Haven't talked food for a while - and it's obviously a topic quite important to me, so after a bit of a rant early last week (not on the blog), it's a timely opportunity to cover it. Early in the year, I was added to a small private fb group of women supporting each other through weightloss. I only knew one of the women in the group, who is amazingly inspiring to me, so I thought the 'anonymity' would be perfect for me to talk about issues around weightloss. It didn't take long for me to realise that my approach this year and my focus was at odds with the others in the group, and I didn't contribute as much to the conversations as I perhaps should. However, when a couple of the women started talking about going on VLCDs, I realised the group certainly wasn't what I was needing in terms of support. I'm not taking any shortcuts this year, and I'm not restricting my diet in anyway. One lady posted that she was on 600 kcals a day, had lost 12lbs in her first week, and couldn't be happier - a dozen or so members of the group excitedly congratulated her, and I couldn't help but comment... 600 kcals a day isn't healthy, and if you're not doing a VLCD with doctor supervision, it can be risky. Aside from any issues from not getting the right nutrients and minerals for your body, how do you ever think a VLCD is going to give long-lasting weightloss?? As soon as you start 'eating normally', it'll go back on. It made me realise, many women (and presumably men) want to lose a few stones of weight for a holiday, or a party, or a bikini (maybe not the men...), and will pick any "diet" that promises the quickest route to success. 'Stop eating any food, and the weight will drop off you!!!' Of course it will, but at what cost? ...no, it's not for me.
The main thing I promised myself about this year, that I've said from the beginning, is that I'm going to lose this weight and keep it off. I'm making changes to my lifestyle, I'm not "dieting" for an occasion, to get into a dress, or for a holiday in the sun - I'm eating to be healthy, to get the right mix of protein, fat and carbs for my needs, and to lose weight steadily, without ever feeling I'm denying myself. It's taking a huge amount of effort, but by god, it's worth it. Significantly, I'm addressing emotional eating as I go along, too. If you never get the reasons for why you overeat in the first place, then the weight will eventually start creeping back again - and I'm determined this won't happen to me this time round. A huge part of my year will be spent dealing with what/how I eat when I feel emotional; when I'm angry, tired, bored, upset, lonely, celebratory, and so on... Different coping mechanisms for different situations, and I have yet to learn what they will all be, but believe me, I work on it every single day.
At it's base level, foodwise, I appear to be able to balance my daily kcals at around 1440 - and I never go to bed hungry. I'm getting enough food for what I need, and for my exercise, and factoring in 'treats' regularly, so I never feel like I'm denying myself. I decided I wouldn't set any specific protein/carbs/fat percentage split, or anything too prescriptive that would be difficult or not fit into day-to-day life. I don't count calories until the end of the day, though I write everything down during the day to keep track of what I'm eating, and my general aim is to have a 'proper' breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a snack or two. I cook meals from scratch as often as I possibly can, and makes choices such as grill rather than fry, wholemeal bread/pasta rather than white, and so on. That's not to say I'm an angel, I definitely have had a few meals that aren't necessarily 'nutritious', but I reason that lifestyle dictates it sometimes, and as long as I write it down and count it up, I'm okay. I'm still excited by how colourful my platefuls of food look sometimes, and take loads of photos (the pics at the top of the post are some of the meals I've eaten over the last month or so). :-) So, basically, things are going well - I have to focus, every day, and it can be difficult sometimes not to fall back into old comfort eating or lazy habits, but everything is paying dividends this year, and the focus on my thought processes this time is making a huge difference!
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