Postive Weight Loss Strategies

When the new year rolled around, I reflected back on 2007 and the success I've had at maintaining my healthy path. And, I wondered, what was giving positive results? Over the years, I've made dozens of attempts to lose weight, with marginal success. What was different? Was I doing something different this time around that produced success? Sure enough, I can identify tools and behaviors that seem to have made a difference. Please note, I'm not saying these are definitive weight loss strategies for everyone. These are simply what seems to be working for me.

Keep It Simple

Life is busy, and often stressful enough, that I didn't want my diet plan to be time consuming or demanding. The plan was given to me by the professionals at my weight loss clinic. They only asked I lose 1 - 2 pounds a week, which was a huge relief to me. Hearing that took a huge pile of anticipatory guilt off my shoulders. Eat 1800 - 2200 calories a day, and, because I'm the queen of mayonnaise, cheese, and potato chips, try and cut down on high fat foods. That's the plan. Simple and followable.

If you Bite it, Write It

On my first clinic appointment, they handed me a blank food log, and my stomach sank with dread. During my many Weight Watchers attempts, I failed miserably at this, with a log that looked perfect and reflected little of the reality of what I ate. I had so much shame and guilt when I didn't eat healthy; how could I possible record the reality of what I ate? I had to get over it, and I did by actually keeping a realistic log. I record the food, the amount, and the calories and fat grams for meals and snacks. The more you do this, the easier it gets. My goal is to record every other day, just because life is busy. And, though part of me hates to admit this, when I regularly write down what I eat, I stay on track and lose more.

Weigh Once a Week, Even When You Gain

This was a very difficult strategy. I have buckets of fear and loathing about the scale anyway. But, if I wasn't faithful at doing this, if I didn't look reality in the face every week, how could I make a change? So, every Monday morning, I stepped on that scale, even when I knew I had gained. Doing so kept the times of struggle from sabotaging my effort and the scale became less of a bogey man. During the year, I saw a pattern developing, usually with three consecutive weeks of loss, followed by a week of plateau or gain. I realized this was the ebb and flow of my body and psyched adjusting to the change. The fluctuations were okay. I learned I don't have to be perfect.

Stock the Kitchen Healthy and Generous

When you need to eat, when you are starving, sometimes you just can't wait. Unfortunately, it's easier to grab fast food that's packed with calories, fat, and sodium. To combat this, I learned to keep plenty of healthy meal and snack options at home. I kept foods I liked to eat, that I could eat and then eat some more, when I needed to, that didn't end up piling on calories. For example, I love soup. Broth based soups are usually low in calories and high in comfort factor. So, several times a month, I'd simmer up a pot of vegetable soup. Making this effort gives me the opportunity to have satisfying and healthy food when I want it.

Eat Plenty of Carbohydrates and Fruit

On my initial return clinic visit, the dietician looked over my first food log, and said I needed to eat more carbohydrates. And, I thought, Huh??! Back when rocks were soft, and I first attended Weight Watchers, carbs and fruit were rather limited. There was no concept then of "healthy carbs." Plus, my mother had always pushed protein as the food you want to eat most. Hearing that I should eat more carbs seemed a contradiction to weight loss. I was surprised when I added the carbohydrates, that the weight loss continued. I also rediscovered fruit. Somewhere along the way, I'd nearly stopped eating it. Most days now, I have three or four servings of fruit and enjoy the refreshing taste and feeling it gives me.

Plan Healthy Menus & Go Food Shopping

I loathe grocery shopping. However, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out, if I wanted to eat healthy on a regular basis, I needed to plan weekly menus in order to have the right ingredients on hand for fixing those healthy meals. Taking the time to plan and shop (sigh) in advance is key to sustaining things. Yes, I know life pulls us, and our time, in a hundred directions. But, don't we deserve that investment of time towards a healthy future?

Find Healthy Choices on the Menu

We eat out frequently. When out to dinner, I would feel deprived if I didn't have an appetizer, soup, an entree, and sometimes even dessert. But, even I recognized that I couldn't eat meat and potatoes with extra butter and sour cream every night forever. So, I've learned to order healthier entrees, choosing dishes that don't make me feel deprived. When the food is put in front of me, I study the plate before I eat and plan my serving size in advance. Most of the time I stick to it and take home leftovers. If I feel like another portion, I eat it without beating myself up about doing so.

Walk During Breaks

Exercise is a huge bugaboo for me. I totally understand all the benefits of exercise, yet many days, just erase the idea from my mind. However, I have been walking at least 3 times during the work week. Sometimes I even make 5 times. That walking break is 15 minutes more exercise than I would have previously got. I recognize this is an area where I need to make major improvement. But, I still seem to be in "not ready to consider it" mode right now.

Untangle Food & Emotion

During this past year, I finally admitted there was a huge emotional component contributing to my ongoing obesity. Admitting that was tough. Addressing it was, and often continues to be, excruciatingly difficult. In my heart of hearts, I recognize that working through these issues is key to keeping my weight loss permanent. That's the only way I'll ever break my connection/addiction to food. Understanding our relationship to food, and how it impacts on emotional health, is probably the biggest challenge for those of us who are morbidly obese.

As I was writing my list, I was surprised to discover just how many changes I had made and I worried that it might overwhelm someone trying to take a first step on the healthy path. But, I didn't start a single one of these strategies last Jan. 1st. These changes came in increments. As the weeks went by, I thought about a needed change, lived with the idea for a while, and then then tried it on. Take one step at a time. Those single steps give the power to change a life.