Weight Loss and Writing

Writing is not conducive to weight loss. In fact, being such a sedentary active, often fueled by one too many jalapeño potato chip, See’s molasses chip or bottle of sweet tea, it can lead to the weight gain.

I’ve always been an active person–in the past, I’ve run in half-marathons or played in basketball leagues. And now with Tulo, the hyper Jack Russell, regular dog walks as well as strength training have become my regular routine. But that hasn’t prevented extra pounds from accumulating around my middle. I called it natural middle-age weight gain and just acquired more tunics from Japan.

I was content with my roly-poly state, but there’s something in my family history that I can’t ignore. We’ve been hit hard by the “C” word, cancer. My three grandparents had cancer; my father, stomach; and my mother, ovarian. Mom has beat the odds and is currently as healthy as she can be at 83 years of age. The rest succumbed to the disease.

My gynecologist has told me that losing just 10 pounds will decrease my chances of getting several different kinds of cancer. That was finally the incentive that I needed. I reluctantly joined the Kaiser Healthy Balance program, which is similar to Weight Watchers in that there are weekly weigh-ins and group discussions. I really didn’t want to participate in these one-and-a-half hour sessions, once a week for 16 weeks. (I’m currently in week seven.)

Instead of being a discouraging experience, I discovered a group of charming, motivated and smart individuals from all walks of life. They had helpful tips that I’ve integrated in my life. Steadily, every week, weight has been falling off without that much sacrifice. The Kaiser plan stresses a plant-based diet with lean protein and complex carbohydrates. Nothing is “banned”; it’s all about portion control.

It’s interesting that my weight loss goal coordinates with the writing of my current manuscript. The percentage that I have left to go is about the same. Somehow the discipline of eating well and being physical active has helped me to be more productive in my writing sessions. Discipline is sometimes seen as a dirty world, but there can be a beauty to it, a “habit of being.”