Forgive me, Allmighty Scale..

I have been tracking every single morsel of food and every ounce of beverage that passes my lips since Monday, everything goes into my journal no matter how "bad" or off track I was. As a result, I've learned a few things and might actually have figured out why I've gained so much weight: "I eat and drink too much." Simple as that. Big ah-ha moment, right? Not so much. This isn't rocket science, for goodness' sake, it is simple math: Calories In, Calories Out. If you take in too many and don't expel enough you're gonna get fat. Period.

So, with that big revelation what do I intend to do about it? Well, first off continue to track consistency and completely which allows me to make better choices and actually know how many POINTS I have left at the end of the day. Yesterday, for example, was a rough one. We had a bit of a "family crisis" which resulted in a few of us meeting for lunch at a local chain restaurant/bar known for it's ribs, burgers, and other unhealthy fried food. Every part of me wanted to say "to hell with it, I deserve this," order a big ol' pile of onion rings and some loaded nachos, eat & drink to my heart's content, shoving down the feelings instead of processing and looking for a solution to the problem. Instead, my kids ordered the nachos and I got smoked fish dip with extra veggies, a glass of wine & water. I nibbled & sipped, totally ignoring the piles of tortilla chips surrounding me. Ok, I ended up having 3 glasses of wine which wasn't great for me but I could have done so much worse.

Then, last night some friends came over for happy hour, one of them brought along new-to-me tropical fruit called Jak Fruit, have you all ever heard of it? Very unusual and delicious but a little bit goes a long way so I doubt my portion even equaled a POINT. I did have another cocktail or two but did not indulge in the platter of cheese & crackers I put out for the guests. I thought I did ok but was honestly a bit nervous this morning when I finally sat down to log my POINTS. The end result? I went over 5 POINTS. That's it. After all of the drinks, the dip, etc. Whew. What's the big deal? I have them to spare, that's what they are there for, why shouldn't I use them? Now, going over 5 POINTS every single day is going to present a problem and certainly not result in weight loss. But once or twice a week? Big deal!

The moral of the story here is that instead of ignoring my journal for fear of what it will reveal, thus resulting in that "screw it" mentality, it's much better for me all around to face the music, confess my indulgences and move on! Chances are I will be pleasantly surprised in learning that my "sins" were not nearly as great as I'd imagined. How freeing, how refreshing! I'm now ready to start the day with confidence and the ability to make informed decisions about how much I'll be able to wine & dine today. See, confession truly is good for the soul!