I'm in three DietBets that are coming to a close and I had a brief scare thinking about the impact of Labor Day which means BBQ = high calorie food & drink and lots of it. But then I looked on the calendar and saw Labor Day and the weigh-in are both September 5th which means I can weigh-in on the morning of the 5th, hours before the Labor Day festivities begin. But then I took a step back to consider, am I really better off? Yes I'll be able to enjoy without the worry that one or two pounds on the scale will impact my DietBet results but truthfully, why is it that I'm really doing DietBet? Will the $100 change my life? No. Will losing weight and then gaining it back change my life? No, (for full disclosure I'm back on DietBet because I did start to gain weight back). Will losing weight and then figuring out how to make better/healthier choices change my life? Maybe, I do need to make better choices but constant diet mode/deprivation does not seem sustainable. The reality is that I need to figure out real life, there will be holidays, BBQs, weddings, vacations, ... and temptation to throw caution to the wind will likely always be there, whether I like it our not, compulsive behavior seems to be in my DNA and a big part of that manifests itself in my relationship with food. So circling back is the real question, am I be better off that my DietBet ends before Labor Day festivities, would I be better off if my DietBet ended the day after Labor Day or does that really matter? Maybe this is just another opportunity for me to figure out what will work in my life, DietBet helped me get off the excess pounds so my mindset is no longer the perpetual question diet or not but rather moving forward and what that looks like.
Posted on August 31, 2016
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Sign in to CommentWhat a great blog! You're right -- there will always be the temptations and we just have to learn how to deal with them. Thanks for sharing!
This is amazing! and my thoughts last night too. Then I decided I'm going to partake in the festivities of the weekend but I'm going to bring my own food. Because you are so right, for those of us who struggle with our weight, its a lifetime journey. Once we reach our goal weight we have to work to maintain it. so that means continued eating correctly, and portion control and getting that extra exercise. It may be a perk that the dietbet ends the morning of the holiday, but I'm like you I'm trying to create new patterns, habits and a lifestyle. I really enjoyed reading your post. I have a good 100lbs before I'm were the BMI chart says I'm healthy so I've got to figure this out for every day, just not the current diet bet. What has also helped me is I'm staggering my diet bets out. I started a new one last week that ends the end of September. I have another one that starts at the end of September that ends towards end of October and I'm going to host my own starting October 11th. these keep me motivated and focused. Best wishes!
Ted likes this comment.
Interesting post! You are so very right, there will always be holidays and special events and learning how to get through them in a way that you can enjoy yourself and not see it as a free ticket to eat a pile of junk is really important. So to your question will it change your life if you develop healthier habits I say the answer is YES. Because once healthy eating becomes a habit, you will find yourself naturally making healthier choices at that BBQ without giving it to much thought. I think it is fair to say thought (especially because drinking any alcohol and the extra salt that may be in the food you eat) may push your weight up temporarily after the BBQ so I think it is likely a good thing that you can weigh out before the BBQ PROVIDING you don't get the mentality that oh now I won I might as well at 5 hotdogs and 10 pieces of cake! Congratulations on the all the weight you have lost!
Amanda Spliethof likes this comment.