The Starbucks Diet

I just read about a woman a little older than me losing 76 pounds on the Starbuck’s diet of her own making.  Immediately afterwards a bunch of nay sayers began ripping into her! 

In spite of the fact that she simply counted calories, ate the bistro boxes of fruit, cheese and veggies a lot of the time and choose Starbucks because it was close to where she worked, they found fault saying she could be malnourished or many other people might get bored with eating this way.

Believe me there is nothing less boring to an obese person than losing weight!  It is the literal carrot on the stick that keeps them going when the mirror isn’t being kind and other folks are actually sabotaging their attempts with good hearted but unhelpful “concerns.”

As far as being malnourished, I suspect many people are malnourished in our society where sugary treats, fried food, fast fake food and diets that encourage extreme use of only proteins or carbohydrates are rampant.  So you can be both fat and malnourished.  Eliminating at least one is bound to be healthier and I would opt for losing weight. 

In today’s world it is so easy to think I can buy anything I need, even something that will take off the pounds, but in the end it boils down to motivation.  Team players often want the inclusiveness of clubs and plans to cheer them on.  Loners often find these sources distracting and even destructive because they fixate on the one thing we are trying to stop obsessing over – food!

For me it has been a continually evolving experience, constantly changing the way I exercise or calories I consume.  Cutting my salt intake way down was the first big step.  Eating more vegetables has been the next one.  I count calories and have come to realize that I do not “see” myself realistically at all.  My mirror is not my friend.  In it I saw myself as normal seventy pounds ago and obese now! 

The Internet provides all the resources I need to find out my target weight and count the calories in the food I eat.  My scale feeds me better than any cheering squad when I lose pounds and the sweet comments of family and friends about how I look keeps me glowing.

The real trick is perseverance.  Like everything else in life, what I eat is part of the journey.  I will always have to eat something so I need to learn what really makes me feel my all around best both physically and mentally.

It comes right back to the idea of a healthy mind in a healthy body and if going to Starbucks does it for that woman I am all for her!