Captain’s Log, Stardate: Pandemic 2022.

Okay, let’s get real. Over the 22 months of this pandemic, I gained 13 (yes, that’s 10 plus 3) pounds. My go-to is to say “I don’t know what happened,” like a helpless little space cadet, but I do know exactly what I did.

We were all scared and hiding in our homes, the gym was closed, and what was I to do? I sat on my couch and explored the universe through my TV screen, day after day, month after month. While I was staring at the TV, what did I do? I ate microwave popcorn (the good kind that’s probably loaded with trans-fats). And, yes, it was as soothing as petting a trible, calming my frantically firing neurons that kept asking: Who else is going to die? Anything else? Yeah, I was nervous, so I started going back for seconds. And? Oh, and, that second glass of wine.

Actually, I’m grateful that I had strategies to deal with my fear and distress during the hardest months, and I’m now emotionally ready to remove the extra 13 pounds. But what will that take?

This might be an alien concept, but I believe that the mind and body will tell you when it is ready to do something as draconian as “going on a reducing diet.” I know, people act like dieting is as easy as falling off a log (no, not that kind of log), but losing weight is actually a huge imposition on your mind and body. At Stop Losing and Win, we share strategies to maintain, to keep you on an even keel. To lose weight is to declare war on yourself.

I can diet for a few months, going to bed hungry, counting every morsel. So far, I have lost four pounds. I’ll keep you posted in my next Captain’s Log. In the meantime, raise the shields and man the lasers, Mr. Chekov! It’s going to be a bumpy ride.