The Weight

As everyone remembers, I sprained both my ankles this year and in the midst of that moved to Ecuador where people eat a lot of rice, potatoes and grilled meat. They sell lard in the grocery store here, with a little pig graphic smiling at the señoras. So per the traditional pattern for female peace corps volunteers, as well as according to all normal logic, I put on some of the weight that I once lost. One of the pictures in the book that Jessica brought me showed a picture of me taken on Halloween 2003 when I was at the very smallest I have ever been. If I remember my weight watchers records correctly I was probably 136 lbs. Hanging out in my bikini for a couple weeks reminded me that I do dislike how I look and how much I want to get back to that. And I live down the street from a gym that costs $10 a month, with all the fresh fruits and veggies I could imagine, for dirt cheap. I have nothing but a good setup for it.

So. I tell myself. I do remember everything I did to lose weight. I know how to do it all again. I know how to get into the mindset where to decline certain foods, to put something aside feels like a pleasure and not like something painful. I don´t have that much control over my work, how the Peace Corps treats me, whether I get projects off the ground or a bunch of other things going, but I do have control of what I eat. I bought a scale and filled my fridge with veggies and fruits. Saturday I started counting calories and made juice and drank it. I sat in a restaurant last night and refrained from eating until I got home because the only food they have left was plates of rice, beef, and fried eggs. I have to get back to where you break down the larger task to these tiny little decisions and over time they add up to this big, big change in your life.

Weigh in is Monday morning. I´ll start with counting calories this for a week. And hopefully then another. If it goes well. I´ll try to stick with it for three months and see where I am. I was pleased to find today that I am at 68 kg, which is 149.9 lbs, meaning I only gained about 10 lbs. Which is far from the end of the world.