Oh, weekends. From Monday to Thursday we look forward to the week ending. We have plans to be somewhere, or housework/yard work to get done, someone to visit. I have even heard someone say that weekends are relaxing. Unfortunately, weekends seem to be a problem for those of us trying to lose weight. On weekends, our routine is disrupted. We are running from here to there trying to get something done and we don't have time to plan a meal. Or, we are meeting friends for dinner and drink. We might even catch a movie which cannot be properly enjoyed without a barrel of popcorn, slathered in butter.
Weekends are a killer to our normal eating routine. We don't take the time to think about what we will eat for lunch, we only wonder where we need to be and at what time. We think about lunch and dinner later.
Unfortunately, this post is not going to offer any solutions to this problem. It merely points to a problem that someone else needs to figure out and let me know how to correct.
I have heard it said from someone that he watches what he eats for 80 percent of the week and then lets go for 20% of the time. So, this means that food intake from Sunday night through Friday is regulated, but Saturday and Sunday morning are filled with decadent delights. If you are like me, this will not work. I can take in a lot of calories in a 30 hour period. This might work for someone trying to maintain their weight. I'm not sure it will work for someone trying to lose weight.
I have also received many suggestions about planning our demise. Ok, they don't say that, but they do say to consider where you are going to dinner and what you will likely eat. Then, plan the rest of the day accordingly. (I once knew a young woman that would not eat anything all day if she knew she was going drinking that night. But I digress) The trouble with the "budget approach" is that IT'S THE WEEKEND!!! My whole week has been planned. I don't want to budget, plan, or whatever else I need to do.
Alas, this is the wrong approach. I realize that if I want to lose weight, it is a 24/7/365 process. There will be slip ups along the way. There just can't be slip ups every weekend. I have to find a structure that works for me on the weekends.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
Keeping on Track
You will see from my early blogs that keeping on track was very difficult for me. Somehow, I have been able to maintain my "focus" this time for four months. My reward has been a loss of 40 pounds. I got to wondering why I was successful this time, and not in the past. I even asked my WW on-line friends what they attributed to their success. Here's what we came up with:
1. You have to change. You can't try to change, you have to change. You have to stop eating or drinking too much. I know that is certainly easier to say than do. I think if you can change for the first few weeks, you can do it. Take a good look at what you are eating, and change those foods that hinder your success. Listen sister, if you don't change, you ain't gonna lose the weight.
2. Find a program that works for you. Weight Watchers works for me. I could not succeed eating only protein for 2 weeks. Nor could I go without protein and eat mostly fruits and veggies. You need to find out what works for you. Maybe if I ate an pizza only diet I could succeed. Hmmmmm.
3. Track your food. This seems to be the consensus for success. To lose weight you need to take in less calories than you expend. The easiest way to know what you take in is to write it down. Write everything down!!! Dropped food still counts if you eat it. Writer it down!!!!
4. Be accountable to someone. WW has weekly meetings and weigh ins. This is the only time that I weigh myself. So, it is the only day that I can monitor my success or "failure". I look forward to that weigh in each week. If you are accountable to someone, you will think about that during the week and put down that bon bon (does anyone really eat bon bons).
5. Don't try to lose it all at once (or, Manage expectations). Many people try to lose as much weight as they can, as quick as they can. Your change needs to be a change of lifestyle, not a quick fix. With these quick fix diets, you will lose weight, but it probably isn't a diet (eating plan) that you can live with the rest of your life. Guess what happens when you lose weight fast and then go back to the way you were eating.....you get fatter.
6. Get your spouse/significant other on the plan. If you can get your spouse or significant other on the same plan you are on, you will have greater success. I hear many stories each week about how a spouse brings food into the house that is a "trigger food" for the one monitoring their intake. It sabotages your hard work. So, tell that lazy SOB he is not only lazy, but he's fat and he needs to get on the same program as you! (unfortunately, this won't work, your spouse has to *want* to do it).
1. You have to change. You can't try to change, you have to change. You have to stop eating or drinking too much. I know that is certainly easier to say than do. I think if you can change for the first few weeks, you can do it. Take a good look at what you are eating, and change those foods that hinder your success. Listen sister, if you don't change, you ain't gonna lose the weight.
2. Find a program that works for you. Weight Watchers works for me. I could not succeed eating only protein for 2 weeks. Nor could I go without protein and eat mostly fruits and veggies. You need to find out what works for you. Maybe if I ate an pizza only diet I could succeed. Hmmmmm.
3. Track your food. This seems to be the consensus for success. To lose weight you need to take in less calories than you expend. The easiest way to know what you take in is to write it down. Write everything down!!! Dropped food still counts if you eat it. Writer it down!!!!
4. Be accountable to someone. WW has weekly meetings and weigh ins. This is the only time that I weigh myself. So, it is the only day that I can monitor my success or "failure". I look forward to that weigh in each week. If you are accountable to someone, you will think about that during the week and put down that bon bon (does anyone really eat bon bons).
5. Don't try to lose it all at once (or, Manage expectations). Many people try to lose as much weight as they can, as quick as they can. Your change needs to be a change of lifestyle, not a quick fix. With these quick fix diets, you will lose weight, but it probably isn't a diet (eating plan) that you can live with the rest of your life. Guess what happens when you lose weight fast and then go back to the way you were eating.....you get fatter.
6. Get your spouse/significant other on the plan. If you can get your spouse or significant other on the same plan you are on, you will have greater success. I hear many stories each week about how a spouse brings food into the house that is a "trigger food" for the one monitoring their intake. It sabotages your hard work. So, tell that lazy SOB he is not only lazy, but he's fat and he needs to get on the same program as you! (unfortunately, this won't work, your spouse has to *want* to do it).
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