Counting the cost

It was only after I got married that I realized how much I love being in the kitchen. I enjoy taking time to prepare food for my husband. I love the smells of freshly chopped garlic and sautéed onions. And who doesn't appreciate the "you're the best cook ever" compliments from a well-satisfied family member or friend?

Nevertheless, as I've grown into my role as family chef, I've also picked up some bad habits along the way-- one in particular. Admittedly, I am a rebel in the kitchen. I am an eye-baller.

There's something about being tied down to measurements in a recipe that I just don't like. If I use recipes at all when I cook, I like to think of them as a guide and not as strict instructions that must be followed to the letter. I've been known to completely restructure measurements and ingredients just for the sake of trying something new and allowing my creative juices to flow. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but that's a gamble I'm willing to take.

I've come to the realization, however, that my eyeballing habit has had a hugely negative impact on my weight loss success. I've noticed that I not only take liberties with using ingredients for preparing certain foods but I also fail to document those changes and take responsibility for them. After all, what harm could an extra tablespoon of mayonnaise do? My body will never notice the extra calories! Wrong. My stubbornness in this area is what has kept me struggling on the same weight-loss plateau I've been trying to break since the beginning of the year.

Let's be honest. Calorie counting and measuring food is just tedious, boring and downright unnatural. I'm still not fond of sticking to allotted measurements or writing down every morsel of food that I've consumed during the day. But after nearly a week of doing so I have come to recognize how critical it is, and I only wish that I would have forced myself to start counting and measuring a lot sooner.

Weight loss management isn't a mere guessing game. There is no management or control in stubbornly throwing caution to the wind and taking liberties with measurements and extra calories consumed on a daily basis. Not holding yourself accountable for what you eat does eventually catch up with you in facing the scale, and when you've been on a plateau for nearly a year it's clearly obvious that counting, measuring and journaling, down to the last carrot, is not only worthwhile but it is key to achieving results.