An Episode of Weight-Loss Infidelity

Happy New Year! — as belated as this is.

The good news is, if I stay on top of things from here on out, I’ll still be able to make 164 by August 1, my original goal date. The bad news is, I won’t hit 196 by my birthday, and probably not by Feb. 11 … just not enough time left.

Yeah, I put on weight for Christmas.

I stopped tracking my intake. And I found it hard to start again. I lost some of it after Christmas morning, only to put it back on for the new year. Since New Year’s Eve, I’ve been hovering between 215 and 216.4. Three weeks ago, I was 13.8 pounds ahead of my original plan. As of Monday, I was only two pounds ahead. As of this morning, I’m 12.8 pounds over the monthly goal line.

Yesterday was the last straw: For reasons I can’t quite remember, I made a ham and cheese omelet sandwich. Seven hundred and ten calories, which I didn’t think about until I got around to logging my intake. When I finally crunched the numbers and saw the result, I said, “Okay, that’s enough! Get back to your program, Layne!” Sometimes, you just have to get mad at yourself to get over yourself.

Ash Wednesday Fasting and Abstinence: What to Do?

Although, strictly speaking, this isn’t a religion blog, two important dates in the Catholic liturgical calendar are coming up this week: Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) and Ash Wednesday. And Ash Wednesday kicks off the Lenten liturgical season. Both days have implications for Catholics on a weight-loss program, especially if you’re from a more traditional parish or community that observes the pre-Vatican II practice of fasting all 40 days. For non-Latin Rite Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant communions that observe Lent consult with your priest, deacon, or minister on the rules pertaining to your church. (Once you find out, let me know!)

If you celebrate Mardi Gras, it falls under the “diet holiday” rule, especially since the next day you’re gonna pay for it. On the “holiday rule”, you try to eat as you normally do during the day so that, when the party comes, you’re not overly hungry. But when the party comes, don’t worry about tracking the numbers for one night — just enjoy yourself. If you don’t normally do Mardi Gras, you can still give yourself a night off. After all, you’re saying “farewell to meat” for the next 40 days!

Fun Fact: The last time I successfully dieted, in 2009, I started on Ash Wednesday. Although I went to bed very hungry, I felt good about keeping myself honest. It was a good start.