I’m thinking at least a few of you might be able to relate to something a friend recently told me. She made some changes to her diet this year in hopes of losing weight. It didn’t work, and she’s frustrated so much that she is considering letting the holidays be a license to eat anything and everything as much as her heart desires.
Let’s delve into what went wrong. First of all, she denied herself all foods she thought were “bad” for her. Second, she ate as much as she wanted of what she deemed “good” for her. And finally, she gave up exercising because that’s what she did before she decided to change her food choices. A weekly movement plan didn’t give her the results she was looking for, so she ditched it. I want to dissect each of her choices in hopes you don’t make the same mistakes.
TOTAL DENIAL
Has telling yourself you can never have something again ever worked? I’m going to say no. You’re human and not perfect. Giving yourself such a caveat is like a death sentence. Instead of occasionally treating yourself to a comfort food or lavish dessert, you go cold turkey and end up pigging out on the banned eats in a moment of weakness. This leaves you feeling like a failure, never a good thing.
Here’s an idea for you…take words such as always and never out of your vocabulary, especially regarding food. It’s too much pressure on you when those words are bandied about. And I don’t believe any foods out there need to be relegated to some “never list.” What’s needed is a solid deviation plan (explained below) and an unwavering desire to be as healthy as possible.
Think of a deviation plan as your cheat sheet. On the daily, you leave the “never list” foods alone. But, on special occasion days, you are allowed to cheat with any food you desire. Let’s say you celebrate a family birthday and enjoy a piece of cake. That’s fine, as long as you stick to 1 piece that isn’t a gigantic hunk. Or, Thanksgiving rolls around, and you don’t deprive yourself of anything on the table. It is equally fine if you avoid extending the holiday to 4 days. The trick with this type of plan is how often you deviate. Two to 3 times a week will not work. Once or twice a month may be an option if it’s a small deviation. A big deviation, such as a holiday meal, is ok a few times a year.
Abusing a deviation plan will lend the same results as foods you put on a “never list,” overeating things best left to occasional treats.
EATING SECONDS & THIRDS
Filling your plate with good foods that will fuel your body and keep disease at bay is an excellent choice. However, you cannot eat them nonstop. This is often overlooked by many people. If one portion is good, then 3 must be even better. No, it doesn’t work that way. Avocados are a healthy choice, but not 10 per week. A small piece of dark chocolate is fine, but not the whole bar.
Like my friend, most people fail to focus on portion control when trying to lose weight. They may switch over to healthier foods but eat too much of them. Just like “never list” foods, these choices have calories too.
Here are some strategies to follow when trying to manage portion size:
- Using measuring utensils and scales can be a hassle for many. You can use your hand as a gauge for general portion sizes: palm of hand for protein portions such as chicken and fish, fist for grains such as rice or couscous, 2 fingers translate to a couple of ounces of cheese, and your thumb, from joint to tip, for measuring oils and butter.
- Dinner plate size has increased over the years. One trick is to use your dinner plate for green salads and a salad or dessert plate for protein and grain portions of your meal. Or, divide your dinner plate by using half of it for a green salad and each remaining quarter for protein and grains.
- Don’t eat from the bag or box because you usually consume way over the proper portion size. As an example, if a bag of nuts contains 10 servings, break up the big bag into 10 equal portions and stick to 1 at a sitting.
- Wait about 20 minutes before reaching for a second helping. It takes a bit of time after cleaning your plate to feel full.
- When eating out, consider asking for a ½ portion. It seems everything is supersized today, so you can eat 2-3 portions when ordering a regular entree at a restaurant.
KEEP MOVING
While it’s true that what and how much you eat is super important to shedding weight, it would be unwise to abandon exercise. There are lots of reasons to move besides dropping pounds. This includes keeping your heart muscle healthy, reducing chances of stroke and high blood pressure, handling stressful situations better, and getting a good night’s sleep.
You need to keep up with some kind of movement schedule. Make it simple: take a walk most days and strength train 2 times a week. I’m afraid if you only change your diet, you will lose weight, but you won’t like the results in the mirror. Strong muscles are attractive and useful in daily living activities. You can’t get those without consistent movement.
PUT THE PIECES TOGETHER
This is the part peeps usually don’t want to hear. Just exercising or just changing how you eat for a while won’t give you the lasting results you crave. Permanent lifestyle changes need to be made. You not only need to watch what you are eating but how much of it is going into your mouth on a daily basis. Exercising is a weekly endeavor your body, mind, and spirit needs.
The silver lining is there are no forbidden foods. Never say never again; rather, get a deviation plan in place and stick with it. I have helped my friend see the light and develop a plan that works for her. Now she can look forward to wonderful holidays, armed with a strategy that won’t deprive her of her favorite foods that only come around once a year! And, not be frightened of the mirror.
