Saturday, June 21, 2014

Maintaining Despite the BLTs




Please forgive me for my three-week hiatus!  My dad and sister were visiting the last two weekends, and I was busy preparing for the visit the weekend before.  But I am back!  And…I’m happy to report that I did my monthly “weigh-in,” and I am back to within two pounds of my goal weight…yeah!!!

Typical spread at a Korean dinner.
One thing that makes weight maintenance challenging here in Korea is the amount of food served combined with the lingering over dinner that often leads to BLTs even when I’m no longer hungry.  I mentioned in a previous blog that Koreans are all about side dishes.  They are also all about sharing meals and lingering over dinner to enjoy the good company.  As a result, the table is filled with food that’s free for the taking.  Oh…did I mention you can get any side dish refilled for free?  Yes, there have been many a meal when I kept stealing a bite of something here, a lick of something there, and just a taste of this…the dreaded BLTs.  As we all know, those can add up quickly.

To be perfectly honest and truthful…I’m not sure I’ll ever have the willpower to deal with this dilemma.  It’s all so good…it’s all right there…and it’s bottomless.  Since we share the food, the old tricks don’t work: can’t put my napkin over it, can’t pour water on it to ruin it, can’t ask for  a doggie bag to get half of it out of view.  The only strategies I’ve used so far have been to have light meals when eating by myself and make sure I get exercise in.

If you have any other tips for me, I’d love to hear them!  : )


Now for the poem…I don’t know why, but Shel Silverstein came to mind this week.  So here is a weightloss version of one of my favorite poems of his, “If You Have to Dry the Dishes.”

“If You Need that BLT”

If you need that BLT,
Such a hard thing to ignore.
If you need that BLT,
Instead of points of which you’re sure.
If you need that BLT,
And make a trip to the store…
Maybe healthy snacks will take its place
And you won’t be hungry anymore!


If You Have to Dry the Dishes
Shel Silverstein

If you have to dry the dishes,
Such an awful boring chore.
If you have to dry the dishes,
Instead of going to the store.
If you have to dry the dishes,
And you drop one on the floor…
Maybe they won’t let you

dry the dishes anymore!

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