Derailing Weight Loss Progress

Before you worry  that I’ve gone off the deep end, don’t.  I haven’t.  But I have been giving this topic quite a bit of thought recently and then when I watched last night’s episode of Thintervention, I knew it was time to write a full post about it.

For years now I have derailed my own weight loss success without meaning to or even realizing it, most of the time.  I’d attain some level of success, get a bit too confident (“I’ve got this down!”) and then see a gain  the next week on the scale.  Or “reward” myself for my success by eating too much of something that was fattening.  Or make excuses for not working out.

We’ve all been there, and I’m sure you’ve done it once or twice yourself. The problem is that it has become a cycle with me, and it’s the reason why I haven’t lost the weight and kept it off for good.  Understanding that is one thing, but breaking the cycle is another.  Once I’m able to do that, I’ll finally be able to become successful.  I’ve done it with other aspects of my life (most notably and recently by quitting smoking), so why oh why can’t I do it with food/weight loss?

I don’t have the answer to that question, but I have gleaned some insight into it, and I wanted to share with all of you.

The first bit of inspiration came from the book I’m reading called Good Enough to Eat, by Stacey Ballis.  The book’s main character, Melanie Hoffman, has lost half her body weight (she once weighed 290 lbs), and realizes that losing the weight was only the beginning of her journey.  The book is a work of fiction, yet Ballis has captured what it means to be obese – the struggles, the mindset, and the desire to be thin.  (The book is really enjoyable, and if you’re looking for something to read, I highly recommend it).  One of my favorite parts of the novel was when Melanie’s nutritional  coach discusses the fact that there shouldn’t be any “bad foods.”  She says that no food should have that much power. Yes, Melanie should watch her portions of certain, more high-calorie foods, but that there are no foods that are completely off limits.  I loved that!

As I continue on this path of weight loss, I’ve come to realize that the foods that I forbid myself  from eating are the ones I end up craving.  It’s so much better to have a taste of that brie and be done with it than to say that I can never have it again, ever.  Because all that does is make me want to have the brie 100 times more.  Having a taste of the food you want, while controlling the portion, is a much healthier way to interact with food than completely denying it altogether.

My problem for years now has been that rather than having this mentality, I’ve gone with the “I’ll just have it this one last time” and then overindulge (to put it nicely) in the food, making myself feel worse (literally and figuratively) than if I would have just had a small amount of it.

Insight #1 – no more “last meals.”

And then in last night’s episode of Thintervention, it came to the weigh-in, and Stacy (the comedian) became visibly frustrated (to the point of tears) that she had given it her all, but still saw only a 1 lb loss on the scale.  She said she’d “worked her butt off” all week: followed the program, worked out, and was so upset that she hadn’t lost much weight.  To top it off, Jackie assumed that Stacy had cheated, because otherwise she should’ve had a much greater weight loss result.  How many times have I been there?  And I’ve felt just as angry and “wronged” as she had.  I’ve been the indignant one, looking at my trainer or at the woman at WW, adamantly telling them that I’d “done everything right.”

Only I hadn’t.

And neither had Stacy.  And it wasn’t until the lie detector test revealed that she’d eaten an extra smoothie 3 of the days that week, that everyone knew what the problem was.  She hadn’t meant to go over her calories, and she may not have even realized how much over the extra shake had put her.  She had the smoothies because she said she didn’t have time for a full meal and didn’t want to skip any, because Jackie had admonished her for that earlier in the week.  But her choices put her over her calories, which caused her to lose less weight than she should’ve.

As I was watching the show last night, I saw myself in Stacy.  So many times I’ve had larger portions than I should’ve of  food and then seen a slight loss or a gain on the scale.  All the while wondering what more I could’ve done.

Insight #2 – Mindful eating, followed by honest tracking is essential.

Both of these insights have led me to why I can quit smoking so successfully yet not see consistent weight loss success, after years of trying.  With smoking I stopped and that was it.  It was black and white.  No more cigs, ever.  With weight loss, I still have to eat food.  I can’t say, “I’m not eating again, ever.”  And it’s in the gray area of trying to control portions that I slide down the slippery slope of derailment.

So that’s my challenge from here on out, and I think these two insights will assist me, but only if I use them in conjunction with each other.  Sure, no food is off limits, but if I’m going to eat something that has a high caloric content, I have to be honest about how much of it I’m eating, and truly take just a taste (1 TBSP, 1 cup, 1 spoonful), not consume the entire container.  If there are no more “last meals” then there is also no reason to eat huge quantities, either. That’s how “normal people” eat, and that’s how I should eat, too.  Like the normal-weight person I want to become.

Just another reason why the lap band surgery is the right option for me.

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