INTRODUCTION TO DIET DELITES

Welcome all you chubbies out there that are still looking for that magic bullet that will take off the pounds at warp speed. Get a grip!

THERE IS NO MAGIC BULLET

I've been trying to lose weight for most of my adult life. At 62, I am still trying. The only reason I weigh 165 lbs. and not 265 lbs. is because I go on a diet every single morning -- and it almost always falls apart by 5PM. This has been my routine for over 30 years.

My ideal weight is 130 lbs. The last time I weighed 130 lbs. was when I was 35 years old. At that age I really should have weighed 120 lbs. So at 35 I was already 10 pounds overweight.

For 27 years I have been consistently adding pounds. The biggest gain was in 1999 during menopause when inexplicably I added 20 pounds in 2 months. The doctor explained that it was due to severe anemia. My body had shut down and was storing every little bit I ate as fat. That drove my weight up to 165 lbs.

I leveled off at 165 lbs., but over the next 5 years I added yet another 10 pounds. When I got on the scale in December, 2004, and saw 175 lbs., I nearly fainted. If I didn't do something fast, I was heading to real obesity.

Within 3 months I lost 10 pounds. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. Climbing a mountain is easier than losing weight. I know; I've climbed a mountain. (That really is me in the picture.)

May 30, 1993 -- Top of Mt. St. Helens -- 140 Lbs.

In 2005 I managed to take off another 5 pounds. Unfortunately, in November I went on a 2-week Caribbean cruise with a friend whose only form of entertainment was eating. With no will power (and not a whole lot else to do on board for endless days at sea) I gained back 5 pounds. It probably would have been more if I had imbibed on all of the sugar-laden drink specialties. Instead, I drank a lot of water and managed a 1.5 mile walk each day on the jogging track.

On March 20, 2006, I began a new lease on life. Among other things, I am bound and determined to lose 30 pounds, but I need help. We all need help.

This post is for those of you who want to join me on my weight loss journey. Here I will make myself accountable to you. Here I will share with you one secret to making dieting more palatable -- reworked recipes.

Over the years I have taken many of my favorite dishes and reduced their calorie counts so that I don't have to deny myself the pleasures of eating. I will begin posting those recipes for you to enjoy as well.

Keep in mind that I am not a nutritionist, a diet guru, a gourmet cook or expert on anything related to food. So you may get rough calorie counts, but don't expect a full read-out of nutritional values. Some recipes won't be all that precise either. I tend to cook with a pinch or this, a smattering of that, a dash of something else. Some would call it creative cookery. You may have to use your creative sixth sense to discover what's right for you. Also, the recipes will be very simple. A Julia Child I am not.

Tomorrow I will "weigh in" with the first of the reworked recipes. Until then --

HAPPY WEIGHT LOSS