New Week, New Me. Right?
This is my third week on the Transform Weight Loss program. This is not paid advertisement.
So, this week we are adopting the MyPlate plan into our lives. MyPlate is a nutritional guide created by the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion in 2011, and we…no, wait, that isn’t it, well, yes, it is. We are using our own version of the MyPlate originally created by the USDA. It depicted a plate sectioned into four parts (fruit, vegetable, grain, protein). You use a 9-inch plate, and the portions are almost even. Transform (not a paid advertisement) divides the plate into three sections: one half for vegetables, one quarter for protein (meat, beans, etc.), and one quarter for starch (potatoes, rice, etc.).
I am already resisting this program, though. I can feel it. I don’t want to give up sugar, soda, sweetened coffee creamer. I don’t really want to eat brown rice. I have never eaten brown rice, as far as I can remember, so, I might feel different after tonight, when it graces my dinner plate for the first time, but… I don’t want to.
Half a muffin in the morning, half at night. Half a muffin. Who does that? Where is the fun? The entire point in buying a gigantic muffin with an apple crisp topping is to be a glutton, self-indulgent, and hedonistic and eat it all in one go, with an oversized mug of sweet, creamed coffee. It’s indulgent and decadent and almost a luxury. Maybe it is a luxury. It’s certainly privileged. And that’s the point. Cutting it in half and being conscientious detract from the richness of the experience. It feels responsible.
And, I have to photograph my plate. I didn’t mention that. They didn’t mention that in any of their promotional material before I signed up. I have to plate and photograph at least three meals every week that look like the MyPlate formula. That is almost a deal-breaker. I don’t “plate” my meals. They aren’t remotely magazine ready. They are fit to eat. It’s a thick slice of meatloaf, a serving spoon or two of mashed potatoes, plopped on the plate, and a heap of vegetable. It looks edible. Arranging brussel sprouts, getting the best light, writing captions…
Gaining weight was so easy. I just sat on my butt and ate.
Losing weight is…the opposite. Makes sense.
Mark Earnest Johnson 