Weight whatever or…

Weight loss, weight control, weight maintenance.

Interesting that I don’t mention weight gain – and yes, I would have some (o.k. to be honest very little) empathy for those who have that problem, most of us don’t.

A month or so ago  I had the brilliant idea of asking a friend if she was free for lunch (often have that one), whereupon she hesitatingly told me that, as her husband was gone, she was trying a three-day whatever (not really a diet, nor totally a de-tox so at loss as to what to call it) and that if I didn’t mind, I was happily invited.  “Lunch” that day was 5 crackers and cottage cheese. 

Having spent a great deal of this year either not being able to walk, or eating all the goodies that came my way, I pondered it over a few weeks then decided that it would probably be a good idea if I would also do it – I mean what’s three days?

I discovered that yes: I can drink my coffee black, that tea starts tasting very good as an alternative (never had too much trouble drinking that without milk or sugar); that dry toast is not too bad, as long as it is my “vitality” one with plenty of grains for flavor; that I have always liked broccoli, cauliflower and that beets were acceptable (if not perhaps for the number of times that they were on the menu); that hard boiled eggs are palatable, but that tuna without mayonnaise just isn’t acceptable!

My friend e-mailed me yesterday to find out if I had "gotten thin" - that was good for a whopping belly laugh: normal was 15 years and 15 kilos ago, thin was as a baby, a child, a young adult (o.k. scrawny was more like it; I had a few monikers such as "Long John Sliver") and then with my first child...

who was born 35 years ago.

Did I loose weight? Probably not (having not stepped on a scale for years I really wouldn’t know), but that wasn’t the point.  I wanted to feel again what it was to be hungry; I wanted to avoid having to go out and buy a new lot of trousers (getting tight, they were!); I didn’t want to head into the over-abundance-of-good-food season already straining at the gills; I wanted to see what “real” portions were to remind myself that, yes, portion control does count, and most of all; I simply wanted to feel that I had done something for my health.

So I head into the holiday season – if not lighter – at least with the knowledge that I can control what I eat and that more is not necessarily better: bring on the champagne, popcorn and brownies!