Choosing an eating plan

By now, the motivation from New Year's has probably worn off.  You either found an eating plan that works for you and are sticking to your new habits; or you fell off the wagon and chucked the whole idea of eating well.  What happened?  I think we unfairly tend to question our dedication and willpower.  As a group, those of us that struggle with our weight, beat ourselves up too much.  Most of the "professional dieters" I've met are extremely focused and dedicated.  Our mistake is in not choosing an eating plan that fits our lives and works for our bodies.

I am diabetic.  One of the reasons I chose to have weight loss surgery was that it can put diabetes in remission.  I heard story after story of people who came out of surgery and never took diabetes medication again.  This was not my experience.  My body has a unique chemistry.  Generally when people eat less carbs, their blood sugar goes down.  For me, if I eat too low carb, my body stops producing insulin all together and my blood sugar goes up.  All of my doctors are stumped and think this couldn't possibly be true, but for me it is.  If I eat the way bariatric patients are told to eat, it is not the healthiest way for me.

In order to choose the right eating plan for you, you need to listen to your body and find what works.  Instead of seeing a setback as a failure, we should evaluate why it didn't work for us.  Was it too strict?  Did it eliminate foods that you aren't willing to give up?  Did the chemistry not work for your body?  Did it not fit into your lifestyle?

Before my surgery I tried so many plans with varying success.  If I pay attention, I can realize that each "failure"  told me something about what works for my body.  Weight Watchers has me eat too many calories, Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem don't allow me to experiment with recipes, raw vegan was the wrong chemistry for my body, Atkins and paleo had too few carbs and too much fat.  Ideal protein was too restrictive.

It's taken me a lot of effort to find the sweet spot of diet and exercise.  Heck, I'm still not sure I have the right combination.  Currently, I am working with a dietician to tweak to right numbers.  I know I hate counting calories so I structure it differently.  I count carbs, protein, and fat for each meal instead.  I know I have trigger foods like cheese and chocolate, so I limit them to one day a week.  I know I need some carbs, but they need to be high fiber.

Give yourself permission to play around.  Don't beat yourself up over perceived failures.  Evaluate after a few weeks.  Tweak.  Repeat as often as necessary to find what's right for you.  Don't give up on your health!

Riding the waves of motivation

So the holiday season is over.  The number one resolution is to lose weight and get more exercise.  Every where you look there is an ad for weight loss.  There must be something to this mob mentality.  For the majority of us, we will ride this motivation until we hit an obstacle.  Once we miss one work out or get invited out to lunch, we will break habit and not return for awhile.  How do we sustain our motivation?  Is there a way to feel as excited about our new habits year round?

I guess the first thing is to ask ourselves why we feel motivated at this time of the year.  Some of it comes from being relieved that we are done over-indulging.  From Thanksgiving till the end of the year, it is an orgy of gluttony and laziness.  All of that is done now and it's time to get back to reality and routine.  I think there is a part of us that even though we enjoyed the rest time, is ready to get back to routine.

Another thing that drives us at this time of the year is that everyone is joining in our quest.  It's a whole lot easier to make a healthy choice at a restaurant when everyone at your table is doing the same.  It's a lot more difficult to make that healthy choice when others are ordering fatty foods and desserts.

What can we take from this time to help us sustain our motivation year round?  We can use this time to learn and adjust what methods work for us and which methods don't.  Obviously if I have allergies, committing to walking outside with a buddy may be problematic.  If I love to cook, I may not do well long term on a program that requires me to buy there food.  I think any of us can do something short term, but what will work for us in the long run?

If the thing that is working for you right now is that everyone is sharing your goals, maybe you should consider joining a group.  I personally love sparkpeople.com.  It's free and they have communities for just about everything you can think of from age groups to medical conditions, to interests.  Weight watchers is another great option.  Join a gym.  Keep a journal of how you feel about the changes you are making.  Read it when you are feeling less motivated.  Celebrate your successes.  Make a pact with friends.  See who can last the longest.  Put some money behind it.  Have a group of friends chip in, whoever loses the most weight in a time frame, or logs the most activity, or sticks with their program the longest wins the pot.  Basically, surround yourself with a group of people that are working towards the same goals.  Choose a large enough community that when the first wave of people drop out, there is new blood to remind you why you are doing this.


In the next few blog posts, we will talk about how to choose a food and exercise plan.