This weekend someone commented on my weight loss and exercise and said something along the lines of “you make it look so easier and you’re so good at it.”  That’s not a quote, but you get the general idea.

I am proud of what I have accomplished, but trust me…

It isn’t easy…

I’m not GOOD at it…

I screw up on a regular basis…

I have days when I would rather do anything BUT diet and exercise…

It’s not easy.  Did I mention that?

And some days it absolutely sucks.

What I am really proud of is the fact that I haven’t quit, and to the best of my knowledge I am not going to quit. I am going to keep pushing, keep trying and keep applying myself and if it takes me the rest of my life to get to my goal weight, then so be it.  It’s not about the number on the scale anymore, its about my blood pressure, my ability to have a life, my ability to go out and do things like scuba dive.  It’s about a total journey to health, not just a moment on a scale.

Don’t think of the color red.

Find that you can’t help it?  The psychological process is called ironic mental function.  Telling yourself not to think about something requires that you access the mental file on that thing to “place” it.  Whether you try to think of red, or try not to do so, you are going to picture the color in the process.

Fighting temptation to avoid exercise or eat outside a food plan is also affected by ironic mental function.  The harder you think about not cheating on a food plan, the more you are in fact thinking about it.  Continually telling myself I will not try to avoid exercising means that I constantly have to consider the possibility of avoiding exercise.  The two are linked together.

So how do we fight the temptation?  By getting off that train of thought altogether.  We have to do something different.  Go for a walk, take a shower, clean the bathroom, sort your sock drawer.  Find something else to do.  It’s the “bright shiny thing” technique.  Get your mental function off the thing you don’t want to do, and chances are you will have better luck at not doing it!

Usually when I am writing about fad diets or celebrity diets it is to slam the insanity in them.  The team at Shine did that quite well, but they also pointed out some of the benefits that are the basis of fad diets.  It’s good info!

The Cooler Cleanse

Salma Hayek is singing the praises of a 3- to 5-day liquid fast called The Cooler Cleanse, where you buy drinks made of fruit, veggies, and nuts that total less than 1100 calories—and cost a healthy $58—per day. Just for the record, Mayo’s Bauer says, “I would like to see a study that measures the levels of toxins before and after the so called cleanse.” THE ONE GOOD IDEA: Adding a natural juice—as long as it doesn’t come loaded with sugar and calories (which many do)— into your normal diet can be a good nutritional shortcut, according to Lippert. While some Cooler Cleanse drinks are quite caloric, the “essential green” (cucumber, spinach, and kale) has only 80 calories and 15% of your daily calcium—a nutrient many women fall short on.

The Coconut Diet

Whenever a wacky food craze hits the gossip pages, Jennifer Aniston seems to have tried it. This is one of them. The idea is to incorporate coconut—meat, oil, and water—into your daily menus, based on a small amount of research suggesting that the fruit’s particular form of saturated fat may help weight loss. Meanwhile, all kinds of celebrities are slugging coconut water. Madonna, Mathew McCounaghy, and Demi Moore are reportedly investors in Vita Coco, which makes the trendy beverage. THE ONE GOOD IDEA. The research on coconut fat is controversial. “But coconut water—the fat-free liquid from the young fruit—is fantastic for you,” says Lippert. “It’s really high in potassium and helps replenish electrolytes when you’re dehydrated. It’s like nature’s Gatorade.”

The Lemonade Fast (aka The Master Cleanse)

Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore twittered this month that they were both doing the Master Cleanse. For at least 10 days, you drink a concoction of lemon, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, salt, herbal tea, and water. Period. (Let’s hope the couple that fasts together lasts together.) Beyoncé says she lost 20 pounds for Dream Girls on the Cleanse, although she gained it back. And that’s a problem for all ultra-low calorie diets: They’re like a trampoline. Your weight drops for sure, but on impact with normal food again, it bounces up again—ebulliently—often higher than where it started. THE ONE GOOD IDEA: Hot water with lemon (forget the rest) is a great little diet trick for when you feel the urge to eat, says Lippert . “It allows you to recognize thirst versus hunger,” she says. “It also aids digestion and is just…refreshing. I tell my clients to try it all the time.”

The Baby Food Diet

Rumor has it that Reese Witherspoon, Marcia Cross, and other celebs have resorted to this mushy diet, which allows one normal meal a day and the rest: baby food. Hollywood is definitely hung up on youth, but not exactly the kind in diapers—and since dining on Gerber doesn’t give quite the image most stars are looking for, none have actually admitted to doing it. THE ONE GOOD IDEA: “To get most of your nutrition from baby food is silly, and you’re not using your digestive system, which isn’t healthy for an adult,” says Lippert. “However a jar of strained broccoli, or squash, is a great, portable quick-fix of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants with very little fat. Not a bad idea to throw in your purse to snack on—in private.”

The Purple Food Diet

Mariah Carey supposedly loves this color-coordinated eating plan, where three days a week you stick to purple foods. The goal isn’t so much weight loss, but anti-aging. Remember the buzz about resveratrol, the “longevity” nutrient in red wine? THE ONE GOOD IDEA: Going completely purple may be a little absurd, but throwing a few more plums, beets, grapes, and eggplants into your diet is an excellent tip. “These foods are generally high in antioxidants, says Mayo’s Bauer, “so they do have a role in an aging-well diet.”

The Raw Food Diet

This diet, favored by Angela Bassett, is as close to eating like a bird (minus the worms) as you can get: dried fruits, nuts, seaweed, seeds, sprouted seeds, raw vegetables, and whole-grains. Ideally, at least 75% of your food is raw, because cooking, the theory goes, destroys various enzymes that help you absorb the nutrients. Most followers are vegans, but some raw foodies eat uncooked eggs, milk, meat, and fish. THE ONE GOOD IDEA: While this plan is extreme (and some vegetables, like tomatoes, actually release more of their nutrients when cooked), no one can argue that it’s healthier to choose fresh produce over processed foods whenever possible. Also, there’s compelling science to suggest that when you eat higher-volume fare (say, a crunchy apple versus applesauce) it really fills you up more.

Going Macrobiotic

More a way of life than a flashy fad, the macrobiotic diet sets pretty strict limits: whole grains, beans, miso soup, seaweed, soy, tofu, seeds nuts fruits and occasional fish. Gwyneth Paltrow has been an advocate; so has Madonna. THE ONE GOOD IDEA: Although going macrobiotic puts a huge crimp in your dining-out style (except for eating Japanese), the nutritional blueprint—mostly vegetarian with soy and a little fish—is sterling: “This diet has a fair amount of research behind it,” says Mayo’s Bauer, “and may deserve a closer look.”

Last week during my weigh in the Beast changed everything up.  My caloric intake went down, my exercise program was revised and she is really encouraging me to take on a new mindset on my approach.  I think this was a good idea because I had gotten kind of complacent.  I could pretty much hit my caloric goals without much planning so I went from preparing a lot of my food to buying it again.  The complaceny allowed me to ignore the slip ups along the way.  And while I was burning more calories at the gym I was working harder, not smarter.

A journey back to health requires constant reflection and revision in order to keep it fresh and keep it effective.  This is just another great example of why people shouldn’t try to do this without some outside help.  I would kept on doing the same things that had always worked in the past and wondered why they weren’t working now.  They don’t work now because my body isn’t the same.  I need fewer calories because there is a whole lot less of me.  I need to exercise differently because when Istarted just thinking about going to the gym burned calories, and now I really have to work hard to work up a sweat.

Change is good.  It isn’t easy, but it is good!

Apparently the new caloric goal is going to be challenging for a couple of reasons.  First, yesterday was the first day I have ever run out of calories.  There are days I have gone over, but I have never come up short when planning a meal.  If I want to have a larger dinner I am going to have to consume fewer calories during my morning snack and at lunch.  The upside to that is that will help reinforce normal eating.   If I want more calories at one meal they have to come from another.

The other challenge is that in logging my food I switched from tracking grams to calories for carbs, protein and fat.  I am far enough along now that calories don’t freak me out so much.  But yesterday I learned that food labels don’t necessarily add up.  And while I know I am bad at math, even I can do basic addition.

• There are 4 calories in each gram of protein.
• There are 4 calories in each gram of carbs
• There are 9 calories in each gram of fat.

Chobani Yogurt (which I love) is a good example.  The label says it has 100 calories per serving with 7 grams of carbs, 16.5 grams of protein and 0 grams of fat.   So, 28 carb calories + 66 protein calories + o fat calories = 94 calories.   Where are the rest?

Today I received an inspirational text.  It said, “Mistakes are a fact of life.  It is the response to the error that counts.”

I can extrapolate to mean.  Mistakes are a fact of diets, especially for those of us who struggle with eating disorders.   It is so simple to take a bit more food, or skip a serving, or get all caught up in temptation and have a piece of cake.   The problem is that the minute we make a mistake we throw up our hands and say we blew it, and dive right back in for a second serving.

To be successful, you have to learn to overcome these temporary setbacks. You can’t let one binge or one “off day” turn into a full week, or month, of splurging. Unfortunately, it can be incredibly difficult for some individuals to break this cycle of negative thinking.

Don’t dwell on your mistakes. Instead, shake it off and get right back on track at your very next meal… or the very next day. And always remember, nobody gains weight from one rich dinner or a single slice of cake. The real trouble starts when you allow that one “splurge” to snowball into an all-out eating frenzy. Take it one meal at a time and learn to forgive yourself; every dieter has slip-ups, but the successful ones know how to keep those occasional lapses contained.

Last week I posted a question about my practice of taking a night off every now and then and eating whatever I wanted.  While there is no harm in that, I was worried that the way I was doing it was reminiscent of my compulsive eating behaviors.  After consulting with the experts, I realized that using time off from my food plan to overindulge in food isn’t healthy.  I would eat 3-4 servings of pasta and write “Night Off” on my food log. 

So yesterday I took a day off instead.  The difference is it was a concious plan, and it wasn’t a way to use food as a reward.  I just took a day off and ate things I don’t usually eat, but in normal servings.   The only real “off” part of the diet was that I wasn’t tracking the carbs, protein and fat.  To maintain some level of transparency, in order to keep it real, I wrote down what I ate and I did post that on my food plan and here in my blog. 

Having a day off once every 2-3 weeks gives me the chance to practice eating like others do.  I can choose to have pizza, for dinner, knowing I need to offset that somewhere else in my day with a meal that is lower in fat.  It helps take the fear out of food.

And then the Beast smiled…

Yesterday was my weigh in day.  It went well, and I will be posting my results later today.  I still have to have my body fat analysis this afternoon.   The Beast and I thoroughly reviewed my current diet and my exercise plan, and talked about what I need to add to my program.  We also made the decision to hold up on some of my lower ab work until I see a physical therapist about some problems with my right leg.  I appear to have a problem with my Lateral Femoral Cutaneous Nerve… the fact that I have an exercise issue is a miracle in and of itself.   So my appointment with the physical therapist is tomorrow.

Anyway…while we were discussing my exercise plan she paused and then she got a big smile.   Immediately my heart turned to ice.  She only smiles like that when she has the kind of idea that would make the Marquis de Sade think twice.  This was a smile to make a grizzly bear burst into tears and send a tyrannusaurus rex running for the forest.   She decided to add spinning, and interval training to my program.   I will go to my first class this week and will let you know how it goes!

Thanks to the people at healthy living for this great info!  Check out # 5….VERY IMPORTANT

Unrealistic weight-loss goals are really tough to live up to. Here are five of the leading myths that lure people into trouble with weight loss, and the truth about them:

Myth 1: Your ideal weight is what you weighed when you were first married (or graduated from college, or before you had children).

If you’re hoping to get back to what you weighed a year or two ago, fine: There’s a chance you really might get close to that weight again. But if we’re talking 15 or 20 years ago, you might want to reconsider. Many people put on weight as they get older. And no matter how hard they try, they have a tough time being as active as they might have been in their early twenties. Don’t live in the past. Set a weight-loss goal that’s appropriate for the way you live now.

Myth 2: Your ideal weight is the number listed on a standard height and weight chart.

True, height and weight are often related. Taller people weigh more than shorter ones, all things being equal. But all things are never equal. Many other factors play a role in determining what you weigh. For example, your body type: big-boned and solid, small-boned and light, or in between. Your metabolism: whether you naturally burn brightly and move a lot, or take things more slowly. The number of fat cells you have. How much your parents and other relatives weigh. The number listed for someone your height on a standard weight and height chart is just an approximation of what your healthy weight should be. Don’t let this one number be the way you determine if you’ve succeeded or failed.

Myth 3: Your ideal weight is the lowest weight you’ve been able to get down to when you’ve dieted in the past.

Okay, so you’ve lost that much weight. But the fact that you’re dieting again says you gained at least some or perhaps all of it back again. If you set a weight-loss goal that’s too low for you to maintain, you’ll get caught in the trap of yo-yo dieting — losing weight, gaining it back, and trying to lose it again. The best weight goal is one you can live with.

Myth 4: The less you weigh, the healthier you’ll be.

Not true. In fact, many studies show that if you’re overweight, even seriously overweight, losing just 5 percent of your current weight is all you have to do to get the bulk of the health benefits: Lose that much and you’ll dramatically lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and even some forms of cancer. In fact, most of the health payoff comes in that first 5 to 10 percent.

Myth 5: If you don’t get down to your dream weight, you’ll never be happy.

You don’t believe that, do you? A number is just a number. And if it’s a number that leaves you frustrated and stuck in an endless cycle of losing weight and gaining it back again, it’s time to retire it for a more reasonable one

I took a night off from my food plan last night.  To be honest, this is what I do, on occasion when the craving for a huge bowl of pasta and a pound of Peanut M&Ms hits and I pretty much don’t want to fight it.   It’s not that doing that is the worst thing in the world.  The Body for Life Diet gives you a “Free Day” once a week under the theory that you can’t eat enough in one day to seriously throw off your diet and that having a day where you can do what you want helps you stay on track the other six days.  So having a night off really isn’t a big deal. 

But I am wondering if I should plan it rather than just wait until I can’t overcome the cravings and then give in.  Something about that rings a little bell in the back of my head that says this is compulsive overeating even if I am not doing it at every meal, every day.  The behavior remains the same whether I do it every day or once every couple of weeks.

Any thoughts?

I’m off to Sedona today with my family for a reunion.  There will be lots of food to avoid, plus all the triggers that come with being in a reunion situation.  There won’t, however, be much internet access. So I am signing off until Wednesday, but I will be tracking my food and getting my exercise in!