Weighty Wednesday --Story of the Peg-legged Chicken

At yesterday's Weight Watcher meeting, I lost a pound . . . and over the past two weeks, I made 60 POUNDS of candy. How on earth did I lose weight while around all that candy?

Actually, it's easy.

I have to have enough candy to pack into 50 boxes, which means I can't eat it  . . .now.

The problem will come when I finish packing the boxes and there are 'extras'. You always have to make extras for the ones that break and leak, though I have to admit I'm not being a perfectionist about the quality of the candy--small bubbles or cracks will be present. I'm not selling them for a living, so I'm allowed a few flaws. If you don't like it, then don't eat my candy!

So how did I manage to lose weight after being around chocolate for the last two weeks?

Just the chocolate smell was beginning to be a turn off, plus I was so sick and tired of dealing with the stuff that I was just glad to wash it down the drain.

This is a normal phenomena. Just ask anyone who works in a hamburger joint, ice cream parlor or any food service type job. The more you are around the food product the less you want to consume it.

But let's say you are making candy and you haven't been so lucky. You consume a pound of peanut brittle while you're making it or whatever. This was actually confess in my WW meeting by a lady who has been at goal for over 30 YEARS!

Remember--just because we are at goal doesn't mean we don't stumble.

We stumble, but it usually only happens in one instance and not continually.

We've been playing at this game for long enough to know our faults and to know how to get right back on track. It doesn't mean we don't have food issues, we just know how to acknowledge and brush past them.

This lady knew what she had to do and she did it. Now, she didn't approach it quite like I would have, but it worked for her. She simply decided that she'd consumed enough calories/points for the day and didn't eat anything else.

I would have approached it with 'Simply Filling' items, because I know the carbs from the candy wouldn't hold me. Remember the Simply Filling items are fat free dairy products, fruits and vegetables, and lean proteins. Yes, whole grains should be in there, but I tend to retain water when I eat those products so I omit them. Bad Margaret.

The other evening, after I cleaned up the candy mess and took my daughter to swim practice, we came home about 8 PM. I had eaten some fruit at 5 PM before swim practice and was ready to eat my arm off. When I started trolling for food--carbohydrates mainly, see, it does happen to all of us! -- I realized I had been missing something from my diet during the past few days.

Protein.

I'd been getting dairy proteins, but not meat. Luckily, or unluckily for the chicken, I had purchased a rotisserie chicken from Sam's Club that day, intending to have a family meal the next night. Well, let's just say that chicken went to the table missing one leg. Yep, I ate it. Ate it right off the bone, leaving the leg intact to the body.

Hubs wondered what happened to the scrawny leg.

I had to confess.

Many times we are so busy thinking about getting all our fruits and veggies into our diet that we forget an important component--PROTEIN. Protein takes longer to digest which means it keeps us fuller longer, plus giving us energy and the ability for our bodies to perform certain functions. Though I don't recommend eating protein that late at night, I'm glad I did.

Because if I hadn't realized that I needed protein, I would have eaten three times more food and calories trying to find something to satisfy my cravings.

I don't think I would have had this flash of insight two months ago, much less at the beginning of my weight loss journey. It took time. It took dedication. It took the ability to look past the immediate gratification, to find the need.

Balance is the key. Keep in mind all the food groups, and no, chocolate isn't a food group. Sorry.

Tip for the day:

Keep hydrated. In the winter, we don't exhibit thirst the same way we do in the summer and tend to forget to drink lots of water. Your skin will thank you.

Later, Peeps!