It's That Slippery Slope

A few weeks ago I was sitting at 173, thinking that I was all done with the dieting part and ready to move into maintenance.  Sure, I'd like to hit 169, which gets my BMI below 25, but for the long term, I'll be thrilled to be between 170-175.

Now, I'm at 179 and worried. 

What happened? 

Well folks.  It was the slippery slope.

The one where I say, "now that I'm not dieting any more, I can 'occasionally' have a snack."  "I can put bad stuff back into my life - just not ... 'often.'" The one where big, yummy bowls of restaurant pasta fagiol soup disappear down my pie hole at lunchtime and I have another restaurant meal for dinner.  Yup.  Not smart. And the garlic bread?  OMG, that was good! Now all I can think about is more buttery garlic bread.

I'm just now realizing that I don't have the discipline for garlic bread. I'm also recognizing the horrendous non-hunger cravings that come from eating carbs and sweets.  It's the worst when I have some carby sweets one day, then spend several days getting the cravings out of my system, then indulge again. 

Yes, there are reasons and excuses, but there will always be those.  Unless I am in better control than I have been, my weight will continue to slide.

It's looking like I'll have to be a LOT more rigorous about my diet, even in maintenance. The exercise is going well, but I can't out-exercise a bad diet.

I am writing the number up here, to you all, to be accountable. My intent is to be a few pounds lighter by this weekend (yes - even though it's Thanksgiving), and be back in maintenance range by Xmas.  I would love, love, love to hit 169 by the end of the year, but I've probably screwed that up.  Last year I lost 5 pounds between now and the end of the year - I can do that again!

- only eat things that are worth the calories
- focus on dense, strong flavors where I get satisfied with a small amount
- cut the portion in half, then in half again
- there are NO days off. NO cheat days!