No Excuses!

By now most of you have probably heard about Applebee's and Weight Watchers being sued for fraudulent calorie/POINT calculations in their WW menu items. I have mixed emotions about this; on one hand I myself have ordered a couple of those menu items over the years and in fact have chosen Applebee's on occasion because I thought I could order with confidence, assuming that the POINT calculations were accurate. So naturally I'm frustrated and annoyed but on the other hand, give me a break, do we really need to sue the companies over it? Did the "victim" really gain a ton of weight from Applebee's? Surely she didn't consume every single meal there, did she? Listen, anyone who cooks knows that portions aren't exact unless you whip out your measuring cups, spoons and food scale and I find it highly unlikely that your average chain-restaurant chef went to that amount of trouble, it just ain't gonna happen! And furthermore, why sue Weight Watchers? They weren't in the kitchen preparing the meals! Ah, of course the reason WW is under attack is because they have deeper pockets than an already-struggling restaurant chain.

Like so many of these widely-publicized lawsuits nowadays, this one is just plain silly. It smacks of the million excuses I've heard (and used) for being fat, "It isn't my fault I gained weight; it's because of the restaurant, or my husband, or my job, or my children!" Oh, please, there's a bevy of "reasons" we can spout for being overweight but come on, do we really believe that? Bottom line: I am heavier than I want to be because of choices I made. No one forcefed me that bowl of pasta or loaf of French bread, I'm a grown-up person and made that choice with full knowledge of what it would do to my hips!

I'd advise Ms. Curry to do what I do: don't believe a damned thing you read on restaurant menus because they are rarely accurate and if you go out to eat you'd better be prepared to spend a hundred calories more than you expected. This is why I cook and enjoy 99% of my meals at home where I control the ingredients, portion size and actually do make use of my measuring tools. Really, it's the only way to ensure that you're getting exactly what you asked for!

And for further discussion of the "no excuses" theme here, I finally made my way back to a meeting and weigh-in, having decided that I am really, really not a good candidate for Monday meetings. I know that the Monday people are "most dedicated" and it would help keep me on track over the weekend..etc..etc..and I could make all kinds of excuses for why that doesn't work for me but the bottom line is this: I party on the weekends, eat & drink too much and it shows on Monday morning. I could choose to curb my entertainment but I haven't, and I won't, and that's that. My lifestyle is what it is, and I like it that way, and even if it hampers my weight loss efforts I'll continue to do it until I don't want to anymore. *shrug* So the only way this is going to work for me is if I know this and make WW work into my lifestyle rather than the other way around. Sure, some changes have to be made, I can't gobble up anything I want 7 days a week and expect to lose. But, if we have the Flex Points and we can use them when we need them, why not? In my case that's going to be Friday - Sunday and then I have until the following Friday to toe the line and work at losing. Like many of you, this is much easier during the work week when I am on a more regimented schedule.

So, anyway, I weighed in and got exactly what I expected: a gain. 3 freakin' pounds. Excuses are plentiful: time of the month, vacation, water retention, blah..blah..blah..but the truth is that I ate more than I worked off! Plain & simple.

Now, once again I crawl back on track (and the treadmill), determined to make next week's scale experience a positive one. I'd ask you to wish me luck but that's not what's required; what I need is hard work, more determination and self-control along with a healthy dose of tough love and NO EXCUSES!