If there's one thing I've realized about myself when I'm dieting, it's that I do not do well with deprivation. Tell me I can't have carbs and I will end up hiding in my car, furtively devouring an entire loaf of french bread direct from the bakery section on Day 3. Tell me I can't have anything and that's all I can think about. No dairy and suddenly my favorite ice cream is on sale at the store? I guess that's one of the reasons that 'dieting' never really worked for me. The idea of temporarily depriving myself is never going to work for me, and I think I've finally accepted that.
As I've thought about my weight over the last decade, I've realized that the one time in my life that I lost the most weight, it happened relatively easily because I went from being in a depressing, stifling relationship to being in a wonderful, supportive and exciting one. I was so happy with my new life that I didn't think about food so much and I just naturally ate less. It was wonderful. And even so, I was still probably technically "overweight" at my lowest point there. I've always been a bigger girl, but I felt healthy. I started hiking more and being active, which just led to more weight loss. That was about six years ago. The weight loss lasted for a while, but little-by-little the pounds crept back on. I'm still with the 'new' boyfriend, but life has become more and more stressful, as it tends to over time. Work, family, sometimes even our relationship. I'm not trying to be overly pessimistic, but the reality is that there's almost always an excuse to cheat on your diet or give up entirely. Again, diets just don't work for me.
I've realized more and more that I need a lifestyle overhaul. Less stress, more veggies. When it comes to food, I can't say no to bread. But if I focus on what new veggie dishes I can cook, or how I can't wait for asparagus to come back into season, I'm not thinking about the bread so much, and then I'm not eating the bread so much.
Years ago, I had a bad infection and my doctor prescribed two things in addition to all the antibiotics that the ER had given me. He told me to get some high-quality probiotics and a book called 'Eat to Live' by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. I dutifully read the book, and while the science made sense to me, I just couldn't imagine giving up all the things that he recommended for optimal health. For anyone that doesn't know, Dr. Fuhrman advocates a 'nutrarian' eating style, where you try to maximize nutrient density per calorie. This means tons of veggies, lots of fruit, plus some beans and nuts every day. Things like lean meat, bread, oils, starches and dairy are not exactly prohibited, but he recommends keeping them to a bare minimum, and not eating any processed foods, added sugar, donuts, etc. Yeah. My first thought was, "Sure, that probably is really healthy. But there's no way in hell I'm doing that." Give up dairy, meat AND bread? Nope, nope, nope.
I've re-read that book in-part or in-full about once a year since then. I think about it and for at least a few weeks, I eat more veggies, more fruit, beans. And I naturally eat less meat, dairy, sugar, bread. It's been a slow process, but I've been incorporating his advice bit by bit. Not by telling myself to eat less of anything, but by telling myself to eat more of the good stuff. I've been getting inspiring new recipes from the Eat to Live website and focusing on healthy foods. I've gotten better at grocery shopping and keeping healthy foods around. I started making smoothies or oatmeal with lots of fruit for breakfast (instead of the egg and butter sandwiches I used to have.) I really got excited about it this year. I turned 30 almost a year ago and decided that I really needed to pay attention to my health. I haven't lost much weight this year, mostly because I'm still overeating processed foods and sugar, but I have noticed that the more veggies and fruit I eat, the better I feel and the less I weigh. So I recently joined a transformer dietbet and my goal over the next six months isn't about dieting. It's about eating more - veggies, fruits, beans and nuts! I plan on using this blog to keep myself accountable, discuss my (inevitable) struggles and (hopefully) to celebrate my successes!
PS, for anyone interested: http://www.drfuhrman.com/