OMG Another Diet!

This is my goal
Let me say right at the outset of this blog that weight has NEVER been a neutral subject for me. I was born in an era of chubby babies being the healthy ones and I was not chubby. I was a healthy and active youngster with a very good appetite, but following a bout with Scarlet Fever my mother became obsessed with my weight. Or lack of weight.

It only got worse when all my peers were getting their figures and I could still get into movies for under 12. I graduated from high school at 85 pounds partly because of what we now call bulimia but I figured was just a nervous stomach. Little did I know when I finally put on weight in college, living in the dorm away from the tensions of my family that Mom would shift gears and do everything to get my weight down. Other kids went home for summer break and got fed. I got starved.

For the record let me say my highest weight in college was 130 and I got that under control with my old friend throwing up. This time consciously. Food became anything but just food. Oh, it would be so easy if it were. But it is at various times revenge, love, friendship, pacifier, etc., the list goes on. In my mid 30's I had so messed up my metabolism that I could gain weight on a fast. The doctor I went to said no dieting. None. Never. Period. For at least three years and we had normed out my metabolism. It seemed to have worked.

Twiggy
I have never been Twiggy thin again, but I seldom get uncomfortably fat. Mind you my sense of uncomfortably fat is probably narrower than the average. My definition of diet is now 'sensible eating plan' and following my spring 2009 bout with H1N1 flu I have been almost desperately trying to find a SEP that will get excess weight off. Having a close neighbor that has dropped too much weight and brags about it constantly is not helping my sense of balance. I currently nixed coffees and lunches with her because of her jabs at my WEIGHT. Mind you I am now for me uncomfortably FAT. Also not helped by my sister losing weight. Or that I have low blood sugar and need frequent snacks or the right sort.

So when Deb mentioned that mixing carbs with protein may be my problem I Googled and found the Separation Diet. This could be why Atkins has worked in the past but South Beach doesn't. In fact it seems guaranteed to put weight on me even at remarkably low calorie counts. And it supposedly solves the colon issues that result from pure Atkins. Simply put it is not the hamburger or the bun that makes you fat but the two of them together in a meal.

When you think about it just how often did my ancestors run through MacDonald's for a Big Mac and fries? Last night I had just the fries as it were. I had grown some lovely Yukon gold organic potatoes and had them baked with onion. This morning I had my protein - a spinach omelet with feta cheese. I ate less and feel less stuffed so I will let you know how this goes. It merits at least a 2 week trial.

Besides a friend on Facebook has challenged us all to do what the trapped Chilean miners must do - lose 2 inches around their waists. So obviously exercise too.

Comments

  1. IntelliblogSeptember 6, 2010 at 1:34 AM

    All the best with the diet, Jacqui, from one dieter to another! I am still losing weight, slowly but surely...
    Just being sensible about what I eat, with generally less quantities of everything. And yes, (sensible) exercise is good.

    ReplyDelete
  2. JBinford-BellSeptember 6, 2010 at 5:08 AM

    Exercise is for me a key. It steps up my metabolism. But eating less wasn't working for me because it lowered my metabolism. Supposedly this is a female thing that males don't deal with much.

    But the main reason for trying this separation diet is that even with the little I was eating I felt "stuffy" and bloated and with no energy.

    It is early days but thus far I like how this diet makes me feel at least. Best of luck with your continued weight loss. We are all individuals and need to find what works for us. It can get really frustrating when nothing seems to work.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Blog of BeeSeptember 6, 2010 at 5:46 PM

    This is a great blog and I can identify.

    I was roughly 105lbs from about 1999 to 2004. I had gallstones and nothing with a hint of fat passed my lips for that entire period, No cakes, biscuits, chicken, cheese, ice cream, chocolate. .......I lived (and people find this difficult to believe) on steamed fish, steamed vegetables, boiled rice, crackers, Coke for all that time. It was as boring as hell but I got used to it and I decided it was better to do that than to have pain. No fruit or carbohydrate veg at all - no potatoes, no pasta - nothing.

    I came out of hospital after surgery at roughly 98lbs and that's hardly good in one's mid 50s. I didn't understand until later why my daughter cried when she saw me. I thought it was relief that the surgery went without hitches (they seemed to expect hitches) but she told me later it was the sight of me = bones sticking out and no flesh. I remember shortly after I came home looking in the long bathroom mirror and seeing how dreadful I looked. I promised myself there and then I would never moan again if I put weight on.

    But of course, when I did start to put on weight because my husband insisted as did the doctors, that I eat, people (so called friends) used to tell me to watch it as I seemed to be prone to fat!! Imagine being called fat at 112lbs!! That and some of those people weighing in at close to 180lbs!!!

    I did the South Beach in 2007 when I was up to 145 and it worked for me. I lost 10 lbs in the first two weeks.

    The problem is that I don't eat a great deal and certainly not sweet things and that's the problem. Metabolism automatically shuts down when it doesn't get food. And I don't exercise. I reckon I could drop 10lbs if I just bothered to get off my fat a.... at my desk at 5pm instead of 6pm and walked for half an hour. Healthier too.

    Not mixing carbs and proteins? It works. But the secret to dieting, is eating - properly!

    ReplyDelete
  4. JBinford-BellSeptember 6, 2010 at 5:54 PM

    Dinner was boiled chicken thigh and sliced tomatoes. There are fruits and vegetables that are considered neutral and you can have with your proteins or with your carbs.

    So far it doesn't seem that difficult and I love the way my insides feel. And I do see to have more energy.

    My key thing about a diet is I have to feel good on it. And cooking at home I can manage this very well. The trick will be dining out. Subbing sliced tomatoes or cottage cheese for potatoes a lot.

    Or go complete carbs with pasta and a salad.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The Blog of BeeSeptember 23, 2010 at 6:59 PM

    How's it going?

    ReplyDelete
  6. JBinford-BellSeptember 23, 2010 at 7:04 PM

    Very hard to stick by while at my sister's house and out to eat but I am getting back to it seriously tomorrow.

    That and getting my body balanced after having all the antibiotics for my tooth.

    ReplyDelete

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