In most aspects of my life I am able to keep in balance with little effort. The main exception is in the case of my weight. Here it is truly a war between what I want to do versus what I should do. I find it interesting that seeking balance in other aspects of my life is challenging but fairly easy to accomplish, but when it comes to food I really want that next bite.

One thing that ahs concerned me about my weight is the fact that I’ve only lost significant weight during times of extreme stress. Other times I’ve either gained weight or maintained my current one. I have never successfully dieted myself to a better weight. This thought scares me since it makes feel that I won’t be able to lose weight unless I experience some trauma. The last time that happened, I lost 30 pounds in six weeks, but I certainly know it wasn’t a healthy way to get thinner and I hope I never go through that again.

So in the interest of losing weight I made some lifestyle changes. I started running with a friend, I eliminated all soft drinks, and I always halve any restaurant portion that order and take the other half home. I had hoped that these items would take care of my weight, but unfortunately, they didn’t.

The next step was to try a diet. I hate diets with a passion for a few reasons. One, as I mentioned before hunger tends to trigger a migraine so I’m always afraid that by eating less I’m inviting a headache. Second there is something psychological that goes on with me when I’m on a diet that affects my emotions and makes me not very pleasant to be around.

So I’m left to take another approach. First off I look at the amount of exercise I’m getting. It is reasonable, but could be more. Second I look at the type of food I eat. My wife is an amazing cook and the majority of meals that we eat are at home. On the plus side, this means that all of those heavy calorie-laden meals at a restaurant are avoided (have you ever seen Ruby Tuesday’s calorie count on their dishes? Scary). The downside is that my portion control goes out the window. Simply put, I eat too much at dinner.

So I’ve now identified the issue. Portion control, or put another way, I eat even when I’m not hungry. Recently on TLC, Amy and I watched the series I Can Make You Thin with Paul McKenna, where he talks about this very topic. It was quite inspiring and despite the infomercial feel of the show, it seemed logical and had no cost associated with it.

So off we go. We are attempting to now eat less, in essence listen to our body and stop eating when we are full rather than when our plate it clean. This is surprisingly harder than it looks but I’m certainly giving it a try; after all there is nothing to lose. We are going on a cruise in October so I have about six months to make it to my ideal weight, which is 10-15 pounds lighter. Here’s hoping I can keep my desire to eat more in balance with my realization that I’m full.