These Pretzels Are Making Me Thirsty

I wish there were an easy way to get over cravings. It's been said that after you've given something up, it becomes less appealing. This is true for soda. Every once in a while I will get a massive craving for Mt. Dew and splurge on one. I used to be a fiend for that stuff. Now when I give in to the craving, I can barely drink half a bottle.

I didn't used to consider myself to eat bad food, and by bad I mean poor nutritional content. I eat lots of leafy greens and other veggies. I adore many fruits. I don't eat meat often, and when I do it's rarely red.

My clear problem is carbs. I love pasta. I eat too much of it. I know that I easily eat a double serving size of the stuff. Bread - love. Rice - love. Cereal - love. Starchy veggies like peas and potatoes - love, love, love.

I need to wean myself off my carb reliance if I want to shape up. I'm not talking drastic weight loss (though I'm always surprised people don't seem to think I've got 20 lbs to lose, and I do - either they don't know what I look like, or they don't), just an attempt to be less marshmallowy. I am horrified every day by the jiggling arm syndrome I see in the mirror as I dry my hair.

The plan:

Fewer carbs
Portion control
Added variety of vegetables (I rely heavily on broccoli, leafy greens and tomatoes)
More muscle toning exercises (focus on arms and tummy)
Increased biking along with walking regimen
Find other cardio exercises that work for me and my bum knees
No sabotaging myself with unrealistic goals (I will never have my sister's collarbones (they're gorgeous) no matter what I do - I know that seems ridiculous, but in the past I've actually given myself a hard time about this)

It's absolutely doable for me to lose noticeable inches by, say, my birthday in December. I'd love to do it sooner, but I want to allow myself the time to do it right.

I know, I've said all this before. I probably will not do status updates, party because I don't own a measuring tape or a scale, and partly because I doubt anyone cares. ;)

( Small weight gripe no one really needs to hear )

Also, I think I don't enjoy red wine simply for the fact that every Holy Thursday, we'd make our meal like they did it in the bible and instead of wine, we kids would get wine glasses with grape juice and a little 7Up in it. When I was all growed up and could actually drink red wine, I was disappointed that it didn't taste like sparkly grape juice. I still am, every single time I try to drink the stuff.

I'm having a total fat day. Actually, it's been approaching for a while now. I just put on a pair of jeans that this summer still had ample room around the waistline. Now I'm a muffin top. Ugh, it's disgusting. I have to cut out the unnecessary snacking and really watch my portion sizes better. Maybe seriously, seriously consider trying the "body-clutter" menu planner from the Saving Dinner website - thanks gategrrl!

And I also need to regain my strengh training exercises and ab crunches. I have fallen way, way off track with those. What is it about winter that makes exercise routines SO much more difficult to stick to? I manage to retain the walking/stairclimbing/biking but I can't seem to make myself writhe around on the floor anymore.

Enough whining about that. I'm healthy underneath the blubber, and that's something I suppose. By Monday, I expect my body image to not be so dire.



But the laziness extends to work as well. I'm good at Job 1, things are busy. At Job 2 I can't be arsed to grab a broom and bucket and sweep cigarrette butts up from around the building anymore. I am so sick of cleaning up those nasty things. I am, in fact, supposed to be working right now. Hah. I'm telling myself that I have Monday off, I can get work done then. I probably won't.