Avoiding summer minefields

Ah, vacation time!

In reading other diet blogs lately, I’ve noticed a lot of people have hit a plateau. Some have failed to lose for the past several months. That’s exactly what’s been happening with me. I’ve lost a grand total of one pound since the 11th — more than two weeks ago. I have a theory: it’s the weather (for me, everything can be blamed on the weather!). A change of seasons takes our mind off our diet and, as we see the long-awaited summer approaching, we’re less likely to pay attention to counting calories, exercising, watching our portions, etc.

Who can blame us? For three decades, I lived in Phoenix and came to dread the summers (I was there in 1990 when it reached 114 on April 4 and soared to 122 not long afterwards). For the past few years, I’ve resided in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, where the summers are simply glorious — warm in the day and mild in the evenings. I love spring and fall even more, and still haven’t tired of the cool, wet winters.

But summer is the time for smoothies and salads — both of which can be deceptive when it comes to weight loss. A salad is a great diet food, right? Lettuce and tomatoes fresh from the garden, with some slivers of carrot straight from the earth, maybe a few wedges of mushroom, and a couple pieces of cucumber. If I stopped there, I’d have a great low-cal dinner. But wait! No salad of mine is complete without a sprinkling of cheese, some pieces of ham, a hardboiled egg, croutons, and a generous dousing of ranch dressing. And maybe a few apple slices and olives? By the time I get done building my salad, I can hardly see the lettuce. I’m eating a healthy — but calorie laden — bowl full of goodies!

Same thing with smoothies. It’s FRUIT for Pete’s sake. How bad can that be for a diet? Of course, I don’t count the milk or yoghurt, or the honey, or the other non-fruit ingredients that I add. It’s odd because I know the smoothies down at the local Jamba Juice are not exactly on the Weight Watchers list of recommended treats. In fact, the delightful Banana Berry (16 ounces) is 270 calories. That’s a whole lunch!

Summer’s also the time for vacations. And when you’re lounging on some tropical island beach sipping a delightful cocktail cooler, do you really want to be worrying about calories? Okay, so I’m not going to any tropical island, but the same applies when I’m spending the day on the Oregon coast, with its famed seafood restaurants beckoning. What would a day in the park be without an ice cream cone the size of a soccer ball? And road trips aren’t the same without a stop at some roadside diner ready to supersize my French fries and slather my fried chicken sandwich with mayo.

Okay, so summer’s a minefield. But it’s also the time when we garden, take long walks on the beach, and sweat — all of which help us to lose weight, right?

So, although I’ve hit the infamous and apparently unavoidable plateau, I’m not upset. I’m still savoring the feeling of being under 200 pounds and I haven’t gotten tired of seeing the 198.5 on the scale. Still, three weeks is about my limit. It’s time to move on and lose more. Even if it means scaling back on the salad toppings and sipping an 8 oz. smoothie instead of the giant one.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s an imaginary cabana boy waiting to refill my glass!