south beach out

I've gotten through the first 4 chapters of the south beach diet, and I don't think I'm ready to try it anytime soon. Most of what I've read is just marketing so far, but I'm just not getting a good feeling about this. It may be something that I try later on...say September or October, if things don't start picking up on the weight watchers path. I'll hang onto the book till then. (Man, I flip-flop a lot.)

I think that right now, the biggest thing to concentrate on is renewing my focus. When I started WW, I really wanted to stick to the plan...now, I've let myself get more lax about it, and I think that's hurting my motivation as well as my progress. I'm not very driven by nature, so things can get to "slippery slope" status in a hurry.

Here are the ways I'm planning to get my focus back:

Staying for the WW meetings instead of just ducking out after the weigh-in. The meetings suck, but I can't help but notice that I was more motivated when I was going to the meetings than I am now. I'm never going to be one of those point-obsessed folks, and I hope I never find myself uttering the phrase, "and the best part is, it's only x points!!" like this is the most exciting revelation ever. I will never eat rice cakes, or go shopping for wow chips. That's just wrong, man. (For me--no offense to those who enjoy those things.)

Stay strictly within my points range. I'm not going to beat myself up over little failures, but I'm also not going to shrug them off. How can I expect to get the results I want from the plan if I don't stick to the damn plan? So yeah--22 to 27 points. Period. Exercise is just gravy. (Mmm...gravy.)

Plan meals ahead of time. I have real problems doing this, but I can't stick to the plan if I don't. I need to be eating at home more, and/or bringing food to work for lunch.

Weight training goes back into the regimen, even if I have to make Noah nag me about it. Also walking or biking every weekday morning, unless it's raining or really insufferably hot.

Yep, that's the new new plan. South Beach is out until I grow some willpower and/or genuine desire to do it. Right now, it's looking like more of a pain in the ass than it's worth.