Satisfaction

I was chatting with my sister the other day, which is among my favorite activities. She was very sweet in telling me that she is super proud of my weight loss and keeping-it-off efforts over the past 16 months or so. 53 pounds is admittedly a lot of weight to lose, and while I have more to go, I'm fairly happy with the way things are progressing in this regard. Anyway, my sister also told me that it was impressive because I hadn't just dieted, it was, like, a "lifestyle change."

Hmmm.

Is this true? I guess it has to be, right? I'm following Weight Watchers, which has been great, if for no other reason than because it makes you so aware of what you're actually eating. In sticking to the plan, more or less, I've had to make decisions and exert a little willpower and in the meantime, I'm eating foods that not only have fewer calories but are also good for me. And I'm exercising more, which makes me want to exercise more, which is also good for me.

This would all be much easier, of course, if I could reprogram my brain and taste buds to truly, truly enjoy ridiculously healthy foods. I wish that I could walk into a restaurant and actually prefer to order the mesculun greens with grilled chicken over the veal rollatini with proscuitto and extra cheese. Or that a simple fruit parfait would be preferable to a large cannolli or piece of pecan pie.

These people allegedly exist. They claim to abhor the sugary goodness of a fountain Coca-cola because "it's too sweet." They claim to adore the taste of raw carrot sticks such that the thought of a saltier or more fatty snack just doesn't appeal. They have no reason to order anything with butter, mayonnaise or cheese because they just don't like those foods anymore.

I will never be one of them. Yes, I enjoy fresh produce and simply prepared meals. But I also enjoy decadent foods and desserts.

I will never walk into a Dunkin Donuts and not want to order a glazed donut or a coffee cake muffin. I will always prefer fried chicken to grilled. I will always prefer a regular Coke to a Diet Coke. And to me there is nothing better to wash most anything down with than a tall glass of ice cold whole milk.

And I'm okay with that. Because every once in awhile, it's like a super-duper treat. Not eating those things on a regular basis and feeling better about myself (and better in general) is preferable to eating them all the time and being a big fat catastrophe.