the unpopular solution

I’ve seen many people in the last week that I haven’t seen for years, and thus have had many questions about how I lost weight.

“I eat less”.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t eat as much.”

“That’s it?”

“I exercise.”

“Really, that’s it?  No special diet?  No tricks?”

“I eat a lot of vegetables?”

At this point, I get a head shake, a scowl, and/or a look of disbelief.  I shrug in return.

In the last week, I’ve been accused of eating too greasy, too healthy, too much, too little, too much dessert, not enough dessert, the wrong kind of dessert.   Everyone wants to critique my eating habits.

I’m down close to 50 pounds, and when I last saw the woman who I ate Thanksgiving with, it was July.  Maybe I was down 40 pounds then?  I met her in Monterey and had lunch, and wasn’t allowed dessert.  I was too big, and she was overweight as a young woman (she’s now 87).  I wasn’t going to argue with her, I just shared a few bites of the boy’s dessert, as he was the only one allowed to order it.  (Women aren’t supposed to in general, especially not fat ones).  This time, since I’m no longer “too heavy” (somewhere in the last 10 pounds must have been the line, though BMI says I’m not there yet-damn DD boobs), I was allowed to eat it, though she seemed to think that I ate too much.  At the Thanksgiving buffet, I had one ooey-gooey chocolate truffle, and a small piece of something that they said looked like a Napolean.  I think she ate more than me, she just sampled a bit of everything.  Since I dislike pie, lemon anything, and most everything that’s not chocolate, it just looks like I may eat more, since I ate the whole thing.  Whatever.   I only stuffed myself a little (I don’t like that feeling anymore), and was hungry again in the morning, as opposed to the three days I needed last year.  I ate mostly shrimp and crab, roasted squash and parsnips, and cheese/crackers/salmon, not a beef fan, not a turkey fan, except the skin, and there was none available.

Then there are two other male friends who are gaining weight, and bemoan how inconvenient it is to eat healthy.  It takes planning, thought, conscientious eating.  True, it does.  However, just because one likes to leave the office for lunch doesn’t mean that it has to be for a heavy meal.  Order something on the healthy side, or just eat half of it.  There’s always an excuse, and it’s always more convenient not to bother.  It’s not my job to convince anyone to change their lifestyles, all I ever say is that if/when it matters enough, they’ll get to it.   When I was visiting with my parents, I’d generally save half my lunch or dinner for breakfast the next day.  I explain to my dad that this is how I can eat bacon/cheese/ice cream/butter/full-fat salad dressing,  and still lose weight.  They eat tiny breakfasts, and I need much more, or my eating will be screwed up all day.  He’s pissed because my mom “shovels in huge amounts of crap” and doesn’t gain weight, and he has been dieting for 50 years, is still chubby.  I told him that I avoid non-fat food, and I don’t eat until I’m stuffed.  I told him maybe he just eats too large portions.  He says he just eats what the restaurant gives him, and I said that’s likely his problem.  He says his dad’s obesity ruined his life, because all his kids were embarassed by him.  His cousin’s daughter recently lost 120 pounds, I’ve never met her, was bummed she didn’t come to lunch.  Lots of weight problems in the family, especially my dad’s side, heart disease and diabetes on the mom’s.    I wonder about my mom’s crappy neurotic diet, and all I can figure, is that she probably doesn’t get diabetes because she exercises a lot, diet be damned.    She also doesn’t get sunburned, nor poison oak.  Lucky genetics!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!