  May 7, 2004 Today, a week after vacation, I'm at 202, only three pounds over what I started at before vacation. I biked into town yesterday (about an hour round trip) and walked with Gene the usual hour, so I got plenty of activity. But don't tell me my world doesn't still revolve around food -- I'm wildly plotting the Mother's Day Meal on Sunday with religious zest. We're now having beef stroganoff, salad (gotta have some veggies), breadsticks and peach cobbler with vanilla Ice cream. I'm slow-cooking the stroganoff and cobbler, to free up my time on Sunday a bit. I'm going to have about 5-6 people to feed, total, so I'm planning on making a lot. And it's not these meals that wipe me out, per say, but the amount of leftovers I sometimes have when it's all over. I just can't seem to gauge how much I need. (Or make too much on purpose...) My sister says she never weighs herself trying to lose weight, otherwise the numbers would discourage her. I must be the only wacko who enjoys playing the numbers game on my stupendously accurate doctors scale. I get on every day. It keeps me focused on what I'm trying to accomplish. My mind doesn't scream "failure! " if the numbers go up -- I just tell myself that I'm bloated with water, or am constipated, or need to cut down a bit and step up the exercise.
I try a little harder. I change my approach. Whatever. I told Gene that I think most people put themselves on a 'diet' they can't wait to get off of, instead of just living day-to-day on a plan they like and that keeps them healthy and bumps off the pounds, eventually. If the weight fluctuates while on a 'diet', a person panics, because they need results FAST and NOW so they can go back to what they were eating again, soon.
The 'on' 'off' diet mentality destroys a lot of people, when just sticking to a reasonable daily regime of calories and foods and scheduling some 'cheat' dates every month might carry them for the rest of their lives. There are certain foods I never eat at home now, just on certain occasions. I like Cheetoes when I'm at the lake up north. I like chocolate at the movie theater. (We don't go to the movies much, thank god. ) I never carry any of that crap into the house, because once it's there, it's hard to get out. 
