Yours Truly is featured in a nice piece over on AOL's "That's Fit," a women's health and fitness site. It's called Losing 100 Pounds in One Year, and prominently features my "before" picture of seven weeks ago.
Interesting that they published the piece under their "Success and Motivation" header. All week long, I've felt neither successful nor motivated.
Bouts of insomnia. Hard facts about my real self-esteem issues. Money, life, work stressors. It's been a week of beautiful weather and ugly truths. My world just seemed . . . crunchy.
Until last night. Last night, after prayer and before I closed my eyes (at 3 a.m.), I gave myself a pep talk. I counted my blessings, ending with a demand to just snap the heck out of it.
I awoke around 8, feeling much better and determined. Every new day means a fresh start. There's just under a week left in March, and I intend to make the most of it. Somehow, some way, I'm going to hit the minus-20-pounds mark.
I know of several ways to lose 8-12 pounds in a week, because I've done them. In the AOL interview, I mentioned the Fat Flush Diet. I'd probably drop 10 pounds on that in a single week, though I'd also endanger the lives of everyone around me because it's yucky and possibly harmful. It's so awful, it's funny: Day in and day out, I'd consume glass after glass of unsweetened cranberry juice mixed with water and sometimes dried psyllium husks, and hot lemon water among other dietary restrictions. And consume flaxseed oil, which is just nasty.
Or I could easily drop 8-10 doing the first phase of Atkins. No carbs and way too much meat. I always wondered what was happening to my colon on Atkins. Probably don't want to ever know.
The thing is, those are fads, unless you intend to eat like that the rest of your life, and I doubt any sane person would. I mean if you're desperate, you'll try anything. I was, I did, and here's the worst part: I would literally get sick of eating only a certain way over a period of weeks, and then the cravings for "real" food would hit. On Atkins, I'd crave the forbidden fruit - which was all fruit, by the way. An apple would lead to a banana, then Hey, I haven't made banana pudding in a long time!
Afterward, wracked with guilt, I'd either make myself barf, give up, or some combination of the two.
One day I'll go into all the horrible things that happen to a bulimic's health - most of which I've dodged, thank God. I'll time it so that particular column runs during your lunchtime. **lol**
So yeah, I could do a fad for a week, but it's just no longer an option. I'll "pay" for this sloggy, sleepy week with more gym time, more sleep and better meals.
Maybe I'll have that "before" picture framed. Hang it right next to my desk.
Thanks AOL and "That's Fit" editors and readers. Let's stay in touch!
It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it. ~ Lena Horne
Leslie J. Ansley is an award-winning journalist and entrepreneur who blogs daily for TheRoot. She lives in Raleigh, NC.