any success, I'll need to do this forever.

I don't take "forever" to be a life sentence. I think of it as a challenge.