IF you can view it as an experiment and NOT a failure, this will help you find YOUR map for YOUR journey.
A friend gives you a map of a journey that THEY took and you head off to try it. You read the signs slightly different than they did. You drive a different vehicle than they did. You get a different "mpg" than they did. You end up taking longer than they did. You might even end up 5 or 10 miles off course than they did. Did that work for you? Time for a new map.
Here are the various tweaks I have tried through the years:
NO carb or low carb
No fat or high fat (a personal favorite)
Exercise or NO exercise
Dairy or NO dairy
Artificial sweeteners or natural sweeteners or NO sweeteners
Counting calories or counting carbs or no counting at all
Low carb processed snack foods or real food only
Vitamins or only natural foods
Organic or not
Grass-fed or not
CT Therapy
Yeast free, gluten free, food free....
AND ON AND ON AND ON.
It can make you dizzy!
A person raises their hand high and says, "HERE! I have the solution!" and we all scramble as sheep to the trough. We graze and think, "Hmmm.. not bad. Wonder if it could be better?" At this point, some of the sheep are very satisfied and have found their sweet spot. Other sheep are thinking, "Bla-ahahaha... Not working!"
Another person raises their hand and says, "HERE! Here is the answer!" and again, the unhappy sheep scramble to the next trough in search of...
OKAY... let's put this in perspective. O N E S I Z E D O E S N O T F I T A L L !
It is not a failure when the coat does not fit. FIND A DIFFERENT COAT or you will freeze!
I mean, seriously. If you went shopping and tried on a pair of shoes two sizes different than your foot, would you think, "OMG! I am such a failure! Shoes do not fit me! There is something wrong with me! I give up and guess I WILL BE BAREFOOT FOR-E V E R !!"
We do that with diet, don't we?
It is your life. Pursue it.
Try it on. If it fits, wear it. If it does NOT fit, put it back on the rack and move to the next size.
BUT by all means do not give up.
Things to try:
Paleo
Butter
Exercise
Bulletproof
Atkins
Journaling or blogging
Food monitoring (for allergies)
Carb counting
Coconut oil
... and above all RESEARCH.
You are repairing the damage done to the body after years of ignorance (personal experience). It takes a good map and a few detours to find your way. Just don't give up on the journey.
6 comments:
Excellent analogy! It is my personal belief that any diet works--if you stick to it. However, some diets are diets--and it takes a lifestyle change to keep the weight off. What do all successful weight-loss programs have in common? Journaling. That's pretty much the first thing they have in common. After that, they have some type of activity. Personally, low carb works best for me. But, if WW works best for you, do it! You know what I mean? When you find what works for you, stick to it...the grass is rarely greener on the other side of the fence.
Great post Becky! Long time no see, glad to see you're still at it!
Lee
And this is how life should be,because we are not all made out of the same mold. We need to find what works for each and everyone.
Excellent article! It is SOOO easy to follow every new thing that comes along, then be disappointed when the magic doesn't happen. I've discovered high fat low carb is the route I want, makes me feel great mentally and physically. So I'm on the map, following an interstate in the right direction, now I just need to see which side road will lead to the weight loss destination I'm looking for. Thanks for the encouragement!
Awesome post, Becky, and so true! My weight is finally moving downward again after I made some changes after the low-carb cruise. I'm totally off wheat now and quit diet coke (had a little today, but didn't really enjoy it, because it was waaaayy too sweet for me now). I'm also limiting my splenda/truvia to absolutely necessary occasions, for recipes, that just don't taste right without - and that's rare, too. So, I'm finally seeing results again by tweaking just a few things. Again, great post, Becky!
LEE! Hi! It has been a long time!
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