The Evolution of my NOT SO Mediterranean Diet

 
Day 38 -  I started this blog as an experiment to follow a Mediterranean diet to lose weight over the summer.  It is not going well.  My scale is stuck at 172.2.  It couldn't even give me 2 ounces of progress over the past few days.  I gave up the Mediterranean diet portion of my experiment.  I have been counting calories.  I have been eating super healthy.  Truly.  No (added) sugar.  Whole wheat and grains, not refined white products.  Talk about "feeling pressure".  I sure hope I turn into a diamond like the quote above instead of simply imploding when all is said and done.

So now, I must tweak again.  I do not enjoy this part of the process.  Stubborn Suzy and Deprived Debbie are just waiting to pounce on me as I make my newest declarations.  (Please refer to Days 23 & 24 if you are new to my blog).  However, if something(s) is not working and we continue to do the same thing, we are now part of our own problem.  I so sincerely want to be part of my solution and not my problem, so I will push Stubborn Suzy aside and I will ignore Deprived Debbie (no matter how loudly she whines) and I will establish new guidelines for my experiment.

I am fairly certain that I am doing everything else well and that the diet portion is my true nemesis, so for now I won't waste time second-guessing myself on the rest.  I know I am building muscles in my workouts.  The composition of my body is definitely more muscular now than when I started!  I know that muscle does weigh more than fat.  I know that could be part of the slow...ness to my weight loss efforts.  But, I want to have a strong, healthy body - not just a smaller number on the scale, so I am going to continue my strength training workouts for all of the benefits they provide.

Since I have been counting calories consumed each day on a sticky note that I then throw away, I know that I have hit between 1400 & 1700 calories/day consistently.  And truly without too much issue.  I am not starving and I don't feel deprived.  But if I dig a bit into my memory and I think about the balance of those calories and I was honest with myself, I would have to say that perhaps I am eating too many carbs overall and maybe too much dairy and not enough lean meats and proteins.  And maybe, just maybe (oh you should hear the roar of the whine now from Deprived Debbie), it is time to give up all nuts and dried fruit for a week and see how that reflects on the scale.

You can't read it, but trust me there was a long pause as I finished that paragraph and felt the resistance wash through my body and then dissipate as I resigned myself to make these changes.  You would think my pistachios, cashews, walnuts and almonds were controlled substances.  I am literally going to have to put then in a new cupboard so I don't feel tempted by the sight of them.

I also need to add more meat back into my diet.  I am not a big meat eater to begin with, but I think it is important to experiment and see how my body reacts.  Listening to my body requires me to set my taste preferences aside and be willing to do things differently.  Trying something new for a week or so is hardly a hardship.  I must put on my scientist cap (of course I am a mad scientist, they are the best kind) and make changes, observe, assess and reevaluate.  I feel like the scale has become my greatest teacher.  I am willing to surrender to this process in a deeper, more long-term evolution of how I relate to my body, my weight and my spirituality, somehow all rolled into one.

I consider this my "starter blog" gearing up for my new permanent blog and website that I will be launching (most likely in September), "striveheedfully.com".  It will be an extension of this blog but with more soul searching, spirituality in various forms, mental health and "being real" but hopefully in a humorous, thought-provoking, inspiring or insightful way.  Any feedback about this would be appreciated.

Until next time... Be well!
~Tracy

 



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