Decisions, Decisions...

When we are deciding whether to go on a diet, there are many hurdles which we can meet before we even begin.  First of all, we need to decide which will be the best 'diet' for us.  Once this has been decided upon there comes another hurdle... when should I begin?  More often than not we will choose the coming 'Monday'.  The problem is of course, that we probably have several foods that are not suited to our plans, already in the cupboards, and what are we going to do with them?  Throw them away? Noooo, I don't think so!  We wouldn't want to be so wasteful...  Perhaps we should donate them to our neighbours?  That might seem a bit wrong... "Here's all my junky, fattening foods, I don't want to eat them as I want to be slim.  I thought you'd enjoy them though."  No.  I think not.     So, I guess I will eat them.  After all, I will be on a diet on Monday and I won't be able to eat anything like that after then will I? Hmmm...

Or perhaps you don't have those foods in the cupboards, but then, because you are going to be on that diet from Monday, you actually buy and eat foods you 'won't be eating' after then.  Either way, you probably give yourself a few extra pounds to lose before you even begin!

Make your decision... and start NOW.  If you wait til the morning you have all night to eat everything you shouldn't.  If you don't have all the foods you need for your diet you can still make healthy choices until you have a chance to get the groceries in. Just make that decision to start right away.  You will save yourself several pounds and a lot of frustration with yourself if you do.

And what to do with those foods... well, it's really up to you.  I would be inclined to just put non perishables to the back of the cupboard and keep them for when visitors come or another suitable occasion.  With regards to the perishables, well, you have to decide for yourself what to do with them... just don't have a 'pre-diet eating session' with them!

I wanted to share this poem with you too.  I wrote it before I learned to break the cycle myself.  Good luck to you.  You can do it, but you have to start NOW. :)

The nightmare before diets By Helen Allen, Norfolk, England. 2010

    
    Twas the night before my diet
    And all through my home
    Not a creature was stirring
    But my mind, it did roam
   
    It went to the kitchen
    And mentally scoured
    The cupboards for foods
    To be promptly devoured
   
    It would be such a waste
    If I threw them away
    But if I left them there
    The temptation would stay
   
    So conciously I did
    Arise from my chair
    To eat up those foods
    And leave my cupboards bare
   
    Two chocolate bars
    And the last slice of cake
    I ate them all up
    Of that, there's no mistake

    So on the next morning
    My diet began
    A nice low fat breakfast
    Then five miles I ran
   
    For my lunch I had salad
    I was doing so well
    But then came the evening
    And that's when I fell
   
    I sat on the sofa
    Felt hungry and bored
    So I went to the cupboard
    Where the kids treats were stored
   
    There I ate more bad foods
    Than I normally would
    But I consoled myself
    With "Tomorrow, I'll be good".

Lose Weight Long Term

Right, so, you've dieted and lost weight, then you gained it back.  Then you did it again... and again.  Why?

It certainly wasn't because the diet didn't work. It worked while you were on it... but then, you lost the weight you wanted to and stopped following the plan.

A friend of mine had been wanting to lose weight and, after he had a chat with me, it turned out he had not realised how much fat and sugar he was consuming in his day to day eating.  Instead of 'going on a diet', he has made some changes... and has lost over 10lbs in the last few weeks.  Has he cut out all fat and sugar? No.  Has he reduced fat and sugar significantly? No.  All he has done is cut down his biscuit intake from 4 per day to 2, and instead of eating a whole candy bar on his coffee break, he eats a half of one, and instead of eating a medium sized slice of cake in the afternoon, he eats a piece half the size of what he used to.  That's it.  No major changes, no strict counting of this and that.  No increased exercise just a few simple and most importantly, sustainable changes. 

These kind of changes are easy to sustain.  He has not deprived himself.  He is still eating those same foods.

This is the 'trick' to long term weight loss and management.  Whatever changes you make to your eating, they need to be ones that you can stick with for the rest of your life.  If you feel that eating only meat is something you can happily do for the rest of your life, then that may be the 'diet' for you.  If you want to never consume sugar ever again and you believe you are happy to continue eating that way for life, then maybe that's the plan for you.  Whatever it is that you can honestly say to yourself that you can stick with for the rest of your days, that's for you.  Whether the changes are major or minor is irrelevant.  And by choosing the right long term plan, you are setting yourself up for a life long healthy weight!