• plateau
• boredom
• plus-size
• rut

I haven’t used them because I haven’t felt them! Many people I come across are bored with their exercise routine or feel frustrated that they (think they) are eating right and exercising enough but still aren’t losing weight. Or, they’ve fallen into a rut or became stuck at a plateau.

Fortunately, despite a recent “bump” from which I quickly recovered, I have had steady weight loss for about three months — four in April, six in May, four in June and three so far in July! It is only averaging about one pound per week, but I am not complaining. I’m still ahead of target for losing all 100 pounds before the end of the year and I’m not bored with the process. Sure, I wish the journey took less time, and if I had been willing to beef up cardio even more, I could be doing this at a faster pace. But, I’m hoping that by losing it one pound (or occasionally two) per week will help enable me to keep it off, as have suggested many weight loss experts in articles I’ve read.

Weight loss is a journey that is much easier to take if the traveler is optimistic by nature. I’ve got that going for me!

I can’t count my chickens before they hatch though. This will be a very trying week for me and next Monday I hope to just weigh even — not gain any weight. This weekend I will be taking a road trip to Kentucky for a wedding. I’m pretty sure I can actually behave during the wedding feast, even considering a sliver of wedding cake! I think I can also make smart choices when dining out and partaking of free continental breakfasts provided by the hotel. What I’m worried about is the road trip itself!

When I’m driving (or riding) I often resort to eating because:

1. I need to pass the time and there’s nothing else to do.
2. After long distances, I get sleepy and need to stay awake.
3. It’s something ingrained in me to do, as special “road trip snacks” have been part of every road trip I’ve ever taken!

One idea I had was to pre-bag all the snacks I plan on taking into 100 calorie packs and tell myself I can have three things from the bag on the entire trip there. That way, I will definitely NOT go over 300 calories of snacks but still (hopefully) have enough to satisfy the “presumed” need for snacks. I hope that will work, and I’m hoping that by choosing to include heathier snacks, I will be tempted to actually choose those!

What types of special snacks have been in the “snack bag” in years past? (These are all things that we never had during any other time of the year except for family vacations.) Skittles, Corn Nuts, Cracker Jack, Orange Slices, Bugles, Circus Peanuts, Pringles, Cheesy Popcorn, Twizzlers, etc. etc. etc.

I love all of those things! In fact, my mouth is watering just thinking about circus peanuts. But, boy, eat more than about a dozen of those things and I’d probably barf.

Now, when considering the types of foods I’ve just mentioned, I’d have a snack baggy that is not very full. It doesn’t take much to reach 100 calories when you’re measuring things like circus peanuts. In fact, I just looked… each circus peanut has about 35 calories, so by the time I’ve eaten three, I’d be done. Ugh.

Contrast that to some healthier options I COULD include: celery, baby carrots, cucumber slices, dried or fresh fruit, wheat crackers, whole grain cereal — you can eat an entire cucumber (which would make for lots and lots of slices) an only have about 40 calories! Can you see me trying to stuff two and a half cut up cucumbers in one little snack baggy?

So, logic would have it, especially if I want to nibble-nurse on something from a snack bag in efforts to stay awake (or occupied and free from boredom), I’d want to choose an option that would provide multiple “visits” to the snack bag in question and therefore maintain me as long as possible!

But, as eating is often being FAR from logical, I’ll admit in advance that I plan on enjoying some kind of candy on this road trip!

Speaking of “treats” often consumed on vacations, in years past it used to be a Dairy Queen Blizzard, with Peanut Butter Cup being my absolute favorite. I’ve decided this is one indulgence I will just not allow myself to have, at least this trip. I can trade the 600 calories for that by convincing my family to stop at a McDonalds instead. If they want something similar, they can have a McFlurry (although DQ Blizzards are much better) and I’ll opt for a 150 calorie soft serve cone! I’ll save money too, as those are only 49 cents!

So, for those of you that might still be reading this far into my message, what ideas do you have for road trip snacks that will be filling, plentiful and low-calorie that I may not have considered? What would you pack in your snack bag if you were heading out on a long road trip?

However, after each success I’d inevitably rebound and regain most of the weight I’d lost! Why do I do that to myself? I’m not sure. I think there are several reasons:

• I get bored with the exercise program.
• I hit a plateau and lose motivation to exercise when I don’t see results.
• I am faced with a stressful time in my life and crave comfort foods.
• I have difficulty sticking to a diet during the holidays.
• etc. etc. etc.

At my largest, I weighed 297 pounds. It sickened me that I weighed almost 300. My largest weight loss before “falling off the wagon” was 67 pounds. I never allow myself to regain all of the weight from my last yo-yo before resuming my diet.

Other interesting facts about my personal battle with weight loss:

• Although I have three children, I’ve only been pregnant once. During that pregnancy I gained 41 pounds. Within three weeks of delivery, I lost 52 pounds! Leave it to me to weigh less after having a baby! From what I understand though, heavy women do tend to have similar results. Most average-size women exercise for months to get back to their pre-pregnancy weight.
• The first 20 pounds come off fairly quickly and after that it requires quite a bit more determination. It is not uncommon for me to lose five pounds per week in the first few weeks and then only lose one pound per week after that.