NutriCraig

Every time Marie Osmond appears on my television and starts touting the benefits of NutriSystem, I begin to think maybe I've taken the wrong route with this diet/exercise regime.  Marie, after all, looks fantastic.  So does Mariah.  And Valerie.  And Kirstie Alley did, but I'm not sure if this is an "off again" moment.

And if eating prepacked food with little variation and paying exorbitant sums of money for those frozen meals sounds appealing, I'd say NutriSystem or Jenny Craig are for you.  Yet there's this niggling feeling in the back of my mind that says their definitions of eating better and my definition are two very different things.

See, I like texture, color and taste.  I want fresh food with nutty olive oil and the bite of fresh grated parmesan.  I want to grill a steak, add fresh mushrooms and carmelized onions and appreciate the sweet and savory working together to make a meal that absolutely bursts in my mouth.  I need the creamy, cheesy bite of potato soup with the added hickory smoked flavor of real bacon pieces.  And I don't want to forget how fresh blackberries taste folded into buttery, flaky crust.

By and far, I think the definition of dieting has grown to mean that those participating cannot eat anything that tastes good--forget delicious.

But I'm learning that reprograming my mind doesn't mean what I originally thought it did.  I don't eat boxed, frozen meals.  I eat good food, and I've re-evaluated what "good" means, too.  I kicked the three year old out of my mind who believed chicken nuggets were a gourmet masterpiece.  Not because I'll never eat another nugget again, but because I was compromising what was good for what was available.  For some reason, I thought those things were equal.

Now, good and quality are closer to equal in my mind.  The size of my portions have changed drastically.  There is certainly a change in the way I approach meals--not just for pleasure, but for the way my body is going to process it in the hours afterward.  (How did I discount that before?  I was willing to enjoy an hour long meal for hours of misery afterward.  Is that even sane?)  And then there's the movement.  (Which will hopefully increase in the coming weeks.)

I would probably show larger losses in a smaller period of time if I committed to Jenny or NutriSystem, but I feel like I'm making greater gains right where I am.

Even if Marie looks amazing in her tiny clothes.