Choosing the right weight loss plan can be confusing for those battling weight issues. I’m no expert, but I have over 40 years of experience in “succeeding and failing.” After the many plans I’ve tried, I have decided they ALL work!
We are told the solution is to pick a plan that fits best with our lifestyle. What works for one may not work for another – but deciding which method is the best is maddening. That is why I must go back to basics – what I learned in school long ago. We all learned we need vegetables, lean meats, less refined sugars, and less processed foods. The food pyramid showed us how much of which food group we needed to consume more or less. It was simple.
But it’s not simple, is it?
Because propaganda and marketing have moved us so far from the basics, we have been led in several directions helping companies’ wallets get bigger. We are brainwashed to believe accurate portions are the size the restaurants put on our plates, and we think if we eat half, we are “dieting.”
I’ve tried and succeeded with Atkins, Arbonne, Elimination diets, Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, the Cayenne pepper diet (don’t ask!), and several others. They ALL work to drop weight. But the problem is not food – it’s behavior.
Sure, we still must watch how much fat, sugar, and carbohydrates we eat because our bodies don’t need too much of those, but we have allowed what we should or shouldn’t eat to become too complicated.
It is easy to become obsessed with all the information available. The last plan I tried used words such as “inflammation,” “detox,” and “clean” eating. I liked what I heard, and it made sense to me, so I read and researched more, which took me down a costly road of obsessing over food and believing I could no longer eat beans because of the lectins… and I could no longer eat tomatoes and peppers …because they were a nightshade, and isn’t good for arthritis.
The list of what I shouldn’t eat continued until I was shopping for groceries one day and felt such “fear” about food I realized I barely had anything in my cart.
That was not good. God tells us throughout the Bible not to fear. Fear is a big marketing tactic, and we fall for it, don’t we? I finally had to push away from the overload of information and decide that I could eat anything I wanted – as long as I followed the basics.
So let’s go over the basics.
Spiritual: God made our physical bodies to function with nourishment, activity, and rest. This is His design. The old testament had many rituals regarding faith and food, but the new testament tells us there is no unclean thing in which we eat – Jesus fulfilled the old law, and God was concerned with what came out of our mouths, not what goes in them.
Physical: There are three keys to health – eating right, exercise, and sleep. Our bodies thrive when these all work together, which also helps our mental health.
Basics: eat for nourishment. Food is pleasurable and is meant to be enjoyed, but the Bible tells us to use moderation in all things. If it helps you to make lists, write down all the bad habits you have about eating.
I needed something sweet after every meal. I thought I had to be FULL at every meal. I felt I had to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner and all be substantial meals. I ate because it was time to, instead of when I felt hungry. When I was “off” a diet I ate how I wanted to.
When I was “on,” I knew how I should eat; I knew how to increase my metabolism by eating small, healthy snacks – “have 5-6 small meals” – a marketing phrase you might have heard.
When I go back in time, in my mind’s eye, and think of the world before “super-size me” was a thing, I think of how people worked hard in the fields to grow food – being active, and they were physically tired and rested well at the end of the day.
We don’t live a simple life anymore. Jobs are different, technology is different, and how we spend our time is different. So, we need to assess our lifestyle realistically yet learn the basics.
I stopped reading books and articles on what I should or shouldn’t eat. I stopped asking someone who had recently lost weight about their plan. Reading God’s Word gave me the information I needed. Prayer gave me motivation. When we give our failures to the Lord and ask for His help as we begin each day, that’s our motivation not to fail.
Sounds simple – and it IS… if you are already healthy and with healthy habits, but if you have been overeating, not getting enough activity, and not getting the proper amount of rest – your body is probably sick. It feels awful to “begin” eating less and moving more, but we got ourselves here, and the Lord will be with us in our efforts.
You might need your doctor’s help; I know I did. Once my stomach was used to small portions, it was about “behavior.” I needed my healthy habits to be consistent and not let “distractions” be an excuse to overeat.
Was I going to let a celebration be another excuse for me to gorge and “go off my diet?” I’m learning; that I can celebrate with others and not feel left out – but I need to choose my portions wisely. Have the cake! But eat two bites and be done.
I can go out to eat, ask for a box, and put half or more of what is on my plate in the box for the next day. Keeping control of how much you eat will bring your weight down. Staying active – make yourself walk, bike, or swim. Then you will be tired and get a good night’s sleep.
Remember moderation. If you celebrate and let yourself have that dessert (eating just enough to satisfy the sweet tooth – not to overdo), then wait days, weeks, or months before you do that again.
*Eat less of whatever you eat. Control your portions. Find out what sized portion is suitable for your gender, weight, and age, and be intentional.
*Move your body. Cardio. You need to be active and get your heart rate up. Plan cardio activity at least four times a week, and the rest of the days, make sure you are still moving – get off your tushy when you would typically ask someone passing by to bring you something.
*Sleep. Whether you sleep too much or not enough, 7-8 hours is best; 6-9 is okay. More than that will only give you sleep hangovers and make you feel sluggish. Less than that will deprive you of a healthy balance.
It’s not as much about what we are eating as it is why.
Stress, boredom, loneliness, and fulfillment are not reasons to eat. Yet we used these reasons for so long that we don’t even realize what hunger is. If we are overweight, the bottom line is we need to eat less and be more active. I have said, “I really don’t eat that much,” and then I would look at my plate and compare it with that of a healthy person. I may not have eaten the plate size a restaurant served, but my portion was still more than it should be.
We aren’t supposed to eat to get full. We need to eat until we are no longer hungry. If you only had a few bites of each thing on your plate before you feel satiety, that’s okay – stop eating. You can grab a handful of almonds if you get hungry after a while. Getting a bowl of popcorn? Don’t get the big bowl; grab a small one.
One thing I noticed when working on having smaller portions was not knowing my satiety level because I was still hungry while trying to reduce my intake. But after two weeks, I was used to the smaller portions and could tell when I was satisfied and when to stop. Yes, I had to stop even if it tasted sooo good. I’ve currently dropped weight while eating what I want, but eating small portions and being active. I will be consistent, and when I reach my goal, THAT is when the “behavior” part is most important. I can’t think my small portions are a strenuous diet to quit once I lose weight, but they are normal portions for a five-foot-two gal. And stress, or… a pandemic is not a reason to eat more than I should.
Be intentional. Get your portions under control. Get activity each day. Get the proper amount of rest. And pray. Stop searching for the latest miracle plan and get back to basics.