It has been a busy, busy week.  But that is good.  I have been dieting to some extent.  I decided to cut down half of what I eat.  I checked out some websites on exercise and diet.  I had originally planned to follow a website’s diet plan, but I have decided not to because I didn’t like the recipe’s that were recommended for the diet.  I need meals that I can prepare in thirty minutes to an hour.  I eat simple foods and I like spices but do not like haute cuisine sauces etc.  Elegance in regards to food is nice when I am dieting but convenience is better and more effective.  I enjoy cooking a lot, but I really don’t have much time for it when I am working.  During the weekend, I can prepare some time-consuming dishes.  I have been culling some recipes for magazines which feature light meals and also, the Epicurious website has a wonderful section on light recipes.  I am excited about preparing these.

I have been taking Wellbutrin for depression.  As I had mentioned in another post, my mother passed away and it has been tough dealing with grief.  I like the effects of this medication.  One of them is that I have been able to eat less.  Apparently, it is a med that is good for quiting smoking, or obsessions.  For me, I am obsessed with eating.  I eat when I am stressed, happy, depressed, bored, lonely, socializing.  Also, I will eat when I am working on a project.  This is the most dangerous type of eating because I will be totally mindless about what I put into my mouth.

I have lost 19 pounds in a haphazard way.  By haphazard, I mean skipping meals, eating ice cream for dinner, and  junk food.  But I was counting calories and fat grams. I started cutting back on my food intake in August. I have lost this weight in six weeks.  It is making a big difference.  My knees do not hurt and I do not get sleepy.  My sleep apnea has reduced significantly.  I have 81 pounds to go.  My starting weight was 268.  That was tough to admit on this blog, but even tougher to accept when I saw the numbers on the scale at my physician’s office.  Thank God, I have a wonderful doctor and her nurse is an angel.

I decided that I will take this diet one step at a time.  And I have made a list of things I will do.

 1.  Exercise twenty minutes every day and work up to an hour five days a week.

  2.  Not condemn myself if I miss a day of exercising or if I overeat.

  3.  Will not call this a diet, instead it is a change of lifestyle.

  4.  Decide that all foods are bad, instead that I can make good choices

        regarding food.

  5.  Drink as much water as possible.

  6. Have a glass of wine a day.

  7.  Take breaks from projects every hour. (Before, I would sit until I finished)

 8.   Remember that this process is going to take time.