Had a great weekend in Houston with John. Everything went well with his brother's quadruple bypass on Friday, so we were able to ease up on the fretting a bit. Son Austin dropped by after work, the first evening I was there, and we all went to El Toro for dinner together. Since I was coming off of a week of birthday celebrations, I decided to avoid all the cheese and sauces, and just ordered a simple chicken breast and veggies for myself. Fortunately/unfortunately (depends on how you look at it) the waitress messed up my order. I ended up getting a plate with three or four different things on it, all containing chicken, and all muy delicioso!
Saturday was filled with more delicious things and I must admit, I was a bit nervous to climb on the scales this morning for my weekly weigh in. Woohoo! No damage done, and believe me, you couldn't possibly be more amazed about that than I am. I've spent most of my life on a diet, as has everyone in my family. In fact, if ever I wasn't actively following the Weight Watchers plan, going to meetings, and avoiding all sugar, I was usually gaining weight. There seemed to be no middle ground for me. So how is it that now, since moving to Wimberley where there is no WW group, trading in my uber-active job as a merchandiser for the more sedentary life of a writer, and not really thinking about weight control much at all for three years now, I've somehow managed to lose about ten pounds?
I happened across an interview with Mereille Guiliano, author of French Women Don't Get Fat and French Women For All Seasons, in the Houston Chronicle yesterday morning. It got me to thinkin' on the drive home. When I first read those books about five years ago, they made a lot of sense to me - good, plain, common sense. However, I was still in the Houston suburbs full-time back then, with no farmers' markets, nothing at all in walking distance, no farmers with C.S.A. programs available, and I was not very good at juggling the needs of my job and it's long commute, my kids who were still in school, my hubby, and our seriously ill and failing parents. I remember thinking "Well, that's all fine and good if you live in France, but I'd like to see you try it here!"
The more I thought about it on the drive home - about how I managed to eat bagels, burgers and Mexican food this weekend without gaining weight, and about what my life is like here in Wimberley - the more obvious it became that I have gradually incorporated many of Guiliano's lessons without even realizing it! I'm going to ponder on it a bit longer, and will see if I can't come up with a few good life steps to staying happy, fit, and healthy. Stay tuned!
P.S. Many thanks to goodreads.com and francophilia.com for the above images.
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2 comments:
Your post sent me researching the precepts of her first book and I found this review excerpt repeated on many sites:
"This is a book that will make you laugh out loud and yet have you following several of her practical precepts within days - everyone who reads it becomes evangelical (French women don't go to the gym, they climb the stairs). It combines just the right balance of memoir, wisdom, wit, delicious recipes, and French common sense. Guiliano emphasizes the virtues of freshness, variety, personal taste, enjoyment and, above all, portion control (research shows that dishes served in US restaurants are 25 per cent larger than those served in restaurants in France!)."
From everything you've written in the past I'm sure that Bountiful Sprout's fresh food, Hill Country exercise, virtually no processed food, and a zestful appreciation for 'the good life' has contributed to your transformation.
Vive Le Seasonality!!
Well, I wouldn't say I've been transformed exactly - I'll never be thin, for sure. But I certainly feel good!
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