Saying Goodbye To Weigh-In Wednesday.

I’ve thought about this a bit over the last few weeks. I think it’s time to put Weigh-In Wednesday behind me and focus on healthy eating versus weight loss. About a week or so ago I read an article on MSN about calorie restriction and it literally broke my heart to read it. It talked about grown adults who ate very little in an effort to lose weight. One 70-something year old man in particular had been enforcing a diet of heavy calorie restriction for years and years, and literally can’t stop himself from eating so little. The heavy calorie restriction has literally shrunk him 5 inches, as his spine continues to weaken and slump. (Of course, now in a few searches I can’t find this article to link to it.) In fact the article went on to discuss how severe calorie restriction is very similar to anorexia and could be considered an eating disorder in some cases.

The fact is I know people who are like this. I think there are many people in my generation who grew up being told to watch what they eat so they don’t get fat. (For the record, not me.) It really is something to watch a normal healthy adult eat the tiniest portions of food because they fear getting fat. It’s been programmed into them and as a result even their children are beginning to suffer. Their children’s eating is monitored closely, and as we’ve all learned, children pattern eating after their parents, so these children are learning to eat little as well. The saddest part is that there is nothing I can do about it.

When I started Weigh-In Wednesday it was in the spirit of fun. It was a way to attempt to be accountable to myself in watching what I eat, and hopefully lose a little pudge from having babies. But to be honest, I am within a healthy weight zone (barely, but within) and according to my doctor, I am not overweight. I have excess pudge in places I would rather not, and yes, I would love to be back to my pre-baby svelte self, but I am not expecting to get there. My problem with continuing to put this out there is that I know people who are overweight- some by quite a bit. And while I doubt that they read my blog, I can’t help but wonder what they would think of me if they saw me lamenting about losing a pound or two when they are obviously struggling with a much bigger problem. I think being conscious of eating healthy and exercising are important, but I care too much about the people I come in contact with everyday to continue lamenting about my trivial bit of padding.

So instead of focusing on weight, I’m going to focus on just being healthy- which is really what I do everyday. I may decide to turn Wednesday into a veggie day, but I’m not sure about that yet. If I ever do get into an exercise routine, you can bet I’ll be posting about it, but you won’t read about me trying to lose a few pounds anymore. I do eat smart and moderate everything. Lately I’ve been eating a lot of vegetables and upping the whole grains- I’m just in the mood. I think it balances a few weeks of heavy protein we had when we first turned on the grill. Some days I indulge in a dessert, some days I don’t- yet some days I’ll have two pieces of cake while others there are none. I think it all balances out, and as long as I’m not binging, I’m doing okay. I want to be an example for my children and show them that you can enjoy great food whenever you want, as long as you are smart about it. And with that, I close the book on Weigh-In Wednesday.