losing weight or not

 barrel cactus are not blooming at this time of the year. This is from 2022 and something positive to think about.

Like most ,who are tempted by diet tricks to lose weight whether it's surgical, a pill, a shot, or a new way of eating, I understand the appeal of such schemes. 

While I grew up pretty slender, I saw the family had weight issues. I worried about that for myself. When I got married, I put on some weight with a new way of snacking. I went yuck and used one of the canned drinks to take that weight off. You take that for two meals and one real meal. I lost most of the weight.

Then, along came baby-making years, and although I watched my weight when pregnant, I had gained weight. In my early thirties, I found a diet plan, very like the later Keto, where you minimize carbs for protein and fats. I again lost the weight and felt satisfied with the results. In the following years, I did a few other techniques, which led to weight loss but also gaining it back.They weren't ways of eating I could stick with.

That lasted until my 70s, when I really gained--way more than I'd ever imagined-- and more or less accepted it's old age. I lost again but more for a dietary change than a desire to follow a diet as such. Then I got into this thing about loving jelly bellies, which led to my own jelly belly (sugar is sugar, baby). And it's where I am today, interested in reading about supposedly miracle ways to lose weight but suspicious that if you don't change your way of eating in a healthy way, it won't matter.

I thought about Keto when so many lost weight that way, like what I'd done in my 30s, but felt I'd never stick with it. YoYo dieting is bad for our health. 

Most recently, I came across a friend on what is called the carnivore diet. It basically is protein and fat, which means, eggs, meats, fish, butter, and cheese. While I love eggs, I am not a big meat eater. Plus, it's working for that person but they are the age of my kids. When someone is in the old-old category, I think different rules have to apply for living well. 

My other concern with the carnivore diet, is without vegetables, fruit, beans, nuts, etc., how do you get the vitamins your body needs. Weight loss is nice but scurvy not so much, and generally speaking supplements are not as beneficial as the actual food.

Ozempic is the instant weight loss for the movie stars-- or so I hear, and even one multi billionaire. But now it comes out that it has some potential side effects down the road that could be catastrophic-- like enlarged small intestine.  One of the ones I know uses it, is very happy with the results, but also younger and claimed it would prevent a heart attack. The thing is that person wasn't obese, but just wanted to be slender as she'd been when young. Don't we all lol 

In the past the instant cures for overweight have all proven to have big drawbacks. I will settle for trying to eat healthier-- and keep my blood sugar at a healthy level (I tend to get low blood sugar if not careful with eating often enough). 

That reminds me, among the supposed miracle answers was fasting so many hours a day. Eat at say 9am and then at 3pm; then your body will burn the fat you want gone. I don't know about you but that seems like a good way to end up with low blood sugar (I'd done that but not to diet but because I didn't desire three meals. I don't recall losing weight that way but did definitely end up with blood sugar issues (I take mine every so often at home as one of my ideas for living healthy without having to run to the doctor all the time).

I suppose there are those who will claim all the things I have no faith in have worked for them. Good. Hope it does long term as that's where the problems lie with easy answers. At my age, I am going to try to stick to healthy eating... pretty much. *s*