Let Them Eat Cake!

I know Marie Antoinette is attributed to saying this quote but, I believe that was discounted because she was known for her sensitivity to the poor population of France. ( http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/did-marie-antoinette-really-say-let-them-eat-cake )

August was one of the best months I have experienced in a long time. It was so much fun to see all my kids so often. Courtney came home from Guatemala and that was fun because my kids all came home to visit here before she went back for her last few months teaching for UPAVIM. She writes about her experiences in Guatemala in her blog Concientizacion y Otros Pensamientos
( http://courtneyguatemala.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-sacred-moments.html )

We celebrated birthdays this month as well. I should have let everyone else eat cake but, alas, I did not. I ate cake this weekend and more than that... I have been struggling with my food intake for a few weeks. I don't want to clog up the story with excuses, because it doesn't take much to derail my good intentions and excuses are just that and nothing more.

I chose to eat more of the items that I know to be detrimental to my weight loss. Although, this blog is more about choosing to eat serving sizes, not necessarily about losing weight. The weight loss is a side benefit of limiting my caloric intake. Because I weigh so much, limiting my consumption of calories to 2000 is going to effect my weight.

August is the middle third of this experiment. I would say that this month was the most challenging. We had more food related celebrations than usual and it was difficult to limit and track what my serving sizes were.

Over this month, I have gained about 5 pounds. Some of that was gained and lost several times over as I struggled to control my food intake during all the different celebrations. There was so much deliciousness around that I couldn't resist.  The celebrations were wonderful and I wouldn't want to diminish their import based on my food choices. This is just worth mentioning because part of gaining control of what I eat is learning how to manage this when I have less control over what food is laid out before me... and learning to not make eating any certain thing more important than feeling in control, since I am responsible for what goes into my mouth.

So there is one month left on this Journey. Serving Size Summer officially ends September 21, 2014. That is the last day of Summer. The Autumn Equinox is on September 22.
( http://www.almanac.com/content/first-day-fall-autumnal-equinox )

Here is how I am going to spend this last month:

• 1) I am going to get back to drinking about 72 ounces of water a day. I enjoyed this because it made me less hungry and helped me keep my snack calories at a lower level.
• 2) Use my hobbies, writing, painting, scrapbooking, Christmas present making, as a way to avoid spending time looking in the fridge to see what I can eat. I usually do this when I am procrastinating to avoid some task that I don't want to complete. 
• 3) Try, try, try to workout at least 15 minutes a day. I would say I am going to workout 30 minutes a day but I will be realistic in knowing that because of my Fibromyalgia, exercise hurts and I do not like it. I can do 15 minutes a day, but on those days when I have flare-ups, even that is going to be a challenge.
• 4) I am participating in a LoseIt Challenge to not eat sweets for the entire month of September. No desserts, no candy, no sugary treats. This doesn't seem too difficult because sweets are not really my temptation. (Put chicken, potatoes or cheese in front of me and that is a totally different story.)

Although I am thinking ahead to a possible continuation of this blog into a new version called Serving Size Season, which will be an attempt to continue with the serving size theory of controlling food consumption, I haven't created that blog yet.

Its more of a long term plan but something to keep in mind if you would like to continue to follow this journey with me.

Today is a new day and like all good dieters know, Monday is a great day to start anew or renew the commitment to get back to the business of working towards better health.

Onward and upward or downward, depending on your perspective.

I am determined to get to the finish line with this last month being as good as the first month was. The middle was the challenge... now I carry on to the finish line.

Keep Calm and Serving Size On... oh, and no more cake, please!