Heading into week 5...

Four weeks down, and another 4 weeks to go. I am down 21 pounds and 19.5 inches. Pretty awesome for a months work. My first goal was to get to 204 by the end of the month, which is not out of the realm of possibilities, but it will be tough (I would have to lose 1.5 lbs. today and tomorrow, it could happen!!!!). The weight loss tracker I use on my phone tells me I will make my final goal by early May, if I can stay at my current losses, the downside is that my body can be fickle and only drop when it wants to. I am in my second day of a stall, which I would love to say is just me stalling, but I was nibbling on pork (I LOVE all things pork), and it looks like piggy is off my menu (which I shouldn't be eating on hCG anyway). I will have to adjust my plan to get rid of pork products altogether (even non processed products like country ribs and pork chops). There are so many yummy processed food stuffs, but being Paleo, I should have cut those out years ago. Hot Dogs, lunch meat, pastrami, pepperoni, sausages like summer and polska kubasa (sp?), BACON!! I can switch to beef bacon (never had it), but even then it's still processed, and has to be treated like a condiment rather than a main serving. So, besides processed meats, I have to ditch eggs for awhile too, just to make sure I don't react to them. Another bummer, but if I have to go my whole life w/o eggs, it's a small price to pay for my health. I also am going to limit my butter usage, mainly because I buy "regular" butter at Walmart (2 lbs. for just under $6), for my butter usage, I will invest in some Kerrygold, and keep the family on the other (margarine does NOT rear it's ugly, plastic head in my house!) I am sure it seems like all the yummy food is restricted, but not really. With plenty of internet recipes, and some planning, all that's gone can be replaced. Every week I make the family mayonnaise, so why not add ketchup and bbq sauce to my cooking list? The trick is finding a recipe that's easy to use, then, once you understand the ingredients, tweek it to your own tastes. That is my plan for this summer, to make most of our own condiments. The hard part is to use condiments like condiments, and not drowned everything with them. My FIL asked me yesterday about missing bready foods (doughnuts in this case), and I just thought about it, and I can remember exactly what a doughnut tastes like. Very delicious. But, I haven't had a doughnut in more than 2 years, and it's not that big of a deal. If others have it, I just remember, and that's enough. I don't have to taste it, smell it, or touch it. It is what it is, yummy, but poison to my system. It's the same with pizza, pasta, and tortillas. I remember how good they are for the 5 seconds they are on my tongue, but the poundage they would add to my already huge belly would be a step in the wrong direction. Totally not worth it. The hardest part of losing weight is the constant battle with yourself and the others around you. Those who love us really think that our happiness is derived from food. And, at one time, it was. But the happiness the food brought us only lasted for the first few bites, then we are scarfing everything everything in sight, desperately searching for that "happy taste", which won't present itself. So, there you are, fighting that inner battle against ice cream, getting a long drink of water, starting to feel in control, and there is that one who loves you shoving a heaping spoon of Rocky Road into your face, saying "one bite won't hurt you. You've been working so hard, and lost that 10 lbs., treat yourself!" Is that person high? No, that person is ignorant. They truly want to make you happy, past experience (like us scarfing down a half gallon of Chocolate Chip in one sitting) has taught them that these thinks do make you happy. Now, it's time to educate these folks. Thank them for their concern, but "one bite" will hurt you, and that you don't want to eat the sugar, dairy, or processed whatever. If it's homemade goodies, or a family meal, it will hurt feelings, but Aunt Bea will get over you not eating her world famous pie, cake, marshmallow sweet potatoes, or whatever culinary creation that you know contains large amounts of vegetable oil, enriched wheat flour, sugar(or even worse sugar substitute). Stick with "no, thank you". If it's pushed, "no, thank you" in a firmer tone will suffice. Later, away from the family, tell Aunt Bea that you love her creation (whether you do or don't, no sense in rubbing salt into a wound), but you just cannot have it anymore, until you have better control of your health. Then the ball is in her court, if her feelings are still hurt, then she needs to deal with that herself, it's out of your hands. It sucks, because we want to make people happy, and it seems like such a small thing, until you add up all the people in your life shoving food in your face, and you eat to make them happy, oh, wait, that's how we got fat in the first place, trying to make ourselves and others happy by eating. Well, off my soapbox, and on with my day.