Guidelines

Well, I think we all know that the best way to be successful is to make lifestyle changes rather than going on a "diet." So...I'm here to address what that actually means.

A lifestyle change does not mean something that you're going to do while you lose weight and then go back to your previous way of eating. Going on HCG was not a lifestyle change for me. Atkins is not a lifestyle change. Nutri-system, Medi-fast, Slimfast, diet pills--none of that is a lifestyle change. I'm not downing diet plans, absolutely not. I myself did HCG for a year, and I don't regret it. A friend of mine who was downing diets made the comment on her blog that things like HCG are a scam, because even if you do them, you just gain it all back once you get off and go back to your normal way of eating. But don't you see--that is the key! You don't EVER, EVER, EVER go back to your normal way of eating, no matter what you did to lose your weight. You can't. Ever! Your "normal" way of eating is what got you fat in the first place!

It doesn't mean you can't ever have dessert again. It doesn't mean that you can't go to a BBQ on the 4th of July and fill up your plate and eat until you're stuffed. You can. The real key is to have guidelines. I know a girl who has a super great body, and I don't think she's ever been one ounce overweight. One of her guidelines that she shared with me, years ago, is that she only eats sugar on the weekends. So Monday through Friday, no sugar. If she goes to an event or out to lunch or whatever, on a Friday night, she doesn't have dessert. It doesn't matter what it is, where she is, who she's with, she doesn't eat the sugar. No pancakes with syrup for breakfast in the middle of the week. No peanut butter and jelly sandwich if the jelly has sugar. And on the weekend when she can eat sugar, she doesn't go out and purposely buy all kinds of sugary things. But if they have dessert after Sunday dinner, she allows herself to have some. If they want to do chocolate chip pancakes for Saturday breakfast sometimes, she has some.

So you see, normal people, who don't seem to have a problem with weight, follow lifestyle guidelines. Maybe they are specific, conscious guidelines, or maybe having control over what they eat just comes naturally. (Jealous!!) But you have to have guidelines. That's what I've always liked about the Weight Watchers plans (although I've never officially joined WW). Their plans have a way to work in social situations and occasional treats, but you're always aware of what you're eating, and how much you're eating. If you want dessert, you save up for it--or you work to "pay for it." You don't have to feel guilty for having dessert or a big ol' chunk of french bread with cheese (ok, that last one is making me drool, LOL), you just work it in to your guidelines.

Yes, I did HCG. No, it was not a lifestyle change. And no, I don't regret doing it. First of all, it worked for me. Second of all, I learned a lot about myself and my habits and my relationship with food that I really needed to learn. No regrets. But I knew the time would come when I'd have to figure out this lifestyle thing.

Some may think that juicing is "extreme" or "drastic." But the truth is, it's a way of life for me. I plan to do a juice fast regularly, for the rest of my life. I'm not sure how often I'll do it, or how many days I'll do it each time, but I am so sure of the health benefits of juicing! Right now, the accompanying weight loss is nice. But the truth is, my body is healing. It is detoxing, cleaning out. I believe that there are a lot of things that could happen to me later that won't because of juicing. I don't profess to believe that I'll never have health problems--you just really can't ever predict that kind of stuff. But I do firmly believe that if I can do a regular juice cleanse (even if it's only twice a year or something) I will avoid a lot of issues that would have happened to me otherwise. I will also be drinking juice from my juicer daily, whether I'm on a fast or not.

My guidelines will be to eat plant based 5 days out of 7. Two days out of the week I will eat meat, dairy, whatever. I'm not going to say "weekends," because sometimes I may want my days to be in the middle of the week. But plant based 5 days is something that I can do for the rest of my life. I will still have to determine how often I will allow myself a treat. But I can guarantee you that I'll always "feel like it." I'll always "want it." It's not good enough for me, for the rest of my life, to have it when I want it, and pass it up when I don't. "Real life" means passing it up if it doesn't fit in with my predetermined guidelines, whether you want it or not.

Growing up, I was taught that you have to make decisions before you're there, in the moment. Choose to say no to drugs and alcohol now, and when someone offers it to you, you don't even have to think about it because your choice is made. Make the decision now to be virtuous, and when you're there, in the moment of weakness, you already have your choice made. It's a lot easier that way. So for me and sugar, I need to set my guidelines and just live according to that. If I'm making cookies for my kids or because we're having company or something, it doesn't mean I have to have some! It doesn't mean I have to lick my fingers or eat some of the chocolate chips before I stir them in. It doesn't mean I have to have a spoonful of cookie dough that I get to eat off of. Remember--nobody cares if I eat it or not. Nobody cares! Will I want it? Yes!! Every time I make stuff, I want it! I do, that's how I'm programmed. I made rice krispy treats last night for my kids for a movie night. With candy corn stirred in. With chocolate on top. Decorated with more candy corn and halloween sprinkles. Did I want some? Of course I did! But I've done stuff like that so much on HCG, made stuff without eating it, that I just know it's one of those things--that my whole world is not going to crash if I don't taste it. Sometimes it will be within my guidelines to have some, sometimes it won't. End of story. And it's okay!!

I'm sure that my guidelines may change once I get to "goal" and shift over to maintenance mode. Like, maybe instead of 1200 calories I'll up it to 1500--keeping my exercise the same. Whatever it is. But I'll spend the next 57 pounds training myself in this new "primarily plant based with juice fasts now and then" lifestyle.

It's about health. And yes, for now, it's also about weight loss. Bring it!!

I'm doing the happy dance today because: today's weigh in was 187 (well, 186.9, I always round). This makes me 2 pounds better than I've ever been in my entire adult life (that's almost 20 years, my friends!) And since I have no idea what I weighed in high school, I can't really say anything about that. So...I feel great!