( blogger issues - insert picture of seven year old boys running down a soccer field)
Diets...We are always running to and from them. If you have ever had a food issue, you know what I am saying. And the thing is, all diets that have you take in less calories than you use, work. Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, South Beach - all of them. There is no Big secret here. Use more than you take it. The recipe is simple and every sound diet uses the same one. The trick is - to find the one that you will do. They all take effort on your part. What are you willing to do, what works for you and most importantly, what can you do on an everyday, constant basis?
Brandi was telling me about the family who all lost weight by eating dinner for breakfast. Guess it took some getting use to. Toughest part would be getting up at 5AM to make fried chicken and hamburger gravy. Have long heard the Whateveryoueatforbreakfastyouburnoff premise. Even if you didn't do a thing all day, the calories from breakfast are always burned off by the end of the day. So if you are gonna eat cake, eat it with your cereal. I mentioned this to DH and got an eye roll so guess we won't be implementing this at my house.
The other thing about diets is the consensus is - it is better to do it in groups. Maybe it is because AA has been so phenomenally successful, it only stands to reason sharing food issues would also. Depends on the person. While I did lose almost 100 pounds 25 years ago at WW, I did skip meetings and would just go for weekly weigh-ins about 1/2 the time. Disillusioned after the first month, it was Thankgiving Week and there was 3 pounds lost in the whole class and 2 3/4 of them, were mine. I had taken it so seriously that I felt uncomfortable and alone. After that, I realized that if this was going to work, I was pretty much on my own.
And of course, life imitates life and I still find myself just checking in and not going to the Meetings. Always the introvert, in the end - we still need to connect on some level. Whether sharing diet tips or life's up and downs, we shouldn't always do it alone. There is always a Place to go. Not Someone to do it for you, but to encourage you along your way. Find what works for you and stick with it. Gotta go - the kitchen timer is going off, looks like dinner is done...
