WIAW: Progress, Not Perfection

Happy Wednesday! Per the usual, this means the countdown to the weekend is officially on. T-Minus 56 hours and counting, my friends. :)

Also per the usual, Wednesdays are reserved for What I Ate Wednesday, hosted by the lovely Jenn from Peas & Crayons — I highly recommend her many delicious recipes, so do yourself a favor and go check her out.

My food lately has been a bit of a study in learning curves. Last time I did Weight Watchers, I relied heavily on salads and raw fruits and veggies for snacks — but I’ve found that when it gets cold out, I want warm foods. I tried to do mostly cooked, warm foods for a few days, but I found that I was consistently exceeding my Points allocation. Frustration ensued,my friends — it ensued in a major way. I didn’t want to feel chilled to the bone while eating only raw produce, but I didn’t want to go over my Points value for the day either.

I’ve now settled on a 50/50 set-up, which seems to be working thus far: I eat hot oatmeal for breakfast, hot soup for lunch, and a hot meal for dinner, but I snack on things like fresh apples, bananas, the occasional post-workout green smoothie, and raw bell peppers (and pickles…more on this in a moment) with hummus.

Regarding the pickles bit, I should also probably ‘fess up to the fact that dill pickles with hummus is one of my favorite snacks ever. Most people find this disgusting. Now, I can happily put hummus on just about anything. Pretzels, crackers, carrots, peppers…it’s all good, and I will happily stuff my face with it.

If you’ve seen Don’t Mess With the Zohan, you might recall how they make fun of Israelis for putting hummus in/on everything. Let’s put it this way: when I was in Israel, even my Israeli friends were stunned by how many things I’d eat with hummus. Given how much Israelis love the stuff, this was a very big deal. It’s basically their national food, but even they were appalled when I started dipping dill pickles into tubs of hummus and proclaiming it delicious.

But y’all. It’s delicious. I’m serious.

So, every night when I come home, I head straight for the fridge and dig out a bag of sliced bell pepper slices, a jar of kosher baby dills, and a tub of hummus. No shame. Don’t judge.

Anyways, as I mentioned before, this round of WW involves a whole new learning curve than the one I climbed when I originally joined WW almost two years ago. One issue is that the medication I’m taking to clear out my endometrial cancer is also used as an appetite stimulant. I was all “BWWWWEH?! What the hell?!” when I learned this, because I was hungry all the time to begin with — but now it’s kind of ridiculous. So, I have to work extra hard to find uber-satisfying foods to keep me full.

Another hurdle is my recent discovery that I seem to have an intolerance to eggs. (*Headdesk*) I love eggs, and I ate them all the time during my first round in WW — but then I started noticing that I’d have some serious tummy troubles whenever I ate them. I didn’t want to believe that this could possibly be due to my beloved eggs, so I decided it must be something else. But, when I finally isolated the variable last week, it became clear: eggs are not my BFF. As Brandon so aptly noted, I’m running out of foods I can eat. Sadness ensues!

So, with eggs out, more cooked foods in, and my efforts to try and stay full, it’s been a bit of a challenge. I’m not losing weight as quickly as I’d like to, but I have a new motto when it comes to all my goals — weight loss, running, writing, the whole lot — of late: progress, not perfection.

The weight might not be melting right off, but that’s ok. I’m making progress, and I’m figuring out how to do this in a way that works for my body this time around. I’m working within a different set of parameters, and I’m learning the ropes slowly but surely. It’s not perfect, but it’s progress — and that’s what matters most.

I’ll reach my goal at a pace that works, and I’ll do it without feeling incredibly cold or having a daily egg-induced stomachache.