Did Someone Say Diet?

Yowsaay, yowsaay with summer right around the corner, it's hard to find someone who isn't on a diet, going on a diet or who hasn't been on a diet. Have you noticed that the largest weight loss chains have Divas marketing-rocking  their brand?

Weight Watchers has the beautiful singer Jennifer Hudson.   NutriSystem has the forever sexy Janet Jackson.   And for Jenny Craig, there's the dazzling beauty Mariah Carey.

But will these programs really work permanently for the average person who doesn't have the time or money to pay for the packaged meals or a personal trainer?  Weight Watchers is a reasonable choice out of all three because they teach you about portion control, how to grocery shop, cook and exerise. 

Phooey, enough already!!   I don't want to be a Negative Nellie on this subject but I believe most "diets" only work in the short term because of the reduction in calories.   And typically dieters tend to think of following a diet plan and losing weight as a short term-temporary plan and may eventually  revert to their old eating habits which will cause weight gain once again. 

I honestly think branded diets are overrated.  I visited Jenny Craig once about 20 years ago when I was desparately trying to find a "cure" for being overweight.  I ended up crying during my consultation with the counselor and saying to her " I know I can do better.  I use to weigh a lot less, I have to lose the weight."  Of course I took my  broke ass home and cried for days and continued to feel like a failure because I couldn't afford the program.  I couldn't figure out how to lose weight and keep it off. 

By March 2002, I was tired of being sick and tired and feeling sorry for myself.  And I realized that I had to take responsibility for my health and wellness.

Since then, I've lost a significant amount of weight and have kept it off for 10 years by trimming my portions, eating regular foods and  exercising.

The real deal is to find or develop an eating plan that will allow you to eat in a way that will keep the weight off for the rest of your life without starvation or deprivation and to incorporate some form of exercise on a regular basis.

Here's a brief synopsis of the steps that I took to create my personalized approach-program to losing weight.

Steps to Creating and Maintaining a Personalized Approach to Fitness and Nutrition

STEP ONE:   For 7-10 days observe your current eating habits. Do nothing to change your eating during this time. Keeping a food log will help you identify what your food triggers are: stress, boredom, anger, sadness, loneliness, depression etc.   Seek professional help if you need it.

STEP TWO:   Identify what foods you are willing to cut back on……no deprivation needed. For example if you typically have three candy bars per day, try eating two a day. Repeat this with all foods that YOU deem that you should. Begin rethinking about how you dine out, examine the menu and make the best choices you can-no deprivation.

STEP THREE: Begin eating breakfast. Have a breakfast bar, glass of juice, and an apple. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You choose what to eat, choose something to get your system going in the morning.

STEP FOUR: Do some experimental cooking. Try baking your chicken instead of frying it……..have your toast without butter……..low calorie salad dressing instead of the regular.   Read magazines and books that focus on nutrition.   Educate yourself.

STEP FIVE: Try to eat smaller and more frequent meals. Instead of having three large meals, aim for six with two snacks. This takes some practice and can be obtained quickly by eating breakfast every morning. Eating when hungry and stopping when full.

STEP SIX:   Become a scientist and use all of the information that you have to decide how you are going to eat on a daily basis. In order to lose weight you must eat. Begin to develop an organized food plan. Give yourself a break every now and then. Have an evening out with family and friends and choose to eat the most fattening foods or it can be a candy bar every day. The point is you decide when and how often you have a meal or day off. Don’t punish yourself for having a day off.

 STEP SEVEN: Acknowledge that you are an individual and that no one can do the hard work for you. Technically, you can lose weight simply by reducing your daily calorie intake. But the truth is for long term weight loss success, EXERCISE and NUTRITION go hand in hand.

NEVER, EVER STARVE YOURSELF OR DEPRIVE YOURSELF. THE GOAL IS TO REEXAMINE HOW YOU ARE CURRENTLY EATING, PHASE OUT THE FOOD THAT YOU THINK IS NOT SO GOOD FOR YOU, BEGIN EATING EVERY COUPLE OF HOURS AND CONSUME SMALLER PORTIONS OF HEALTHIER FOODS.

PLEASE NOTE: When a person who has been dieting returns to her old eating habits, she tends to gain more weight as body fat and can end up having a higher percentage of body fat, even if she does not return to her previous body weight. Therefore it is better to slowly reduce food consumption and increase activity level and adopt habits that will lead to a change in OVERALL LIFESTYLE. Therefore the word DIET should perhaps be replaced with LIFESTYLE CHANGE to indicate that a commitment to change is made and will last for the rest of her life.