I’ve gone on many diets in my life. Mostly what I’ve lost — on each and every one — is money. So, why did I decide to try another?
This latest — and hopefully last — diet, has taught me quite a bit about myself and my healthy eating needs, so it has by no means been a waste. And the book they gave me is quite good. I am enjoying the class and talking to the other people. Basically, I am not even having a problem with the diet — except:
I spent a part of my life homeless. There were periods where I would go three to five days without adequate food. Most days there were frozen apples still hanging off a tree down the road. One had to eat them at just the right moment — still frozen enough to chew, but thawed enough not to break teeth.
During my homeless time pretty much all I thought about was food. I was constantly hungry and I worried 24/7 about my next meal. Even after I was no longer homeless or hungry, that obsession stayed with me. I didn’t even recognize it until a few years ago. At that point I started reprogramming my food thinking.
I do not have to clean my plate. I know where my next meal is coming from. I do not have to over-eat. I know where my next meal is coming from. I do not have to worry about getting my fair share of everything. I know where my next meal is coming from. Just because there is food in front of me, I am not obliged to eat — especially if I’m not hungry. I know where my next meal is coming from.
Last August it all finally clicked. My eating patterns changed. My food stress left. Poof — gone. I thanked God for the miracle and watched the scales roll back. The weight was coming off at two to three pounds per week without effort. I found myself wondering what would happen if I applied myself — so I joined Curves. The weight started coming off at three to five pounds per week.
So I decided to take the Curves Weightloss challenge. They didn’t advertise it as a diet. They said it was a class on healthy eating habits — which it is, but it comes with a 6 week prescribed diet. Suddenly I am back to thinking of food 24/7. I am weighing, measuring, recording — eating certain foods in certain amounts at certain times …
And even though there is plenty of food and I am not going hungry, I am constantly hungry — because I can’t set the thought of food aside and go on with my day. I am headed once again for obsession mode — worse, doing things their way, I lost only 1 pound this week. Losing one pound is better then gaining one, but it is not the kind of progress I was making pre-diet.
I will keep and use their book. I will attend their class. I will exercise — but I am going back to eating what I want, when I want, in reasonable portions. I am no longer going to record every bite that goes into my mouth, or plan for my meals days in advance. I will listen to my body and feed it when it needs fed — what seems tasty and right at the time.
Check back this time next week to see if my way puts me back where I should be.