Who's in charge Here?
Tue., May 30, 02:19 PM
In the long run, it’s a joke. I have no power over anything except myself. I’m responsible for all kinds of things, but it’s not as if I can do much about them.
Nevertheless, I felt the need to do something. My energy is down and, with that, my weight is going up. Maybe I just have too much to carry around. Turning sixty-five is not supposed to be an automatic route to hell in a handbasket. Though I haven’t had to diet in some time, I certainly have some experience in that department. I know what I have to do.
I don’t need group therapy or the helpful hints, like “forgive yourself.” Been there, done that. I don’t need a nutritionist to explain metabolism and calories to me. What I do need is to control my blood sugar and alleviate my nosebleeds.
I’m not even trying to lose a lot of weight. I want to lose what I’ve gained in the past year, and maybe a little extra as leeway. My son is getting married in November. The mother of the groom shouldn’t embarrass him.
I don’t want to play in the kitchen. When Jean Nidetch developed Weight Watchers back in 1961, the idea was to prepare your own meals, using your own cooking skills along with the guidance of the program. Need tomato sauce? Instead of using the canned sauces with whatever additives, cook tomato juice until it’s reduced to paste consistency. Tired of the standard breakfast of one egg and toast? Put the toast into the blender and mix the crumbs with your egg. Cook it on a nonstick skillet, and you’ve got a pancake. Believe me, I’ve got better things to do with my time. And I am not impressed with Weight Watchers prepared meals.
I don’t believe in magic pills. The fine print will usually remind you that they work best in conjunction with a sensible diet and reasonable exercise. It’s not rocket science; either you learn to use up what you’ve taken in, or your body will store it – usually in all the wrong places.
With all that in mind, I began to look at Nutri Systems which, among other things, has a program designed for diabetics. According to some independent web sites, there seems to be some solid science behind the glycemic index.
Although there are aspects to this program that I really don’t like, I am here to tell you, that part works. I had to monitor my blood glucose carefully; the meals truly contain “good carbs.” The first eight pounds came off fast. That was the recent gain. I didn’t think it showed, until I tried on some trousers that were tight last year. The rest is going more slowly, but it is going. When I return to the oncologist next week, he won’t be telling me I’m overweight.
What didn’t I like? There was way too much food. Guidelines call for two each of fruit, veggies, and salad, as well as three dairy/protein portions. It’s one thing to add a piece of fruit to your breakfast. But if I’m going to have a portion of cottage cheese with salad, that’s lunch; I don’t need the added entrée. So I contacted a “counselor,” asking whether I was reading something wrong. The best she could tell me was that I need a total of 1,200 calories a day to stay healthy. Fine. I decided to keep track of the calories each day, and if I was short, I would finish up with a small scoop of ice cream!
Oh, my, that’s cheating, isn’t it? So is regular cottage cheese instead of the no-fat kind. Let’s call this the l’empress flex plan. I eat the prepared meals each day for required protein and trace nutrients. I don’t worry about dairy because I use calcium supplements. In my house, there has always been a fine line between vegetables and salad (raw cauliflower and broccoli, blanched green beans, etc., go into salad). Nevertheless, I am generally getting six servings of something and seem to be nibbling on it for much of the day. A scoop of ice cream provides a small amount of dairy/protein as well as a reminder that I’m not depriving myself. You can go on for a long time if you don’t feel deprived.
Please note that, flex plan or not, it’s working. I continue to walk several times a week. (It’s six blocks round trip to mail a letter.) Most of the packaged meals are quite good and easy to prepare. I do miss fish, and I will probably buy a small amount of fresh fish to prepare one day. (I could buy some seafood hot and sour and stretch it over four meals.) I also miss nuts, olives, and guacamole; any of these are allowed in small portions but not all in one day. I would love a slice of rye bread with butter.
I find that it’s not a very sociable program, but since U.D. is vegetarian and Husband eats very little that is actually good for him, I’m often eating in my own little world anyhow. The “alternative proteins” in the entrées as well as the added fiber caused me some discomfort, but drinking hot water helped. (I’m turning into my mother.)
So, for this at least, I am in charge. Maybe I will massage the program a little more – because, yes, I did order a second month.
