I’ve whined about my plateau in several of the last blogs. I’ve talked about my problems. (I hope they’ve been some use to somebody, if only to let you know I commiserate with you.)
Now I need to consider the recent past as well as previous weight losses and ask myself: What does work?
When I was a teenager, I would designate every other week as a “diet” week. No matter what, I wouldn’t eat sweets that week. (My mom, who wanted me to lose weight, still thought I was silly to pass up strawberry pie, given that it was only in season once a year. But I somehow knew I had to avoid giving in—I was afraid that if I wasn’t rigid, I’d be out of control.
Seven years ago, I lost 25 pounds with Jenny Craig, although I gained it back later.
I know that structure works for me. I tend to be open to new experiences and shelving premade plans to take in new opportunities, which often works well for catching cultural events on sale. But I’ve applied that same habit to foods that are unique or not common in my diet. Being a foodie, I want to try it all. Unfortunately, I have more opportunities for new, interesting and calorie-laden foods than I used to! The plus is I am gradually coming to see that they will be available in the future even if I pass them up now.
I know that I do better when I write down a food plan in advance and don’t eat unplanned foods. Many weight control articles and programs have you write down what you eat. For me it works even better to do this in advance and resolve not to eat anything unplanned. I do leave myself a bit of room to “fudge it” –pun intended—by including one treat a day, and also by allowing myself to save an unexpected treat for tomorrow, when I can write it down on my plan. This helps a lot because I don’t feel deprived, but I skip little treats—receptionist’s desk candy, kids’ uneaten cookie, etc.—because I don’t want to be bothered writing them down.
So, my resolution for this next week is that on at least three days (following Stephen Covey’s anti-procrastination principle of maintaining integrity by only making commitments small enough you are certain to meet them), I will follow a set menu plan.
How many of you need structure for your weight loss? Have you found a structure that works for you?