Watching Our Weight Diaries
By Carol Gorelick
Edited by Kathleen Daelemans

(Since I have a personal relationship with the author—she's my younger sister—I can't help but to make little comments here and there. I know she appreciates this. And all the free advice and perfectly good used handbags I give her. So when things sound like they came from me they probably did. – Kathleen)

Wanted: One Good Kick in The Pants
I'm already getting easily turned around. I have justifying eating down to a science. How is it that I can tell myself on one level that it is okay to eat the homemade brownie that my mother made for me because I can just walk it off with an extra half hour while at the exact same time on another level the devil in me flatly states "You'll never do that." I'm a bad liar to myself. I know me too well. This is written in stone. Yet, I'm compelled to continue to do it.

The price? 'Forward momentum.' I'm stuck this week and I have no one to blame but myself. I'm actually backsliding. I gained back two of the pounds I'd lost. It hurts to even say that out loud. I would be happy just to admit to a plateau but I can't. I didn't do my walking but I still did my eating.
       
Okay (Carol sits up tall and proud, washes her hands of this line of thinking and declares) "This Pity Party is over." Time to look forward. What can I do better this week? Well, I bought a new (slightly used) bike. It's new to me anyway. My eldest daughter and my sister Kathleen are not fond of this bike to say the least. Oh, they try to be polite, but it's not a "serious" bike.
   
That works for me just fine since I am not a "serious" bike rider. Those two are so snobby they shun my bike. It's an old fashioned, white wall tired, wide seated, sparkly green bike. It even has a front and rear light with a generator and a rear view mirror. Pretty spiffy, I say! They tell me if I say "spiffy" again people will think I'm as old as the bike. (Editor's note. We do not shun the bike. In fact it's very retro cool. And we're both very proud of Carol. But if she says spiffy one more time we're going to have to fine her.)

Still, I think this will add nicely to my exercise. My eldest will still ride with me even if my bike is "gorky" so I can add this to my walking and get back on track in a very short time.

My Diary Entry for Whatever Week This Is...
The Husband Diet
I've never been married but I've been thinking about getting hitched a lot lately. Not because anyone's asked. But the way I see it all women need to get married. Not because we need men and can't survive without them. But because they won't allow us to eat cereal for dinner. No man will say, Sure Honey, I'd love to have Corn Flakes for dinner tonight but only if we can have Wheaties tomorrow.

Most men won't allow us to eat in bed either. At least no men I know. My mother won't allow my father to eat in bed and no one I want to marry will allow me to eat in bed either. I love to eat in bed. This is one of the most pleasurable things to do in life if you ask me. And probably one of the biggest no no's if you're always teetering on the edge of diet disasters. So I banned it long ago but I fantasize about it all the time. It's calorie free and a whole lot more satisfying than those spray on salad dressings.

Since I'll never find a husband by dessert I've got to implement some new rules. Or re-implement some old ones. I've been slacking in the ice cream department lately. It's summer. I love, love, love ice cream. I haven't gained any weight over this new (old) obsession. Because when I eat ice cream I skip something else. Which means I'm cutting out something that's good for me. And that's bad for me.

Confessing this out loud for all the world to see is not going to make my parents proud. My father won't be bragging about this to anyone one will listen. So I've got to get back to child's cones when I do indulge and I must limit the number of child's cones I have per week. Seven cones a week sounds reasonable. Okay it sounds obsessive. Six? Four? Two??? Two. Two sounds okay. So that's my plan. I'm focusing on two cones a week this week. Just two. One on Friday. And one on Saturday. And no skipped vegetables. The end.