Doing the Dukan! Am I crazy? Maybe a Little....

First, let me tell you a little bit about my past and current relationship with food, dieting, and weight.

I grew up a chunky chunker. This may sound self-defeating, but hey - if you can't laugh at yourself...
I wasn't colossal or mammoth by any means - but I was plump. Enough that people noticed. Enough that people had to tell me 'what a pretty face' I had. My first memory of the scale put me at 141lbs, in grade eight. The majority of my friends (all of them actually) were atheltic and fit. I was the team manager, so to speak. I talked loud. I laughed loud. I was friendly and gregarious, and made my way just fine.
In highschool, I stayed in a relatively healthy weight range, but not on the 'lighter side' if you know what I mean. I was still the chunkiest of my gals. And I wasn't coping overly well on the inside.

Then hit University. I blossomed! I blossomed right up to the deuces - put me on par with Will Smith in Ali. The film he had to gain weight for. He's 6'2. I'm 5'6. And even he looked chubby. I ate like a 6'2 heavy weight champ. I wasn't happy.  Things were tough. I was still fun and having fun. Always had lots of friends (even boyfriends). I still had a pretty face. But I wasn't so fond of what stared back at me in the mirror. I wasn't so fond of not fitting into Club Monaco or J. Crew. And my self-esteem plummeted. I really didn't like much about me at the time. Don't get me wrong, I had good times...but my weight brought me down on a daily basis.

After uni, I travelled overseas. This was too be my 'Sabrina' moment. I was going to come back, and people would be shocked. And that is essentially what happened. Except throw in meeting the love of my life, getting married, and being gone 6 years. And losing 80 pounds.

People always ask me how I lost it, and I never really know what to say. I stopped driving. Started walking everywhere. Stopped eating Western food (ie; processed or packaged). I did the Atkins, I did South Beach, I did Body for Life (my fave), I did stairs, I started running. All of these things took me down to my lowest weight (139lbs). In their own ways, they all helped. That's my theory on diets. They all work. If you do them right. It's the maintenance that is the evil part. That is where 'eating clean' fits into it all. And I'm all for that, but then I fall off track, forget how important it is, and before you know it - I'm addicted to cheetos. Okay, well not really cheetos (not a fan) - but anything chocolate and/or peanut butter. Then I'm craving carbs like crack cocaine and my husband has to hide the fudge I made him for Valentine's Day because I'm up at 3 am hunting it down with a crazed (and terrifying) look in my eyes.

Now, I've gained 20 pounds of the weight back (actually more, but have lost some). I work nights half the time, which makes eating harder (or that is one of my excuses).  I still exercise like crazy, and quite enjoy it (on most days). But I'm getting bigger than I want to be. It's bringing me down again. And all of that makes me want fudge, and date squares, and chocolate cake all the more. I gotta stop while I still can!

Skip forward 6 days, to February 20th, and I'm starting the Dukan. For a longer summary of what it is, check out this site.

Essentially, the Dukan is a High Protein, Low Carb weight loss plan. Now I've done low carb before, and I realize that it is not something that can be done for life. And feel free to tell me your opinions. But what I like about this plan, is the second last phase; the consolidation - where it helps you add carbs back into your life (the healthy ones), at a slow pace. Being a carb fiend, I know that I need to learn control. I also like the regimentation. The rules. Sometimes, I just feel like I need some rules in my life. In fact, I wish I had someone to slap my hand if I didn't floss everyday, or if I went to bed without taking my make up off. (Perhaps I need to work on those things too). But following a plan has always helped me in the past, and lately I've been badly in need one. So today marks my first day. My goal is to get to the weight (whatever number that may be) and stay there. I'd like to be 134, by 34 years old. But a number is a number, and it all depends on how I feel at the time. Looks good from here though. Stats to follow. Wow - will that mean three posts in one day???!!! I'm on a roll!