Is it Possible to Lose Ten Pounds in One Month?

I haven't written on this in a few days as I have been busy, preparing and executing (not literally) my boyfriend's birthday party. He lives in another city so it often is like stepping into another world. I had mentioned earlier that he also hoards a lot of food and little of it is healthy food so this is always a temptation.

The weekend went fantastic, I can report. I cooked for everyone but didn't indulge, I planned and hosted but didn't pig out. That was no easy task. Frankly, it meant that I cooked a lot less that I normally do and instead focused on the entertainment value of the party. Normally I would have cooked a spread that was 'out of this world' and would have had fun trying out new dessert recipes also. I also would have sampled everything I made 'to death' and then acted all dainty, like I didn't have to eat, when the party began.

I think I'm getting this 'losing ten pounds in a month' thing now. Being in charge of that party, I didn't go overboard on the food. I made a veggie plate and I did make a cheese plate for pre-appetizers but I didn't indulge in that cheese plate. I wanted to.......I wanted to just pig out on all of it so bad but I didn't. After the games were over, I had prepared a chili. It was even a lean, health conscious chili.

I know that my boyfriend, for whom I threw the party, started to get a bit panicked at the eleventh hour when he realized that I had decided that 'food' wasn't going to be the big element or focus of our party. He encouraged me to 'make lots of stuff, cook lots of food' but it was too late by then. The focus was going to be on fun and not food.....on turning forty and no turning 'frothy' about high fat, sugary foods. We were all middle aged at this party and I would estimate that only about 25% of us were thin. The rest of us needed the exercise and activity part of the evening much more than the food and I couldn't be persuaded. He did finally convince me to throw a frozen lasagna in the oven that had been lurking in his freezer for a long time----long enough that all the edges turned inwards and crisped up with a mottled freezer burn 'glow'.

I have managed to stick to my resolve this week. I have spent more time understanding why I need to lose weight than I have in being frantic about losing it. I have spent more time understanding why I want to lose weight than I have in wallowing about my weight gain.

This alone has made me feel that I have progressed. Perhaps not on that mission schedule of 'how to lose ten pounds in a month' but then again, I still have refused to weigh myself. I feel fragile and vulnerable. The party pictures of me just made me look huge and I didn't like it. However, in sharing that with one of my guests I found out that she felt the same thing about herself. She a year or two older but in the same boat. Apparently, I am not alone.

In trying to change my lifestyle and lose ten pounds in a month I have now had a few insights. Except for a few skinny middle-aged friends who deserve to be complimented on their figures every time I see them........it isn't uncommon to start accumulating weight. I must admit that I just love the hot flashes. I look at them like a sauna without having the pay for the gym membership. Sweat is my friend right now. The whole 'automatic perspiration' thing makes me feel as though I've run a marathon when I know I haven't. Instead of saying 'HOT FLASH COMING ON", I have been trying to say, "HOLD THAT THOUGHT, SAUNA BREAK COMING ON".

I figure that if God has decided to allow me to be afflicted with all the age appropriate stuff that He apparently has sanctioned for others that have gone before me.........then the big challenge is to trick myself into thinking it is a real bonus.

So-for the last two mornings I have tried to get up and actually do some cardiovascular work before the hot flashes begin. It seems entirely logical to pump it out and induce some of my own sweat before the sauna starts.

I have now realized that even though I can control the food and live through the accompanying migraines that go 'hand in mouth' (as in I want to actually eat my own hand) with sugar withdrawals, it will just make my fat saggier and squishier. I need to start taking cardio and weight training seriously if I ever want to feel good about getting into a bathing suit again. My free photo shop trial is ending and after that I will no longer be able to use that warp feature to take twenty pounds off my photos and add a few to my boyfriend for effect.

I know I need an exercise 'pal' to help me move on, I think I may have found an unlikely one and I look forward to writing about this tomorrow.