Weigh-In Wednesday-The Empowerment of Garbage

So first things first today- I hopped out of bed and stepped on the scale this morning. Actually, more like crawled out of bed, but the destination was still the scale. And I am down another pound! I stepped on the scale Monday and was actually down two pounds, but I attribute that to the stomach virus I had on Sunday, and have been getting over. I am happy with the one pound, and that is simply by watching diet this week, there has been no exercies from me due to not feeling well and being busy visiting family. And even better is that (without revealing actual numbers) this pound brings me to a nice round number that ends in a zero. I really think the next pound or two is going to be the tough ones, getting over that hump. But today I will be back in the saddle and working out, hopefully I can keep myself from indulging on the yellow cake with chocolate frosting that I just HAD to make yesterday. Lol. So my total weight loss to date is 3 pounds. Not too bad, it’s very exciting to see progress, and it keeps me moving forward instead of just abandoning the effort altogether.

So that brings me to the topic of today’s weight loss post. The Empowerment of Garbage. It sounds funny, I know, but it is soooo true. What exactly do I mean by Garbage Empowerment? I simply mean the ability to toss something delicious into the garbage without a second thought. The ability to turn away from those brownies that have been around since Saturday and put them in the garbage. And also the ability to realize that putting less-than-stellar calories into my mouth is a waste of calorie space and should be used for something better. An example. When I first started watching what I’m eating I made some white chocolate brownies for church. I ended up bringing about half of them home with me and they sat on the counter. Normally a favorite of mine, I didn’t have quite enough white chocolate when I made them and they just weren’t up to snuff. So Monday morning I found myself reaching for the third not-so-good brownie when I stopped myself. Why was I continuing to inhale these sub-par brownies? Simply because they were here. So I grabbed that plate and slid them all into the garbage. Ah. Empowerment at it’s finest.

That was a huge first step for me! I hate being wasteful of food. I grew up with my share of lean times, where every morsel of food counted. Andy and I have had our share of lean times together, so throwing out food was a big deal. When Abigail started table food, it was second nature to finish cleaning up her plate when she was done. Or when Zander is done munching on a bowl of peanuts, it’s normal to pick at the remaining few to clean it up. No longer. Actually, Andy and I both stopped doing that a long time ago, but it is a hard habit to break. I think what broke us was one time finishing up something for Abigail, and then she came back an hour or two later looking for more. She was so distraught, that we established our house rule of letting the snacks lie for about 3 hours before they officially become garbage. And that’s exactly what happens to them, they become garbage.

And now, things go into the garbage. There’s a handful of potato chips left in that bag? Garbage. That Halloween Candy has been there for over a month with no one picking at it? Garbage. Or from the other day, Zander is finished with his ice cream sandwich and there is most of it left? Garbage- not even one single bite for Mommy. I don’t feel so bad about throwing out food anymore. Inferior calories are just not worth keeping around just to munch on. I will feel bad if I forgot about some baby zucchini in the fridge and they go bad- that I will be quite sad about. But the junk food, and the leftovers, and the scraggly bits on my children’s plates make their way happily into the eternal wasteland. I have been known to toss half a banana cream pie, simply because I am the one home during the day. I know it is there, I will dream about that pie, and before I know it, a slice will make it’s way onto my breakfast plate. And then after lunch it will be “just a small slice.” And even later still, Zander will want a slice, take two bites, and I will finish it for him. Much better to remove the temptation than regret it later. And I know that the Garbage Empowerment translates directly onto the scale, so I feel even better about it. So give it a try- you’ll be amazed at the results.