Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Pros and Cons..

Cammy asked, "Do you think living in a remote-type area helps you or hinders you in weight loss efforts?"

There are good things and bad things about losing weight and living where I do. But they are mostly good for me. I don't live near any big cities and therefore don't have to worry about the fast food joints that I love, like Taco Bell and KFC. The closest city that has either is over an hour and a half away so I don't have to worry about those cravings. No way would I hop in the car and drive that far for one of those treats. The only fast food establishment in our little town is a Dairy Queen and I'm not crazy about it at all. I do love their biscuits but never go to town while they are still serving breakfast so that's not a problem. Banana splits are the only thing I would crave from there and they are way to filling and expensive for me (even when I was fat). We also have no big chain restaurants, only Mom & Pop types. And for some reason none of the restaurants around here have any one that knows how to cook. Everything they serve is frozen or from a can (warmed in the microwave), so that is not a temptation for me either.

One of the problems is that I don't live in a farming area so there isn't fresh produce grown locally, it's all shipped in so I don't have the advantage of inexpensive produce like most of you do. And I know most of you probably don't live in farming areas either but it is easier and cheaper to truck in the fresh produce than it is here. Where I live it is 32 miles from the nearest interstate and with the mountainous winding roads it takes about 50 minutes for me to get there and a truck would take even longer because of the size and weight of it.

Then there's the exercise problem but I talk about that enough to probably bore you to tears. So I won't reiterate. I sure would love to live on flat land to be able to hop on a bike (I'd have to buy one first though) and peddle away for miles.

The biggest advantage for THIS weight loss journey is living alone. I've been on this roller coaster many times and it has been really hard. It's hard this time too but in a different way. It's hard in that I don't have someone in the house encouraging my weight loss but so much easier without someone else here. I don't have to worry about preparing meals for anyone but myself. I don't have to fix one kind of meal for someone else and one kind for me. Neither my X nor my late husband had a weight problem. And I don't have kids at home that would snarl up their noses and what I eat. And I can eat whenever I want not on someone else's schedule.

Thanks Cammy, for giving me something to post about. I was at a loss this morning too.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds to me like you have more positives than negatives for living all the way in the boonies.

Although I'm sure the negatives seem alot bigger than the positives some times.

I'd love to live in the country, but I don't think I could live as far out as you do. I like city life (movie theaters, coffee shops, etc.) too much.

MaryFran said...

Great post! Really made me think about what pros and cons I have to losing the weight where and with whom I currently live and quite honestly the times that I'm living in.

I do have to say, living alone though would be a huge advantage because you wouldn't have to be tempted. My husband is great, he motivates and he understands that I only make one meal a day for him/us....we 'fend for ourselves' for the others. But it would be so much easier to not have to see his tempting foods (luckily he is trying to lose also, but while his tempting foods are healthier versions, they are just something that I can't have).

I guess making the most of our particular situations is what this weight loss journey is about!

Heather said...

Great Post! :)

Pattie said...

I like your list, Deborah. Your pros and cons make a lot of sense.

Have you thought about growing any of your own veggies and fruits? I don’t know what your soil is like there: mine it filled with clay and hard as a rock! So I grow stuff in containers and have pretty good luck. Nothing beats a tomato fresh from the vine!