Dropping the Diet Perfectionism

Isobel Del Los Rios, a low-carb weight control expert says: "Did you know that less than 50% of people who make eating healthier and losing weight their New Year's resolution actually stick to it?"

The one thing that would make me go off of a diet in the past was always "expectations of perfection." I would work really hard at following the rules of whatever diet I was on but at some point I would go nuts and eat cake, or some other such item. Not a little bit of cake, I would eat half a cake. Then I would look at what I had done and feel like a pervert. I would feel so ashamed that I would simply quit trying while I finished off the rest of the cake.

I would be telling myself, "What's the use? I can't do it." My going bonkers over some food that was not on the diet-du-jour would completely wipe out any shreds of self esteem that I ever had. Notice the word "ever." When we get like that everything looks like it is eternal.

I am so glad glad glad that the Lord showed me, one wrong meal does not a pervert make!! That "diet perfection" mantra was insanity at it's most insidious. The problem was not in making the wrong choices for that one meal or even that day... the problem was not fulfilling the expectation that I was never going to make a mistake again. Going on a diet, does not instantaneously transform anything about you. Going on a diet is a set of choices. And yes, I am using the "dreaded word:" diet. Diet, in its simplest terms simply means "what you eat." Everybody is always on a diet!! The first day of your life your diet was your mama's milk and at some point we started picking out other things. We probably wanted a little more variety.

If you were incredibly blessed you had either someone in your life who guided you to eat only fresh raw healthy vegetables, fruit, fish, meat and  foods -- or you were just "naturally thin."  Then there is the rest of us!! LOL My mom did try to feed us healthy. She very carefully made sure we had a meat, a cooked vegetable, and a potatoe -- or some other similar combination -- and only rarely we had a dessert. I never saw the inside of a restaurant until I was twelve years old.

Unfortunately, my body structure gained weight on the healthy food my mother made. I had the addiction young. By the time I was eight years old, I was "chubby" and my mother told her friends that I had "baby fat." Can you imagine being a robust eight-, nine-, or ten-year old and hearing your mom continue to tell everyone you had "baby fat." She fully expected me to "grow out of it" but I didn't. Every single one of my siblings, and I had quite a few of them, was as thin as a zipper when we were kids. I was sure there was something wrong with me, but had no idea what it was, or what to do about it. Unfortunately for them, they are all over weight now, too -- although not as extremely as I am. I don't hold it against them. It just happens while you are living your life, chasing your dreams, and not paying attention.

So. That is why I share my foolish eating and then move on. I am so glad, not to be stuck in the "diet perfection" trap. Of course I lose weight a little more slowly. It almost does not matter, I lose weight slowly. But I am losing weight. I used to hover around 352 -- now I hover around 328. Nice!! I am hoping with this new round of fresh focus and better choices I will start hovering around 318. The closest I have been is 321, so I know I can get there. When I was in "quit" mode, I never thought I could do anything but hover around 352. I've now got enough experience to know that old thinking was a lie.

What lies are you living with? Anything that stems from "diet perfectionism" will very likely be a lie. We seem to have linear thinking. Someone once drew a line and said "this is life." Well it was probably a very nice illustration of a particular point, but we've taken it too far. Look around your living room. Do you see that line? LOL Our lives are not straight lines. At this point the usual thing would be to replace that line with some other shape or form or idea. But if you look, you won't find that in your house either. The thing of importance in your house is you and whoever else is there with you. Our lives are moment by moment experiences. When it gets down to the real nitty gritty, the thing that is important to us is relationships. The one ancient saying about "life" that does seem to fit is that life is a journey. Step by step we are going somewhere but it very rarely could actually be depicted with a straight line.

So loosen up a little. When you eat a wrong item, don't have a cow, just do what you need to do to not repeat that one. Make a decision not to do that again. Make a decision to get that out of the house. Take the clean up action and let go. There is no real purpose in beating yourself up about a fouled up meal. Just do the next one right. Then do the next one right and chalk up "two for you." Then do the next one right. Pretty soon you will have a pattern of eating right and the numbers on your glucose monitor will get smaller -- and the numbers on your scale will get smaller too. You will have formed a habit. Then you will screw up another one. Just give yourself a "do over" and move on.

I'm not a coffee drinker and usually don't drink much tea either. I bought a coffee maker because I have some friends who love coffee and I wanted to be able to serve them some when they come to my house. They taught me how to make it to suit them and that is the way I make coffee. So the rest of the time it just sits on my counter doing nothing. Sometimes I would make a pot of tea by putting tea bags in the coffee filter and let it drip. I would drink one cup and then let the rest of it sit on the hot plate and change color and flavors until I threw it out. I finally figured out a better way for me. Duh! I simply use it to heat the water and keep it hot on the plate until I want a cup of tea. Then I just get out a cup and a tea bag and make a fresh one. If I am doing dishes and need to heat up the water ( I don't have a dish washer -- dark ages, I know) I pour some of the hot water in the dish pan and keep going. I always liked the "two birds with one stone" idea.

Today I was 96% on target (not a scientific number) and I lost a pound. My blood sugar this morning was 107. Not bad. The salads are tasty. I found a new sugar free dressing from "Cindy's Kitchen" called "Rosemary and Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette" which I purchased at Whole Foods in the produce section cooler. I am really loving it. I read the ingredients and there really is no sugar in it -- and no ugly sugar substitutes either. It really is a good and tasty natural one and I recommend it. Can't wait to share it with Julianna this Saturday.

Wearing the knee brace. Looking forward. Feeling good.

Be back soon,

Marcia