It makes your skin crawl.
Your insides squirm. The hair on your back raises when you hear it calling.
You try to shake the feeling, but you are powerless.
Then you can’t take it anymore.
You yell into the dark night…

“I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE! I… MUST… HAVE… LOCALLY-MADE ARTISAN CHEESES AND GRASS-FED BEEF WITH ROOT VEGETABLES FROM THE FARMERS MARKET!!!!!”

Wait…what?

How many points is burnt cheese from a Lean Cuisine?

You see, my diet, like most Americans who are trying to lose weight, is at times stale and lifeless. During the week, my lunches consist of some nuked-up concoction of sodium and carbs with a few pieces of some chicken-like protein throw in. Let’s be honest, it’s hard to get jazzed about a Lean Cuisine on a Thursday when you’ve eaten the same thing every day. At that point, you’re ready for something different. Something…you might not always count or track…

It’s no secret that I’m kind of a food snob. Ironically, I didn’t hone in my food snobbery or my killer BBQ skills until years into my weight loss journey. (Here’s a photo of a brisket I smoked last month. I carry a photo of it in my wallet like it’s my child.) Probably because pre-weight loss, I would just eat anything and in large quantities. But with this great power, comes the need for greater willpower. How can I control this foodie beast inside that craves rich a delicious food, you ask? Well, for the past few months, I haven’t. It wouldn’t be as much of an issue if I would control my portions, but that’s a whole issue of it’s own that I’m dealing with.

I guess my biggest problem is that when you are on the go for so much of your week (like your average young professional/doctoral student power couple are), it’s easy to lust (yes, lust) after the idea of a meal that took longer than 3 minutes to make in the microwave. But it’s more than the food, it’s having the time to sit down with your significant other and talk and enjoy a meal at a table, not a desk. Since I think of it in that context, it’s hard for me not to want to make the most of those meals and experiences.

What I’m realizing now is that I need balance. I mean, Megan and I still make a TON of delicious and recipes from websites like Skinnytaste, but sometimes a rich cheese and meat plate just sounds better. Thankfully with Weight Watchers, this balance can exist. The flex points are there for those meals where you want to indulge (but not cheat) within reason. However, they are only really there if you actually count. This next week, I’m going to bat for perfection. I’m going to try to count my points as closely as possible. Not so I’ll see a loss on the scale, but for a gain of control on my eating. It’s important for me because the week after, I’m going to my personal food mecca: Austin, where BBQ and Tex-Mex flow freely, for an entire week for SXSWedu. I am well aware of the challenges that delicious trip will bring, but I also know that I have the opportunity to make a healthy choice wherever I go.

I’m treating this approach as an exercise and a test in my self control. I really don’t know what the end result will be. But I feel that it will make myself be even more judicious with my points and the decisions I make.

What do you think about this approach to Weight Watchers? Does this seem feasible?
Am I crazy?
Have you taken this approach? If so, how did it go?