I've been dieting for a week now. Yippee!
It's all my fault, you see. A little over a week ago, I was stubbornly trying to not come home so I diverted Tim's attention to the nearby Borders Bookstore to just wander around and look at stuff. And then he found The Book. He showed me it and asked if I wanted to try it and I foolishly agreed.
So, as it stands, a week later, I've lost a total of 5.8 pounds. Thats pretty close to a pound a day (we took Sunday off and binged at 5 different restaurants). For the first time in a year I'm below the 230 lb mark on the scale.
Everyone's first reaction is "oh no. a fad diet. that can't be healthy. you're losing weight too fast." Seriously, I've got that from people who I respect, people who I barely know, and even people who're supposed to know the difference. I'd be willing to bet that even you are thinking that right this second.
I guess because it's from a best selling book at the bookstore, it could be considered a fad diet, but brushing it off with a dismissive remark will cause you to ignore the sound advice it contains.
My trainer at the gym says I should be eating lots of small meals all day instead of two or three big ones. That's what the book says.
The USDA recommends:
- Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products;
- Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts; and
- Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.
The book is making me do all of these things, with only one exception: no milk.
So as I sit here, eating the second cup of fresh blueberries that I've eaten in the past 25 years (the first was last week during the first week of the diet) it occurs to me that maybe it's just the way people are these days. Maybe we're just all skeptical and ready for the media to lie to us.
So for all the skeptics out there let me say: the book is a good diet. I need to lose weight. I think the reason this book works better than other diets is because it says "follow these steps" and then proceeds to list exactly what I'm supposed to be doing so I don't have to think about it.
Compare the USDA Dietary Guidelines:
- Make smart choices from every food group.
- Find balance between food and physical activity.
- Get the most nutrition out of calories.
- Stay within daily calorie needs.
The book, on the other hand, says "Monday breakfast. eat these things. Monday mid morning snack. eat these other things. etc." Sometimes when I'm a little unclear on a subject, it's good to have exact instructions instead of just guidelines.
18 oz of fish and chicken a day – spread out over 6 different meals – 6 to 8 cups of green vegetables, a couple of potatoes or yams, grapefruits, blueberries, very low (or none when possible) salt, I don't see any red flags in any of it.
It's a pain having to make daily trips to the grocery store, but I'm not ever hungry. Having grocery bills is a new thing for me. Not eating out with all my friends is the toughest part, but we can all find other things to do together.
I think it'll be good for me to lose 30 pounds.
2 Comments
Hi Paul
I'm probably one of those annoying naysayers you're talking about. My concern with this diet and any "diet" is that they usually aren't sustainable. You yourself mention that you binged at 5 different restaurants on Sunday. I would hope you guys could find a balance with eating out occasionally, but mostly eating at home, thereby having more control over your food intake. I'm totally in support of you losing some weight, I'm just afraid that like most dieters, you will gain it all and more back when you are "done" with this diet. Another concern I have for you and Tim is that you are trying to follow the USDA guidelines, if they worked our population wouldn't be the fattest, sickest and most obese it's ever been. Invert the USDA pyramid then follow their rules, you'll do a lot better. Switching to a diet of way less carbs, higher fats and proteins will keep you much more full and you won't have to eat all the time. I completely understand wanting a meal by meal guideline of what to eat, thereby removing the stress of trying to figure it out. I've got a book for you to read, it's called "Primal Body, Primal Mind" written by local Portlander Nora Gedgaudas. Unfortunately, it doesn't doesn't have a daily diet guide of what to eat but much background about eating what we evolutionary humans should be eating. BTW, I am very happy to see you concerned with your health and eating healthier overall. I hope we're still friends :) Written with love, Pamela PS I have backup for everything i'm saying and more if you want it!
The thing to remember here is that the "diet" for us is kind of like a crash-course. We have inverted our normal routine from eating out 18 or 19 times a week and cooking at home twice to eating out only 3 and preparing the rest of our food from the produce and fresh meat sections of the grocery store. How is that bad?
you say "I would hope you guys could find a balance with eating out occasionally, but mostly eating at home, thereby having more control over your food intake." and I think we've done exactly that.
And it's ok with me if I gain the weight back as long as it's at the same gradual pace I gained it in the first place. We'll see what happens, but I have to start somewhere and this is a great place for it from what I can tell.
finally, the "binge eating" at restaurants thing is kind of a joke for us because we looked forward to going out to eat all week and ended up doing just that. But even tho we *went* to five restaurants, we only ate at 3 of them, we were just visiting friends at the others. :)
No worries. this "diet" is a healthy thing.
(and I didn't say the naysayers were annoying, I am usually right in there with them. I said I thought it was human nature…)