Excuses, excuses, excuses. ARGH!

Today I was shopping at Trader Joe’s.  A large woman (just bigger than me actually) was shopping near me as I reached for the kale.  (Did I mention in an earlier blog about Kale Chips?  SO delicious and SO easy to make and I thank Robbo for turning me onto them – recipe below.)  She was chatty and was telling me her preference between choices of arugula. I mentioned the kale for kale chips and she said, “Oh, if you had hypothyroidism like me you would have to stay away from kale. It gets in the way of losing weight.**” Not on purpose, that was the very moment I glanced into her shopping cart. Bread, cake, chips…methinks kale is not the thing standing between this woman and weight loss.

Look, I really am in no position to judge anyone regarding their weight, but come on! Self-awareness, people! You can’t load your shopping cart with goodies, your pantry with temptations, your fridge with ice cream, and expect to succeed. If you self-sabotage you will fail.  Again. Then you can fall back on all of those beautifully polished excuses you have used for so very long.  For example:

·         I am genetically programmed to be obese.

·         I can’t lose weight no matter how hard I try!

·         I don’t have time to exercise.

·         It’s harder to lose weight when you’re older.

·         Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah…fail.

I am 51. It is no harder for me to lose weight now than it was in my 20s. It’s just a little slower. It takes the same discipline, patience, and dedication.  I log in to www.loseit.com every day without fail to log my food and exercise. I drink half my weight in water each day. I walk where I might have driven or I take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. I have hypothyroidism. I have lost over 20 pounds in 11 weeks. So my excuses are just that: excuses.

I am well-aware that there are special circumstances.  Some medications have a side-effect of weight gain, but I know many who manage that just fine through careful diet and exercise. Some people have mobility issues and can’t walk or move easily – but I know people who exercise from a chair or get in a local pool to combat this. For every pound lost there is a reduction of force on your joints. Has anyone ever noticed how your shoes get looser as you lose weight? Partially it’s weight loss, and partially the splay of your feet reduces. I have “skinny” shoes in my wardrobe!  I guess what I am suggesting is that maybe you don’t have a problem losing weight – maybe you have a problem seeing what you are doing to stop yourself from losing weight.

Here’s where I am right now: I bought salt and vinegar potato chips – something I discovered and immediately loved 33 years ago on a trip with my friend Ruth. I looked at the label and a bag the size I would previously enjoyed as a single serving had 7 servings at 150 calories each (yeah, that’s 1,050 per bag, my friends). I ate 3 chips (12 is a serving) and then I went and logged it online. I have to admit that is a bit obsessive, but it is the reason I am now losing weight.  Accountability and awareness. I have this in most aspects of my life, but in diet I have always borrowed and lied with regard to calories.  No more. How about you?

 

Kale Chips:

·         Bag/bunch of kale.

·         Clean it, dry it, peel it away from the stem into leafy chip-sized pieces.

·         Put it in a bowl.

·         Drizzle some olive oil (I used 2 tbsp on 2 bags of Trader Joe’s kale) over it and toss it until the leaves look like they all have a bit of oil on them.  Over-oiling defeats the purpose and diminishes the crispness, btw.

·         Shake in some salt and pepper and toss some more.

·         Add any other seasoning you like – I suggest making a salt and pepper batch first to see what you think and then experimenting afterward.  My favorite is salt, pepper, and turmeric.

·         Bake on a cookie sheet (I put parchment paper underneath) for 25-35 minutes at 325 degrees.

·         Take them out, let them cool, and OMG.  Tasty! (Thank you, Robbo!)

 

(**For those of you who are wondering, “Why is kale bad for those with hypothyroidism?”…well, it isn’t! It’s just advised that you not eat raw kale in excess because it inhibits iodine absorption which is a factor in hypothyroidism. Besides, kale chips are baked until crispy.)

Although this has nothing to do with weight loss or kale chips, I thought you might like to see a squishy bulldog photo...MinBo...master of squishiness!