How big was that...

In my attempt to continue to lose the unmentionable number of pounds that I have gained, I have become very aware of a serious portion size problem...the makers of delicious food puts their nutritional information in unrealistic portion sizes.  Seriously, who breaks a delicious "Granny B's Pink Sugar Cookie" into 4 pieces and then shares it with 3 people? Not me and not anyone that I know of!  And I have never shared a small container of "Ben and Jerry's" ice cream with 3 other people--maybe eaten it in 3 different sittings, (ok 2, or 1 1/2) but never shared it with more than 1 person.  Why is it that you can eat 1 cup of corn or sliced carrots, but a serving of "Cookie Crisp" is only 3/4 of cup--that is like 10 crisps? Who was it that decided what a portion is, and why don't they package things as 1 portion size if it is intended to be eaten by only 1 person?  It is no wonder that I am struggling to lose weight when I walk into the kitchen and see 3/4 of a pink cookie staring back at me wanting to be eaten. How must that lonely piece of cookie feel?  It is never my intention to make my food feel bad about being left behind, so I eat it.  Seriously, have you ever tried to measure food out in it's suggested serving sizes?  It is not an easy fete I assure you.  

I am a sucker for dairy products.  The more cheese the better!  As a child I used to order foods at restaurants based on the dairy products included, such as if it had cheese and especially sour cream, there was a good chance I would order it over something more dairy free.  Now, I have to measure my cheese in 1 ounce increments.  I know that an ounce of cheese is approximately a 1 inch cube, but I am not in the habit of coming home from the store and cutting my cheese into 16 cubes for my convenience in measuring, because this does not constitute convenience in use. Have you ever tried to slice a 1 inch cube of cheese for sandwiches, or tried to grate 4 inch cubes individually for a recipe...what a pain!  I prefer to pretend to know what 1 ounce of cheese is based on how much I currently desire.  

The other problem that I face in losing weight is that my husband loves me.  It really is his fault that my self control can be nonexistent at times.  Whenever I tell him that I am taking a break from my diet, he says "ok." Which makes it very easy to do.  He tells me that he loves me no matter what and that if I want to lose weight it should be for myself and not for him (what a sweet and smart man).  The problem here is because he is on a double-edged sword, and he knows it.  Even if he does wish that I looked like the woman he married, he can't say it unless he wants to sleep on the couch (which really isn't that comfortable).  If he were to tell me that I really shouldn't give up the diet because I really needed to stay focused on it, I would be hurt and he knows it, so he doesn't.  However, this doesn't change the fact that I need him to say that to keep me focused...no wonder weight loss is a never ending war!  

I never stick to my diet when on vacation, and after 2 vacations this summer I also now know that I need a week to recover from the time off of the diet.  If I don't take this much need recovery week, then I feel deprived and depressed, and end up eating even more in my angst.  So, I allow myself that extra week of Pepsi and ice cream and focus on what I will have to do the following weeks to make up for it--at least I am planning ahead!  It is no wonder that I have been "plateau-ing" since the time of our first reunion.  At least my husband still loves me!