Well...let's here it
for the MAN,
actually. ALL our men.
This blog is dedicated to all those wonderful, frustrating, maddening, drive-us-krazy-but-we-can't-live-without-them MEN in our lives...our supportive husbands, or life partners, or boyfriends...that have STUCK WITH US every step of our weight-loss journey!
My hubby wasn't exactly 'jumping up and down with joy' when I 'announced' that I was going to "TRY" (emphasis on TRY) this program.
I told him "You watch, it won't work...and then I GIVE UP".
This blog is dedicated to all those wonderful, frustrating, maddening, drive-us-krazy-but-we-can't-live-without-them MEN in our lives...our supportive husbands, or life partners, or boyfriends...that have STUCK WITH US every step of our weight-loss journey!
My hubby wasn't exactly 'jumping up and down with joy' when I 'announced' that I was going to "TRY" (emphasis on TRY) this program.
I told him "You watch, it won't work...and then I GIVE UP".
I
still remember
it distinctly....not that I blame myself at that point.
After all, I'd been on so many diets that I became physically nauseous at the sight of cottage cheese....and I GAINED weight on Weight Watchers because they told me I could have '16 points of anything' (OH BOY...where are the cookies?)...and I could quote calorie counts off the top of my head, yet STILL couldn't manage to put the pieces together well enough to lose the weight because I still didn't quite know what 'good nutrition' really WAS. Not enough to lose weight steadily, anyway.
But I asked him for his support, I told him this would NOT be an easy program, and God bless him, he told me he would support me in whatever I wanted to do.
After all, I'd been on so many diets that I became physically nauseous at the sight of cottage cheese....and I GAINED weight on Weight Watchers because they told me I could have '16 points of anything' (OH BOY...where are the cookies?)...and I could quote calorie counts off the top of my head, yet STILL couldn't manage to put the pieces together well enough to lose the weight because I still didn't quite know what 'good nutrition' really WAS. Not enough to lose weight steadily, anyway.
But I asked him for his support, I told him this would NOT be an easy program, and God bless him, he told me he would support me in whatever I wanted to do.
I'm reminded of the words from Shania Twain's "Any Man of Mine":
ANY MAN OF MINE
This is what a woman wants!
Any man of mine better be proud of me
Even when I'm ugly he still better love me
And I can be late for a date that's fine
But he better be on time
Even when I'm ugly he still better love me
And I can be late for a date that's fine
But he better be on time
Any man of mine'll say it fits just
right
When last years dress is just a little too tight
And anything I do or say better be okay
When I have a bad hair day
When last years dress is just a little too tight
And anything I do or say better be okay
When I have a bad hair day
And if I change my mind
A million times
I wanna hear him say
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I like it that way"
A million times
I wanna hear him say
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I like it that way"
Any man of mine better walk the line
Better show me a teasin', squeezin', pleasin' kinda time
I need a man who knows, how the story goes
He's gotta be a heartbeatin', fine treatin', breathtakin', earthquakin' kind
Any man of mine
Better show me a teasin', squeezin', pleasin' kinda time
I need a man who knows, how the story goes
He's gotta be a heartbeatin', fine treatin', breathtakin', earthquakin' kind
Any man of mine
Well any man of mine better disagree
When I say another woman's lookin' better than me
And when I cook him dinner and I burn it black
He better say, "Mmm, I like it like that yeah"
When I say another woman's lookin' better than me
And when I cook him dinner and I burn it black
He better say, "Mmm, I like it like that yeah"
And if I change my mind
A million times
I wanna hear him say
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I like it that way"
A million times
I wanna hear him say
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I like it that way"
Any man of mine better walk the line
Better show me a teasin', squeezin', pleasin' kinda time
I need a man who knows, how the story goes
He's gotta be a heartbeatin', fine treatin', breathtakin', earthquakin' kind
Any man of mine
Better show me a teasin', squeezin', pleasin' kinda time
I need a man who knows, how the story goes
He's gotta be a heartbeatin', fine treatin', breathtakin', earthquakin' kind
Any man of mine
Let me hear you say
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah I like it that way"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah I like it that way"
Any man of mine better walk the line
Better show me a teasin', squeezin', pleasin' kinda time
I need a man who knows, how the story goes
He's gotta be a heartbeatin', fine treatin', breathtakin', earthquakin' kind
Any man of mine
Better show me a teasin', squeezin', pleasin' kinda time
I need a man who knows, how the story goes
He's gotta be a heartbeatin', fine treatin', breathtakin', earthquakin' kind
Any man of mine
You gotta shimmy shake, make the earth
quake
Kick, turn, stomp, stomp, then you jump
Heel to toe, doors to doors
Kick, turn, stomp, stomp, then you jump
Heel to toe, doors to doors
'Til your boots wanna break, 'til your
feet and
your back ache
Keep it movin' 'til you just can't take anymore
Come on everybody on the floor
A-one two, a-three four, hup two, hum
Keep it movin' 'til you just can't take anymore
Come on everybody on the floor
A-one two, a-three four, hup two, hum
If you wanna be a man of mine, that's
right
This song always makes
me
smile...and remember all the times my hubby just nodded and smiled and said
'Yes, dear'.
I could NOT have this program without his unflinching (yet QUIET) support. And it's all the more remarkable considering he had NO IDEA what the heck I was getting into "this time".
Ah, God bless him...for all the times I ranted and raved at the TV commercials selling junk food at 'key' times during the night (ever notice? Around dinnertime...then again around 10 pm....wonder why the fast food joints are still open around then? And ever notice how the actors and actresses in these commercials who are like, DEVOURING the food like there's no tomorrow, nodding and smiling, are GORGEOUS and THIN? Of course in reality 90% of them wouldn't TOUCH that stuff with a ten-foot pole...but for the commercial, sure, they can 'act like it'. They can pull it off. (and I heard a lot of them SPIT IT OUT between takes...UGH! Sorry but it's true!))
"Don't believe what you see". Maybe I've read too many stories about how the producers of these commercials make the food look 'better' by using fake props and all kinds of krazy stuff to make it look more edible. In reality a Big Mac doesn't look like that, does it? NO WAY!
All the times I've said "I can't HAVE THAT!" to him, and made him promise to keep it OUT OF MY SIGHT....locked away forever because if I knew where it was I'd hit it in the middle of the night and gobble it up!
All the times I sat there with my chicken and veggies while making him a burger...and he would look over at me and smile and say something like, 'You look beautiful tonight' even though I didn't necessarily 'feel' beautiful.
All the times I paraded around in something that I finally could FIT into, even if the style was like, 10 years old....! LOL...I could care less, the point was I FIT INTO IT! YAY!!! And he'd say 'That's nice, dear'.
All the times I lectured him on how what he was eating (and HAD been enjoying until I got on my soapbox) was LOADED with sodium and fat and did you know the average American consumes 10.5 lbs of SALT EVERY YEAR (I'm just making this number up, I can't remember, honestly, but I HAVE made comments like this to the poor guy) which of course made his hand STOP midway to the salt shaker....
All the times I said "I will NOT go to that restaurant" because I found I really couldn't find anything I could have and ENJOY myself....and therefore would he please pick something else?
All the times I was depressed because I got on the scale and holy SHIT I gained 2 lbs OMG THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END and he'd put his arms around me and whisper in my ear "I think you're beautiful".
All the times I did krazy, silly, HAPPY DANCES around him first thing in the morning (before he even had his first cup of coffee) because I got on the scale and WOW There IS A GOD!!! I lost 2 lbs!!! YAY!!!!!
(and then ran around going, "I gotta change my TICKER! YAY! Oh I LOVE changing my ticker...and let's see..this chart...yep, lookit, I'm down 42 lbs so far!...and this chart over here...wait! I need to take my measurements!...shoot, I only lose 1/2 inch off my waist...WHAT AM I SAYING WOW I lost 1/2 INCH OFF MY WAIST! Did you HEAR ME!?")
"Yes, dear..."
All the times I lectured him on how I was a food addict and he isn't, he has NO IDEA what I'm up against, I mean it's a constant, never-ending WAR and it's NOT FAIR and it'll NEVER be over....
"Yes, dear..."
GOD BLESS THESE MEN.
At first they have no idea what the heck we are doing 'this time'.
They've been down this road with us so many times that they're thinking "Oh, boy...another diet...she's going to be fun to live with for awhile...NOT!....but she'll go off it again, just watch..."
And then something strange happened....we DIDN'T 'go off' it...in fact we lost weight and CONTINUED to lose weight...and then we got 'addicted' to this website (boy I sure did)...and were logging on all the time, 'Gotta check in!'
'Gotta read blogs'
'Gotta write my blog!'
"Yes, dear...."
Slowly but surely as the pounds came off he started to 'believe'...but still...he wasn't sure...he knew me, after all...and what would happen when the 'diet' was over? (even though I kept saying "This isn't a diet, you know, I'm CHANGING MY EATING HABITS")
"Yes, dear..."
And then...when I hit goal...my ELATION, my going krazy spending money on new clothes, 'OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW!'.... packing for a weekend trip to VA I brought enough MF meals to last a WEEK....I planned every meal down to the nth degree....I would stop and say 'OMG it's time for my next MF meal!'....I brought an ENTIRE COOLER (and I mean a BIG cooler) full of water bottles -- for ONE PERSON...ME...! ....and he just said
"Yes, dear..."
But he watched me. Occasionally he'd question what I was eating. Once in a blue moon he'd even say he'd try something (mashed cauliflower was a perfect example...he'll EAT that now...! YAY!)
But usually he'd just stick to his own favorites and shake his head at my antics.
I would be in the kitchen with a kitchen hammer BANGING on the chicken breasts. "It's already dead, dear", he'd say.
"NO NO you don't understand I have to FLATTEN IT!"
"Yes, dear..."
Or ...lately...with the spaghetti squash...I poke holes it in with a skewer and stick it in the microwave for 10 minutes (whole! The holes just allow steam to escape so it doesn't explode) and here I am JABBING at the thing with a skewer, it's not easy to poke holes through...and he comes home from work and the look on his face as he tries to figure out what I'm doing THIS time...well, it's priceless!
"I have to do this!"
"Yes, dear..."
And he watched me change, and he watched me say "NO" and MEAN it...and he LOST his eating buddy. FOREVER.
He pushed back a few times....and to be honest it didn't take much. During Hurricane Sandy I went 'off the wagon', BIGTIME...because we had NO POWER, nothing....no water, even! (we used bottled stuff and also went to my parents' who had water, and filled up gallon jugs)....so we lived on crackers and peanut butter and jam...(and I LOVED it, don't let me tell you differently..it was the WORLD'S GREATEST EXCUSE!...! and of course I gained about 8 lbs in 3 weeks). So he had his 'eating buddy' back for a brief respite...but he could SEE how unhappy I was with my weight gain, and how I HATED myself afterwards...even DURING...as I couldn't STOP eating...he would watch open-mouthed as I downed WAY too much food, WAY too fast....because I just could.not.stop.eating.
He's seen me at my worst.
There were also times I was SECRETLY bingeing...and hiding it from him...eating when he wasn't home (or at least not around)....squirreling away treats in my bedroom under the mattress...eating in the middle of the night...and getting angry if he was 'underfoot', (or God forbid, trying to be romantic) because I was in the throes of my eating frenzy and wanted NOTHING TO DO with him or anyone else. I just wanted to STUFF MY FACE.
Until I got disgusted with myself 'enough' to pull back and get back OP.
AGAIN.
And always during these times I would turn into a not-very-nice person, because the truth was, I HATED myself and what I was doing, but at the same time I was 'punishing' myself by bingeing (because I truly believe on some level that's what we're doing....it's all twisted up inside)....I also would be short with him, my temper would be right at the surface, and God FORBID he leave the seat up on the toilet bowl, I'd go NUTS. Little things would drive me right up the wall at times like these, and he'd look at me like I had 3 heads....(and maybe I kinda 'did', looking back on it....being as conflicted inside as I was!)....but he'd stay OUT OF MY WAY until the worst was over.
And then I'd apologize and sometimes I'd admit I had been having an eating binge (which he was always clueless as to how to respond, and I don't blame him...I mean, what could he say? He understood? Because he didn't!), and sometimes I wouldn't....but I'd always pull myself up by my bootstraps sooner or later and get back OP....and then I'd be 'nice' again.
"Yes, dear..."
GOD BLESS A SUPPORTIVE MAN. Let's hear it for them, they are the UNSUNG HEROES of our weight loss, the 'wind beneath our wings' that allow us to sail along when we need to, and drop like a stone when we need that, too. But they ALWAYS always love us.
My dear husband has loved me when I was close to 300 lbs, and he's loved me at 159 lbs. And every place in between.
Although I think it's pretty safe to say that he PREFERS me like this...slim and happy! He prefers to be able to be put his arms ALL THE WAY around me. He prefers to be able to actually hug ALL of me. And to even pick me up if he's in the right mood to.
He knows it's not easy. He's seen it. And on one level YES, I think he misses his 'eating buddy' (because BOY could I put away a pizza).
But on another level he loves the fact that I have less pain, less fatigue, and am a MUCH MUCH happier, healthier woman.
I can then handle HIS kraziness a little better. I can BE THERE for him instead of being so into my own little world and problems that I can't see his. I can give him the time and attention he DESERVES from me.
And yes, still make his Kraft macaroni and cheese in the blue box....and keep my mouth shut about the calories.
:)
Keep on!
I could NOT have this program without his unflinching (yet QUIET) support. And it's all the more remarkable considering he had NO IDEA what the heck I was getting into "this time".
Ah, God bless him...for all the times I ranted and raved at the TV commercials selling junk food at 'key' times during the night (ever notice? Around dinnertime...then again around 10 pm....wonder why the fast food joints are still open around then? And ever notice how the actors and actresses in these commercials who are like, DEVOURING the food like there's no tomorrow, nodding and smiling, are GORGEOUS and THIN? Of course in reality 90% of them wouldn't TOUCH that stuff with a ten-foot pole...but for the commercial, sure, they can 'act like it'. They can pull it off. (and I heard a lot of them SPIT IT OUT between takes...UGH! Sorry but it's true!))
"Don't believe what you see". Maybe I've read too many stories about how the producers of these commercials make the food look 'better' by using fake props and all kinds of krazy stuff to make it look more edible. In reality a Big Mac doesn't look like that, does it? NO WAY!
All the times I've said "I can't HAVE THAT!" to him, and made him promise to keep it OUT OF MY SIGHT....locked away forever because if I knew where it was I'd hit it in the middle of the night and gobble it up!
All the times I sat there with my chicken and veggies while making him a burger...and he would look over at me and smile and say something like, 'You look beautiful tonight' even though I didn't necessarily 'feel' beautiful.
All the times I paraded around in something that I finally could FIT into, even if the style was like, 10 years old....! LOL...I could care less, the point was I FIT INTO IT! YAY!!! And he'd say 'That's nice, dear'.
All the times I lectured him on how what he was eating (and HAD been enjoying until I got on my soapbox) was LOADED with sodium and fat and did you know the average American consumes 10.5 lbs of SALT EVERY YEAR (I'm just making this number up, I can't remember, honestly, but I HAVE made comments like this to the poor guy) which of course made his hand STOP midway to the salt shaker....
All the times I said "I will NOT go to that restaurant" because I found I really couldn't find anything I could have and ENJOY myself....and therefore would he please pick something else?
All the times I was depressed because I got on the scale and holy SHIT I gained 2 lbs OMG THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END and he'd put his arms around me and whisper in my ear "I think you're beautiful".
All the times I did krazy, silly, HAPPY DANCES around him first thing in the morning (before he even had his first cup of coffee) because I got on the scale and WOW There IS A GOD!!! I lost 2 lbs!!! YAY!!!!!
(and then ran around going, "I gotta change my TICKER! YAY! Oh I LOVE changing my ticker...and let's see..this chart...yep, lookit, I'm down 42 lbs so far!...and this chart over here...wait! I need to take my measurements!...shoot, I only lose 1/2 inch off my waist...WHAT AM I SAYING WOW I lost 1/2 INCH OFF MY WAIST! Did you HEAR ME!?")
"Yes, dear..."
All the times I lectured him on how I was a food addict and he isn't, he has NO IDEA what I'm up against, I mean it's a constant, never-ending WAR and it's NOT FAIR and it'll NEVER be over....
"Yes, dear..."
GOD BLESS THESE MEN.
At first they have no idea what the heck we are doing 'this time'.
They've been down this road with us so many times that they're thinking "Oh, boy...another diet...she's going to be fun to live with for awhile...NOT!....but she'll go off it again, just watch..."
And then something strange happened....we DIDN'T 'go off' it...in fact we lost weight and CONTINUED to lose weight...and then we got 'addicted' to this website (boy I sure did)...and were logging on all the time, 'Gotta check in!'
'Gotta read blogs'
'Gotta write my blog!'
"Yes, dear...."
Slowly but surely as the pounds came off he started to 'believe'...but still...he wasn't sure...he knew me, after all...and what would happen when the 'diet' was over? (even though I kept saying "This isn't a diet, you know, I'm CHANGING MY EATING HABITS")
"Yes, dear..."
And then...when I hit goal...my ELATION, my going krazy spending money on new clothes, 'OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW!'.... packing for a weekend trip to VA I brought enough MF meals to last a WEEK....I planned every meal down to the nth degree....I would stop and say 'OMG it's time for my next MF meal!'....I brought an ENTIRE COOLER (and I mean a BIG cooler) full of water bottles -- for ONE PERSON...ME...! ....and he just said
"Yes, dear..."
But he watched me. Occasionally he'd question what I was eating. Once in a blue moon he'd even say he'd try something (mashed cauliflower was a perfect example...he'll EAT that now...! YAY!)
But usually he'd just stick to his own favorites and shake his head at my antics.
I would be in the kitchen with a kitchen hammer BANGING on the chicken breasts. "It's already dead, dear", he'd say.
"NO NO you don't understand I have to FLATTEN IT!"
"Yes, dear..."
Or ...lately...with the spaghetti squash...I poke holes it in with a skewer and stick it in the microwave for 10 minutes (whole! The holes just allow steam to escape so it doesn't explode) and here I am JABBING at the thing with a skewer, it's not easy to poke holes through...and he comes home from work and the look on his face as he tries to figure out what I'm doing THIS time...well, it's priceless!
"I have to do this!"
"Yes, dear..."
And he watched me change, and he watched me say "NO" and MEAN it...and he LOST his eating buddy. FOREVER.
He pushed back a few times....and to be honest it didn't take much. During Hurricane Sandy I went 'off the wagon', BIGTIME...because we had NO POWER, nothing....no water, even! (we used bottled stuff and also went to my parents' who had water, and filled up gallon jugs)....so we lived on crackers and peanut butter and jam...(and I LOVED it, don't let me tell you differently..it was the WORLD'S GREATEST EXCUSE!...! and of course I gained about 8 lbs in 3 weeks). So he had his 'eating buddy' back for a brief respite...but he could SEE how unhappy I was with my weight gain, and how I HATED myself afterwards...even DURING...as I couldn't STOP eating...he would watch open-mouthed as I downed WAY too much food, WAY too fast....because I just could.not.stop.eating.
He's seen me at my worst.
There were also times I was SECRETLY bingeing...and hiding it from him...eating when he wasn't home (or at least not around)....squirreling away treats in my bedroom under the mattress...eating in the middle of the night...and getting angry if he was 'underfoot', (or God forbid, trying to be romantic) because I was in the throes of my eating frenzy and wanted NOTHING TO DO with him or anyone else. I just wanted to STUFF MY FACE.
Until I got disgusted with myself 'enough' to pull back and get back OP.
AGAIN.
And always during these times I would turn into a not-very-nice person, because the truth was, I HATED myself and what I was doing, but at the same time I was 'punishing' myself by bingeing (because I truly believe on some level that's what we're doing....it's all twisted up inside)....I also would be short with him, my temper would be right at the surface, and God FORBID he leave the seat up on the toilet bowl, I'd go NUTS. Little things would drive me right up the wall at times like these, and he'd look at me like I had 3 heads....(and maybe I kinda 'did', looking back on it....being as conflicted inside as I was!)....but he'd stay OUT OF MY WAY until the worst was over.
And then I'd apologize and sometimes I'd admit I had been having an eating binge (which he was always clueless as to how to respond, and I don't blame him...I mean, what could he say? He understood? Because he didn't!), and sometimes I wouldn't....but I'd always pull myself up by my bootstraps sooner or later and get back OP....and then I'd be 'nice' again.
"Yes, dear..."
GOD BLESS A SUPPORTIVE MAN. Let's hear it for them, they are the UNSUNG HEROES of our weight loss, the 'wind beneath our wings' that allow us to sail along when we need to, and drop like a stone when we need that, too. But they ALWAYS always love us.
My dear husband has loved me when I was close to 300 lbs, and he's loved me at 159 lbs. And every place in between.
Although I think it's pretty safe to say that he PREFERS me like this...slim and happy! He prefers to be able to be put his arms ALL THE WAY around me. He prefers to be able to actually hug ALL of me. And to even pick me up if he's in the right mood to.
He knows it's not easy. He's seen it. And on one level YES, I think he misses his 'eating buddy' (because BOY could I put away a pizza).
But on another level he loves the fact that I have less pain, less fatigue, and am a MUCH MUCH happier, healthier woman.
I can then handle HIS kraziness a little better. I can BE THERE for him instead of being so into my own little world and problems that I can't see his. I can give him the time and attention he DESERVES from me.
And yes, still make his Kraft macaroni and cheese in the blue box....and keep my mouth shut about the calories.
:)
Keep on!
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