My blogging has gone by the wayside this last week, and I apologize. I have been consumed by the Olympics (Sidney Crosby you are THE MAN!) and an unusually busy week. Weigh-in day came and went on Tuesday, and I am only 1 pound lighter. Total weight loss in a month: 7 pounds. Certainly not what I was aiming for. I am walking every day, obsessing about every morsel I put in my mouth, whether it's good or bad. Worrying about points, fat grams, carbs ... UUGHH.
My chiropractor, whom I have been seeing regularly for 7 years for adjustments and acupuncture, suggested to me last week that I pick up the book "The South Beach Diet" and read it cover to cover and report back to him at my next appointment. Ah, now that was something I could do ... one of my New Year's Resolutions was to being reading again ... more time for me kinda thing. So Terry and I ventured to Chapters on Saturday and I submerged myself in the "Diet and Nutrition" section of this delightful store. There were books in this section of topics I had never heard of. One in particular that caught my attention and made me snicker was a book entitled "Skinny Bitch". Oh boy, I had to find out what that was all about! The authors, 2 self-proclaimed "Skinny Bitches" (their photos proved it) have written a diet book for those of us who want to be a Skinny Bitch and how to achieve this status. Hmmm ... yes, my goal is to be skinny, but I never want to be referred to as a bitch, thank you ... I want people to be happy for me that I've reached svelteness, not detest me for it. Pass on that one. I found The South Beach Diet book in soft cover, and proudly made my purchase, excited to go home and dive into it's depth of diet knowledge. Well, turns out the South Beach Diet is VERY similar to the G.I. Diet, which I've tried. I've come to the conclusion that every diet I've tried should be called the G.I. diet ... "G.I." for "Great Intentions" ... which I always have at the start of every new weight loss journey. Following the Glycemic Index is a great idea ... but ... I love my carbs. I always strive to eat "good" carbs ... always whole wheat or whole grain breads, pizza crust, cereals ... I just eat too much of it. I need to be more "carb conscious". I love fruits and veggies, and the first 2 weeks of this South Beach Diet restricts all fruits and almost all veggies (even carrots?!) ... and of course carbs in any form. I was so disappointed. This plan sounds to me like the first three letters in the word DIET ... I'd DIE on this plan.
So my "busy"ness this week involved a trip to my doctor for a blood pressure check up and general discussion. My regular family doctor is on leave so during his absense a woman doctor is filling in for him. I hadn't met her before, but she was very nice and a good listener. Of course our conversation turned to my weight eventually. I told her my sob story ... the tale of the typical "yo-yo dieter" ... she asked the usual "doctor" questions: do I smoke, drink, do I walk/exercise regularly ... so her solution to my dilemma? "Then stop dieting, Janet. Period. Keep on living your life, eat, walk, do what you're doing, just stop obsessing over dieting".
Well holy !*#! why didn't I think of that. It makes so much sense. Be carb conscious ... but still enjoy carbs on a regular basis. Eat, drink and be merry ... just eat a little better when drinking and being merry. But most importantly keep being active, and the weight will come off ... instead of being obsessed with it on a daily basis. All these years of "great intentions" that haven't had successful outcomes will be behind me. I can stop OBSESSING. Such a relief. And I don't have to suffer through 2 weeks of carb deprivation. As our grey Canadian winter turns to one of my favorite seasons, Spring, my walks can become longer and alot less colder! This is one method I haven't really "focused" on. Just being me. Then maybe those "great intentions" will end with "great results" after overcoming diet obsession. Whew! I never thought it could be this easy ...
Thanks for reading,
Janet xo
Janet, when i first began reading this post and read your chiropractor's advice, I thought NO! That's Bad Advice! Stop dieting Janet!
ReplyDeleteAnd then I read the rest of the post- whew! ha ha!
I think, if we are still struggling with weight in the years to come, we just have to focus on being OK with the way we are. (As long as we're healthy!) If we want to be smaller, then we will do it. We all know the answers to weight loss: Eat less, move more. There is no hidden secret in any of those books or programs. If we truly want to lose weight, we just have to eat less, move more. That's it. If we can not lose the weight, then there is something else stopping us. Something deeper then diet...ya know what I mean?
Thanks Gail, you are so right. Well put.
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