Stop. Begin again. Stop. Begin again. Repeat until Dead. Welcome to Weight Maintenance. PODSNACKS/Art of the Diet 115

Summary: <a href="http://www.artofthediet.com/stopbeginstopbeginagain/whoa-artofthdiet115/" rel="attachment wp-att-7308"></a><br> <br> I hate housework. You make the bed, you do the dishes and six months later you have to start all over again. Joan Rivers<br> <br> Ok. This photo I took in Wyoming. I was in a car not on a horse. It's rare that street signs make me laugh.<br> Anyway,  I've decided this quote from Joan Rivers is actually descriptive of my weight maintenance as well as housework, both of which, btw, are not in my DNA.  Housework can be completed by someone else, though, if you are at all like me:  a lover of order but just periodically incapable of it.<br> Weight Maintenance, though. Oh, now, this is the only ad for weightloss I'd respond to:  “I'll do it ALL for you”.<br> But, since science has yet to be able to create the equivalent of “in vitro” weight control, I've got to do it myself. Cue song for Pity Party then just get on with it. Welcome to the last 8+ years. Stop. Begin. Stop. Begin, again. Repeat Until You are Dead.<br> This week, I began again.  Got back to basics and made the basics last more than one day.  Wasn't perfect. Didn't do 13K steps every day. Didn't totally avoid the bad carbs.  But just like the arc of the moral universe supposedly bends slowly toward justice (Um..if this is true, we are in a real wide bendy period, just sayin') my will power bent slowly this week in the self-control direction.<br> And, in the process, I realized how good it feels to exercise habits of choice as well as exercise for the body.<br> Self-Control and Will Power have often been my topic over the past two-plus years of podcasting and blogging. Hopefully, some of the links to previous podcasts as well as written posts will populate below. For audio listeners, that means the shownotes page at www.artofthediet.com/115. The number 1-1-5.<br> The quote that suggests how serious this topic is to me comes from Leonard Cohen, the late great songwriter. He was answering a question about how wrote his songs, songs like “Hallelujah” just in case you are not familiar with him. He said, his “writing begins with an appetite to discover my self-respect. To redeem the day. So the day does not go down in debt. It begins with that kind of appetite.”<br> Now, isn't that what all of us with weight issues struggle with every damn day? The battle of the appetite isn't just about food is it? It is about redemption. If you have a weight problem long enough in this culture, you are gonna need periods of feeling redeemed.  That feeling comes from self-respect. And, self-respect is often the first casualty of being a woman and overweight in the US of A. Despite being normal weight for 8+ years now, I can see the damage quite clearly. It's sort of like having your house flood and after the waters recede you can point to the waterline all around the rooms in your house.<br> And, PS. This week I read an article where French woman are finally becoming fatter. I know I shouldn't rejoice but c'mon. How many articles can a girl read about how French woman are so svelte yet eat butter and croissants?<br> Ok. Back to basics.<br> My appetite for self-respect increases with a week like this past one.  I simply have a bit more of it.  I did what I said I was going to do. Not perfectly, of course. The arc of the moral universe or my self- control never bends toward perfection.<br> Another article I read talked about how exercise can help with self control.  That link is here:<br> <br> If you'd like me to send you one of these “Thank You” cards for listening to the podcast, send your land address to <a href="mailto:artofthediet@gmail.com">artofthediet@gmail.com</a><br> <a href="http://www.artofthediet.com/stopbeginstopbeginagain/fullsizerender-8/" rel="attachment wp-att-7330"></a><br>  <br> <br> Here's my new Funny Mug for Terrifying Times: (If you order more tha...