I joined the big WW when I was about 25 and had about 25 pounds to lose. It took several months but it worked very well. I was twenty five though and beyond the fact that I had a very physical job and tons of youthful energy I also had a lot more patience. I just don't think I can go down that road again. It takes so much effort....
I have followed a food combining plan which also worked very well. Especially because I could eat a lot of cheese and meat and fatty foods as long as I ate them in the right combination and followed all the rules. I never felt hungry or deprived on this diet so I have not completely ruled this plan out but I always had a sneaking nagging feeling while I was on this diet that the type of food I was eating was going to kill me. Too good to be true and all that.
Before I got pregnant with my little guy I wanted to be in the best shape possible so I hit the gym very hard and went for some hypno-therapy to get my mind into the game as well. This was a good combination and along with being extremely careful with what I ate and cutting out all alcohol I got down to my goal weight before I got pregnant and continued to exercise and eat carefully throughout. As an added bonus the hypno-therapy came in handy during the delivery.
So what is the "new plan". Here is the thing, I am older now and have far less energy and any patience I once had is exhausted by the end of the day. I probably should count calories to stay on track but I just do not want to. It is sooooo tedious. I have read Dr Fuhrman's Eat to Live and it sounds reasonable. I like the idea of eating mostly veggies and fruit. Intuitively this sounds reasonable. Cutting back on meat also seems sensible. I don't like it but I suppose I can eliminate most dairy for a while. I know that cheese should be a treat not a staple as I often have it. Most of all as long as I eat what he recommends I don't have to count or weight anything or think too much about it all. He starts you off on a six week plan to get things going with a bit of a jolt. So Nutritarianism here I come!
Here is a summary of the "rules" I will now be living by (mostly).
Eat as much as you want of:
- all raw veggies (goal 1lb daily)
- cooked green and non-green veggies (goal 1lb daily)
- beans, legumes, bean sprouts and tofu (goal 1 cup daily)
- fresh fruit (at least 4 daily)
Eat a limited amount of:
- Cooked starchy veggies or whole grains (not more than 1 serving or 1 cup per day)
- raw nuts and seeds (1 oz max per day)
- dried fruit (2 tablespoons max per day)
- avocado (2 oz max per day)
- ground flax seed (1 tbsp max per day)
Off limits:
- dairy products
- animal products
- between meal snacks
- fruit juice
- oils
Once through the six week plan things get a bit more relaxed and you can follow a 90 percent rule. That is 90 percent of your diet should come from unrefined plant foods and the rest - the fun stuff - is 10 percent - mostly for flavouring.
So there it is. The "Plan". Yikes! Am I going to be militant about this - no I am not. Life is short and I like food. But I figure if I stick to it most of the time it may work. That is the experiment I suppose. Wish me luck. Now I have to go and finish this nice glass of shiraz. (Oops!)
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