03 something about diets

So diets. Dirty word? Yeah yeah, one should eat everything in moderation and refer to it a 'lifestyle change'.

I'm not sure I used to believe this. I've 'dieted' before, and it's felt like deprivation. My most vivid memory being my last year of uni where I managed to lose quite a bit of weight, through feeling hungry most of the time, and not eating things that I love, like cheese. I realised that didn't work when I couldn't keep that weight off. I had to go there and do that to figure that one out though.

That was about 15 years ago, and today, I'm lighter than I was at the end of my 'diet' year back then. I've never been what I'd call my ideal weight. Not ever. Not even during school. I've always carried some extra weight, and I'm actually pretty proud to say that now, I am at my smallest of my adult life. Still, I'm not as healthy as I could or should be.

I'm a typical apple shape, which as you may know, carries a higher risk of heart disease if that extra fat is carried around the middle. Mine definitely is. My waist, when I last measured it, was above the recommended girth for females. This sort of thing worries me these days, a lot more than it used to, when I first started 'dieting'.

I'm going to ramble on a lot more about food and 'diets' but this introduces me, and where I'm at with this weighty issue. I'm pretty happy with my body right now, and I don't feel anything about my size holds me back in life. I can shop where I want to, and I like getting dressed in the morning. I do worry more and more as time goes on about the health implications of some of my choices, but hey, I can change that, and I will.

These days I eat reasonably well, and I love reading labels, and info on what foods can do for you, and how to achieve a balanced diet. There's no excuse not to be informed. There's more info out there than ever before. But still, my downfall will always be my sweet tooth.

Speaking of my sweet tooth, it's time to have my two squares of Whittaker's Dark Ghana and relax before bed :)