That "D" word

Over at Zoot's site, she has been talking about the dreaded "d" word. You know, diet. Lacking will power. I hear ya sistah. At the beginning of Jan, I joined ediets.com. I got some vitiamns sent to me (which I have been taking for 3 weeks now) ediets could really work. If I stuck to it. I get a menu for each day including recipes. The 2 weeks I was on it, I lost 5 lbs. It could have been more, if for one week of it, I wasn't all bloated (that TOM) and well if I gave up drinking diet coke and drank more water. Several years ago I weighed ALOT. I mean ALOT. I decided enough was enough and I wasn't happy. I started walking in the mornings before going to work. I would get up a half hour before I normally would and walk for that half hour. At the time I was living in Seattle on Queen Anne. Which meant hills. Lots of hills. I also started watching what I was eating and would eat between 1200-1500 calories a day. Like I said earlier, I have no willpower so this was extremly hard for me to do. If I got a craving for something, like thai food, I would think about it for HOURS. People say drink water, eat a piece of fruit or some veggies. Um yeah, didn't work for me! Still doesn't. Take this past Monday. I was really full when I got home from work. I had a fairly big lunch. I had drank a ton of water. I started thinking about the half of my sandwich left over from lunch. And I wanted it. I wanted it BAD. I made myself lie on my bed and realize how miserable I would be if I ate it. I wasn't hungry and I didn't need to eat it. I am happy to say its still in the fridge. Going back to Seattle, I started to lose weight. I dropped about 20 lbs before I started to venture back to the gym. I had joined the gym across the street from work when I started there. Like 2 years previous and had gone like 10 times. Now not only was the gym across the street from work, but I only lived 3 blocks from work. I really had no excuses. I started just walking on the treadmill, then came classes, weights and pretty soon I was going to spin classes. I loved spin. I would sometimes go to the gym 2 times a day. Before work/at lunch, or at lunch/after work. I found a co-worker that would go with me. I went to the gym 5-6 days a week. I still watched what I was eating, but upped the intake of calories a bit. I was feeling good, and looking good. I will never be a super skinny girl, but for the first time in my life, I felt good about myself. I lost 70 lbs in about a year. Then something happened. I moved. I moved down south. To a city known for some really really really good food and everything is fried. I haven't joined a gym, not in the year and a half I have been here. I have gained back 20 lbs of the 70 I have lost. I feel like I did before I started the big weight loss. Sluggish and gross. I have been walking a bit more, however there aren't that many hills here. I won't get back up that high in weight again and really do need to cut waaaaay back on the food intake (not the beer intake, that's not gonna happen just yet) start my walking. Its going to get real hot here soon, walking will suck. But I will do it. Right?? Right??? Someone said to me right after I moved here "in the winter you get fat on all the food, and in the summer you sweat all the grease out." yeah. well here's to wearing those cute summer dresses that haven't seen the light of day since moving down here. Moderation....allowing a little indulgence from time to time, lots more water, and yes excersising. I can do this. It will give me something positive to focus on right now.