Two Weeks Result

My two week goal ended yesterday. The result? I've lost 2 more pounds. In six weeks I've lost a total of 7 pounds. I'm pleased with the result especially because I am not going hungry or having to do any tedious counting of calories or points. I've continued with the same strategies that I stated in  this post .


If you are on a diet or are contemplating going on one be sure to keep it simple.  Design a plan that fits you and the way you live and eat. Most of us revert to our default mode so if we can tweak that and lose weight, we just might stand a chance of losing for the long term.

4 Week Goal Results

On my March 7th post I mentioned I was trying a few things, incorporating them into my daily eating.  Not a diet, because that is something you go on which means you can also go off, but a way of eating day in and day out.  My 4 week trial period was up this past Tuesday--I started the trial long before my March 7th post.

The result:  I lost 5 pounds in 4 weeks.  I did not count calories, nor points.  I did not count carbs either.  I did incorporate the following daily habits:

• one teaspoon of Metamucil 2 times a day--per doctor's orders (for cholesterol, for IBS, and the fiber helps you feel full)
• one tablespoon of flax meal a day
• green vegetables every day
• raw food every day
• 1 or 2 servings of good fat every day, limiting other fats by using some fat free or very low fat products  so that my body will burn my stored fat first
• a serving of beans/legumes every day
• 2 fruits and 3 or more vegetable servings every day
• green tea every day
• eat less animal and more plant--the bulk of my food  was plant.
• eat less processed foods, eat foods in their closest to natural state--the test:  would my great great grandmother recognize this food?  The exceptions were the fat free and low fat products which I will eliminate once I lose my excess fat.

I made a chart and used tic marks to keep up with my habits each day.

While there were no forbidden foods I do try to limit or avoid using any food with fructose, high fructose corn syrup and trans fats/partially hydrogenated oils.  I personally believe these things make us fat, that they are a major contributor to the obesity epidemic we are seeing.

I divided food into two categories.

EAT OFTEN
EAT ONCE IN AWHILE

When I ate food that tasted really good I used my head to prevent eating past no longer being hungry.  Jack LaLannes "if one apple is good you wouldn't eat a hundred" was my mantra.

For portion control I made  a half cup my standard serving size no matter what I was eating.

I'm going to give it two more weeks and see what happens.

Here are the fat free and low fat products I used:  fat free cheese slices on my sandwiches mainly; 1% milk in my coffee instead of half and half ; for a savory snack Laughing Cow Light Cheese wedges; buttery spray and light heart smart buttery spread--it has no trans fats and is a good source of omega 3's.

Aside from my morning coffee I drank water the rest of the day--at meals and in between.

I ate 3 meals and 2 snacks most days.  If I ate an early breakfast and an early lunch I skipped the midmorning snack.

This worked for me.  It may not work for you.  We each are different.  We each must adopt a way of eating that will help us to achieve optimal health.  Critical to long term success,  it is key that it be something we can live with day in and day out.  And a key component for me:  keep it simple--simple plain foods, simply prepared.

Totally "Shocking" Experience

Did that get your attention? Calm down...nothing bad happened to me. But I had this new experience relative to food. It was totally opposite of my 'normal'.

I, the person who has spent the last 20 years trying to talk myself out of eating, was trying to talk myself into eating and was unsuccessful!!!

This phenomenon took place yesterday. I was planning to make a favorite snack--an ethnic one from India--Chivda. It is a combination of grains--I use corn and rice, i.e. Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies--and a masala--which just means a mixture of spices--of sweet/sour/hot/salty.

I make it instead of buying it because the purchased product is not readily available and I'm able to reduce the fat content without losing the taste I love. And I can make a single serving portion, which is a aid to control my intake.

So there I was, all day yesterday, planning on making it at some point in the day for a snack. (It goes great with a cup of hot tea. It is sometimes referred to as a 'teatime snack'.) I had a real head hunger for it. But I kept putting it off. That made me wonder--made me think: "this is very odd for me". All day I thought about that snack, looking forward to consuming it.

Finally, around 9 pm -- after hubby had gone to bed because he had to get up very early--I thought "now I'll make my beloved Chivda". But I kept putting it off. Kept finding other things that needed doing first. I was puzzled at myself. I wanted that Chivda in my head. The thought that kept bouncing around in my head was "but I'm not hungry".


Not being hungry has *NEVER ever* ever *ever* in the last 20 or so years stopped me from eating something I wanted. Eating when I'm not physically hungry is the rule, not the exception in my life.

I went back and forth in my head thinking--"I'm going to make it. But I'm not hungry" It was like a little exchange between two people. Both of them the inner me. Finally I said to myself--forget it--you can make it tomorrow.

Analysis? I wanted a food emotionally, on a head level. But on a physical level, I wasn't hungry--and couldn't bring myself to make/eat it.

What gives? My take is that the 'head' work I began January 2007 is working.

In fact--these past few weeks, all through the holiday season--I've been paying more attention to my physical body signals and aligning them with head thoughts which concentrate on categories of food like protein, carb and fat, and in the carb category focusing on fruits and veggies.

It goes like this:

I'm hungry. What shall I eat? Well, I need some protein. So I make a choice for that. Now I need to add in some carbs--how am I going to get in a couple of servings in the fruit/veg category? Fat is added in limited amounts as is simple carbs. I choose portion sizes that are "small normal". And I eat without giving much thought to the specific calories.

While I haven't lost the weight I regained--it was about 7 pounds--my weight has remained stable. And I've had this new development--NOT BEING ABLE TO TALK MYSELF INTO EATING SOMETHING I WANTED (as in head hunger) when I wasn't physically hungry.!!!

Folks, I haven't had this experience in years. I'm hoping it's a trend that will continue. I'm hoping that what I have been doing is reshaping my relationship with food. I'm hoping that the long term result will yield a smaller, healthier me. One who is not obsessed with weight loss but possessed with the natural ability to eat like a 'normal' person.

I plan to make that Chivda today. We'll see what happens.

Intuitive Eating Insight

I don't have much to say today, so I thought I'd point you to a new blog I'm reading. The author is doing intuitive eating and this post--Looking Back-gives some insight to her experiences with it.

While I'm monitoring my calories intake and working to stay in the 1600 on average calorie range, I'm using the hunger scale to determine when I should eat and how much volume wise. And I continue to allow all foods--trying to satisfy my cravings so I won't set myself up for a binge.

Learning how to do all this within a healthy parameter is a process that takes some time...there is definitely a learning curve. But in the long run I believe all will even out and I will find the balance I've been missing all these years when it comes to eating and the way I relate to it.

So, head on over to What I Ate Yesterday and glean what you can.

CHECK THESE OUT

These blog posts were too good not to pass on:

The Best Diet is.... (click here)

Normal Eating....(click here)

Lots of good information for the reading....

Are You a Normal Eater?

Take this quiz , copied from Normal Eating, to determine if you are a "normal" eater. Choose one answer in each section.
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HUNGER
1. I often eat when I'm not hungry, but just want to stuff something into my mouth.

2. I try to deny my hunger and hope it goes away.

3. I usually eat whenever I'm moderately hungry.

CHOOSING FOODS

1. I go for high-calorie, high-fat, high-carb, "bad" foods.

2. I eat only low-calorie, low-fat, low-carb, "good" foods.

3. I eat a combination of foods based on my hunger level and what I enjoy.


ENJOYING EATING

1. I eat so fast, feel so guilty, or am so tuned out when I eat that I rarely enjoy food.

2. I don't think about food as enjoyable or nourishing, only how it will affect my weight.

3. I generally find eating a pleasurable experience.

FULLNESS AND SATISFACTION

1. I often eat way past full and/or satisfied and end up eating too much.

2. I eat as little as possible and rarely feel satisfied after eating.

3. I usually stop eating when I am pleasantly full or satisfied.
_________________________

Evaluate Your Answers:

If you most often checked off the first box in each section, it's likely that you're an emotional, compulsive overeater.

If you most often checked off the second box in each section, it's likely that you're a chronic dieter or restrictive under-eater.

If you most often checked off the third box in each section, it's likely that you're a "normal" eater.

If you checked off a mixture of first and second boxes, it's likely that you yo-yo between dieting and binge-eating.
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For more information check out the Normal Eating website.