Hi! I'm DeuceMom and I'm a (fill in the blank)

Yesterday I decided I need to lose weight. This is not a subjective matter, in medical fact, I need to lose weight. In the past, however, have decided not to lose weight and have instead enjoyed copious amounts of melted cheese.

When it comes to weight, I think I'm your average Obese American, much as I am your average 4th generation Italian American. Both groups enjoy wine, Parmesan Reggiano, and dominoes. I'm a stereotype.

True to my stereotype, I've done a lot of dieting. I've primarily done Weight Watchers, although I've also tried the grapefruit diet, the cabbage soup diet, South Beach, Atkins, starvation, and alcohol-only. Grapefruit is yucky when it's not in season, cabbage gives me gas, South Beach promotes too much packaged high-sodium stuff, Atkins doesn't include pasta (I have to be real here), starvation is ridiculous and I'm too old now for alcohol-only. That leaves Weight Watchers. I mean, it works for a lot of people, it has. But I am tired of it plain and simple. I am tired of paying $12 a week for someone to show me how to use a points slider (I have 6 of them at home, I think I get it by now), and I'm tired of 100 calorie packs. I can eat a box of those and then go home for dinner. Needless to say, none of these approaches has proved itself to be a long term solution for me.

Like so many others, I've gotten bigger over time despite the diets. If you were to chart my weight over time, it would not be a yo-yo, because I never get back to my elusive high school weight (not that I was runway material at 16, but it's something to shoot for). I'm locked in a losing battle to fit in my clothes and not have to buy more.

And, like so many other women/moms/20-somethings/overweight people/whatever group I fit into, I have a lot of really good reasons to lose weight. Health, longevity, quality of life, raising healthy children, looks, you name it. All great motivators.

So what's the problem? There are so many theories. I could provide links to them, but, if you're anything like me or pay attention to the news in any capacity, you've heard them all anyhow. I have an addictive personality. I lack will power. I have control issues. I'm depressed. I'm stressed. I'm a victim of advertising. I'm overcommitted. I'm an escapist. All of those are contributing factors to some extent or another.

But I have my own theory - I like fatty foods, and I like to sit.

I'm not discounting any of the emotional or environmental influences that contribute to my weight. But I'm being realistic here. I am DeuceMom and I am a hedonist. I like to do things that make me feel good in the moment.

I think there is a lot to be said for the notion of treating yourself and resting especially as a new mom (and, dare I say it, a WOHM). If convenience foods mean more precious time in the evenings with the baby, then maybe they're not 100% evil. And laying around in bed at naptime on Saturday afternoon snuggling instead of exercising? Seems like good parenting to me!

The flaw in the it's-all-okay theory is that life requires balance. I've never been good at balancing want v. need. For example, now that Deuce is sleeping though the night, I don't need a 2 or 3 hour nap on Saturday. I want to be close to him and snuggle. But I need to do a lot of other things during that time so that I can focus on him while he's awake.

I have a lot more on this subject, but I need to wrap up (it's lunch time!). In the spirit of Adventures in Deuce-Motherhood, I've joined SparkPeople. Their tag-line is "Make your life an adventure." Not that I need to add adventure to my life on purpose, but it's a concept I can get behind. My username is DeuceMom (shocking) and I'll be spending a little time there figuring out what it's all about.

If nothing else, hopefully you'll get a laugh as I stumble along.

Hi! I'm DeuceMom and I'm on a diet.