Angry Diets

O.K., so I have never been on a diet for more than one day in my entire life. The Sunday before last, we had some friends over for dinner and these friends happen to be the most physically beautiful couple we know. After a great Cafe Rio style dinner and bellies full of Barbacoa beef and brownies, they proceeded to tell us about their diet contest they were starting on Monday. Kevin and I are both heavier than we have ever been (excepting pregnancy, of course) so we felt a little silly. After all, these people appear to be the ultimate goal. She is 40, is 5"7 and weighs 132. She has perfect looking body but it is not perfect enough for her standards...she has a couple of tiny rolls on her belly which you would only notice if she was wearing something skin tight or a bikini. He is 6"3 and weighs 214, which happens to be Kevin's weight (kevin is 6"0) Up until we moved to Texas, I was able to maintain my imperfect, but satisfactory weight of 118 (I am only 5"5). After the move, I have put on 8-10lbs.

Now, we could just feel right at home since Houston is one of the fattest cities in the U.S., however, we felt a little ridiculous listening to our friends when we knew full well that we were the ones that needed to do this. We entered an agreement and the contest will last for 4 weeks. There are individual prizes for the greatest percentage of weight lost as well as couple prizes (which ever couple wins has to watch the other couple's kids for a 3 day trip) When I told my sister, she laughed out loud because how could we compete with perfection?

I only bring this up because I was discouraged today after going to lunch with my girlfriends, which includes this perfectly figured 40 year old model (actually she and another friend whose b-day we were there celebrating were models for years). While I ate the chips and salsa and got some tortilla soup, she got the "snapper" and didn't eat anything on the side. She is absolutely stalwart when it comes to eating and has no problem denying herself when she wants to. I am the one who has schemed about all sorts of diets, most notably the "jello diet" my mission trainer and I worked out on full stomachs Sunday night, only to break Monday by lunch. Denying myself makes me angry, but maybe if I did it consistently enough, it would make me happy. I will have to say that I am pretty proud of myself because I have done great for me these past 11 days...I have worked out 6 days a week (not super hard, but still I have been active) and I have denied myself much of the time....this is good since I normally eat what I want, when I want it and however much I feel like eating...even if it makes me sick. Back to the point....today at lunch, or afterward, I felt discouraged. So, I ate about 6 or 8 girl scout cookies this afternoon. I can find all sorts of reasons to quit because I simply cannot compete with any of the other participants (my husband is dropping pounds like I do cookies); however, I really do want the results of a slimmer figure, fitting into my old clothes and feeling better in general.

So, even though I may not win my couch (my individual prize if I win), there is still something to be gained or lost?! I decided to post this on my blog so that I am a little more accountable for these next two weeks. Maybe since you know about it, I will try harder and come out victorious. I have lost a couple of lbs (maybe negated that today) and need to lose 6 more. I was about to show my before picture which is utterly humiliating, but it is slightly immodest since I am in my bra and swimsuit bottoms, so I will refrain. So, if any of you have any tips that don't involve constant exercise and calorie deprivation, bring it on because I am back in the game. I'll do my best to be happy about it!