Mary - Day 10

Wow! It's hard to believe we already have 10 days under our belts. The diet is not that hard, it's just changing the mind-set that is hard. I would love to have chocolate or a burger but I think it's just my mind telling me that and not the body. I have not wanted for anything and have actually felt full or satisfied. I had fruit for breakfast with a little granola sprinkled on top. A banana and some almonds for a snack. For lunch I had some of the veggie soup and the rest of my fruit from yesterday. For an afternoon snack, I had the Atkins protein bar and for dinner some more soup and some cauliflower. I'll have a fruit later for snack.

Jean, I really haven't felt it in my clothes yet. When I went to the doctor on Monday, my weight according to their scale, actually had me a few pounds heavier than when I weighed at Jean's before the diet. However, I went to Curves yesterday and weighed about the same as I did at Jean's. Of course, at the doctors office I weighed with my shoes and a jacket... I'm not really focusing on weight right now. Just knowing that I'm changing my lifestyle is good for me. Eating right and exercising is what I need to do to lose weight and to get in shape....so that's fine with me. The weight will eventually come off. I've been on so many diets that the scale can actually be your enemy.

I want to address stress, which is a big catalyst to eating improperly. I have a very stressful job, even tough I don't get harried, stressed. It's just having a lot to do, with a lot at stake, with a lot of deadlines, that deals with the lives of 850 kids and 110 staff members. Well, I've been having a pain in my jaw. I thought it could have been from grinding my teeth one stressful night. I finally got into the dentist today and he adjusted my bite. It already feels better. He related it to stress... My point is that even if we don't act stressed our lives, the way they are, cause stress and if we don't get rid of it in healthy ways (exercise, meditation, etc), we try to get rid of it in unhealthy ways (eating for comfort or convenience, drinking, or other risky behaviors). Maybe I'll get out of denial and deal with stress more realistically. Until next time, this is Mary, signing off.