Thursday, April 30, 2009

on listening to my gut

I used to be a religious 3-meal-a-day eater: breakfast, lunch, dinner, no snacks, no exceptions, everyday. Rigid structure was my best friend, giving me a clear set of lines to stay inside no matter what. The longer I've maintained my weight, however, I've noticed that I can take cues from a source that I used to think was part of the problem: my stomach.

In my mind, my tummy was a bottomless pit: nearly no amount of food or drink could fill it to the top. He was a seemingly-insatiable beast bent on foodstuff annihilation. Sound dramatic? It sure is! But for years, I only barely knew what "hungry" and "full" felt like - all I knew was that I wanted more.

A funny thing happened, however, after I "tamed the beast:" my former adversary became one of my greatest partners. If I'm willing to listen (which, admittedly, takes some trust both in myself and in my gut), my belly will tell me all kinds of things. WHEN to eat, WHAT to eat, HOW MUCH to eat, even WHERE to eat can become clear if you're willing to pay attention. Go figure!

I feel like I've just barely begun to explore the intricacies of my relationship with my stomach, but one thing is for sure - only good can come from it! I bet you'll find that to be true for you, too...

Monday, April 27, 2009

the apple diet

Earlier today, as I was sitting waiting for a class to start, a number of the students in my class started discussing the "Apple Diet," which one of my more portly classmates had just committed to. "This week," he explained, "all I'm gonna eat is apples and water. If I do, my buddy's gonna give me 20 bucks!" The students and the teacher questioned how he could stand it, whether he could eat applesauce or drink apple juice, etc., ignoring what I thought was the central issue:


DIETS LIKE THIS ARE RIDICULOUS

This particular one might be a little more over-the-top than some others, but it got me thinking - how many people go on hopelessly unsustainable diets thinking they're really going to make a long term difference, when they're really doomed to fail? So many require their followers to unrealistically (and needlessly) restrict their diets:
... and dozens (hundreds?) more. Anybody who has tried these, or approached their diet from sustainability viewpoint, knows these plans don't work - they're band-aids at best, hopefully facilitating weight-loss but avoiding addressing the underlying causes for your weight problem.

Perhaps I'm missing something, but it seems like a successful approach to long-term weight loss and management must take at least these two factors into account:
  1. Your Priorities (What do you want? What will you give up? What won't you?)
  2. Your Food Intake/Expenditure (What/how much are you eating? Are you burning it all off?)
It might seem like a pain, but only a holistic approach to our weight can really help us lose our love handles.

You can put down your apple now :)

Monday, April 20, 2009

actions DO speak louder than words ...

I'm a firm believer in the idea that you reap what you sow when it comes to working on your weight loss. That's not to say, of course, that it always shows up on the scale (wouldn't that be nice!), but, in general, if you're working hard, you'll see the benefit, and if you're having trouble or just plain slacking, you may be disappointed when you weigh in. Most people I talk to tend to agree that this is generally true.

So, that having been said, ask yourself this: What does your weight say about your priorities? I'm thinking that, if you're slimming down nicely, weight loss is probably pretty important to you. More important than, say, donuts or pizza or cookies or bread or hot dogs or whatever your weight-gain pals are. If the pounds aren't coming off as consistently or as quickly as you'd prefer, though, maybe it's time to check your priorities.

Let's get something straight - I'm not saying that losing that gut has to be the #1 most important thing in your life. It's not for most people, and although it was for me once, it sure isn't right now. But if you want to get top results, shouldn't this be a top (or top-ish) priority for you? I certainly think so.

This is what I'm getting at - too often, we demand and expect big, ongoing losses at the scale without having to "do the work." Our actions show us what's truly important to us. We can all make this happen for ourselves, but we've gotta be willing to sacrifice some bad decision-making and some bad habits in order to be successful.

If you really want it, be willing to work for it!



If you don't, it shows.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

so what about exercising?

I blogged a few weeks back about my "Spring Break Exercise Challenge" (described here). Initially, I was looking forward to checking in sooner, reporting on how the week-and-a-half went afterward, but something amazing happened: I never stopped exercising!

Nobody could be more surprised about this than I - my disdain for the gym is no small secret, and I avoided regular exercise throughout my weight loss and for more than two years at my goal weight, mostly due to issues related to lack of time and of interest. I had always exercised sometimes, very inconsistently, but never seemed to discover what would turn the occasional recreational outing into a regular part of my lifestyle.

Magic happened over spring break, however. Getting out daily for a while turned exercise into a habit for me - I don't do it every day, but now it's a part of my consistent part of my life (like drinking!). I just don't feel like I've had a great week unless I've been able to make it out to the mountains for to the basketball courts at least a couple times. Turns out that all I really needed was to find that initial motivation to move more, and the habit building took care of itself.

Like so many things in weight loss and in life, habit building is essential to making exercise a part of your life long-term, beyond that initial burst of motivation that we all get from time to time. I suppose the most important morsel of knowledge I gleaned from my exercise challenge is this:
When you attack a problem head on, making a clear, achievable goal and working it through to success, you've already taken the hardest step towards successful, sustainable habit-building.

That having been said, I look forward to balling my way to the biceps of my dreams ...



I'll let you know how that goes.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

special occasion eating

Happy Tax Day, Father Damien Day, and Vasakhi! Stay tuned for tomorrow's festivities as well - it's Emancipation Day in Washington D.C.

The bottom line with special occasions? They're not all equally special. But if we're looking for excuses to eat, we can always find them.

Easter is a great example; it's a religious holiday, it's a family holiday, it's great holiday for kids, and it can be an eating holiday. But should it be? Does it really, truly need to be?

I won't lie - I overeat every Thanksgiving (I'm better than I used to be, but it happens). But I don't usually overeat on Easter. To me, the big difference is that Thanksgiving is an eating holiday, and Easter is about connecting with my family. It's different for everybody, but I think it's important to figure out when eating is a big part of the occasion (like my Thanksgiving festivities or a wine-tasting excursion), and when the food can get in the way of what's really important. After all, is the cake what makes the wedding? Is the champagne what makes New Years? It might be for a lot of folks, but if you can do without, you'll be that much skinnier for it.

Focusing on what's important to you in a specific situation can keep you satisfied and thin - if it's about the food for you, enjoy yourself (responsibly!). But if it really isn't, fill up on the soup and pass on the seconds.

Your waistline will thank you.