I have fought a life-long battle with weight control. After having it under control and staying at a normal weight for quite a few years, as I approached my senior years I lost my 42-year-old son to lung cancer. The grief was all encompassing, and it almost seemed that I "woke up" about a year later about 15 pounds heavier. I was appalled at my weight gain, and so began several efforts to lose that hated extra weight.
At the same time I had reached my senior years, and I discovered that my metabolism had slowed down. My family doctor told me that it was normal for my age, but I still hated those extra pounds. She gave me some tips to help me lose them, but repeated attempts only met with failure. Most things that had worked for me when I was younger, I was no longer successful with.
I have finally found some answers for myself that perhaps may be new to you too, and I want to share them. First of all I have learned that weight control is much more about the psychology of our relationship with food than it is about the food itself. I have also learned to place all foods into two very simple categories - yes foods and no foods.
First the psychology factor. I have learned that we human beings are terrible decision makers. That is why just learning to follow a prescribed eating plan doesn't work for long. With those programs we must constantly make choices. That is the basis for "falling off the wagon," and why diets absolutely do not work. I discovered that I had to get rid of having to make decisions several times every day about what foods I would eat. So I settled on a few foods that I would eat which still provided sufficient variety and healthy nutrition, but which helped me to not have to make food choices all the time.
I am not a psychologist, but I discovered the psychology-based technique about eliminating having to make choices while studying the psychology of overcoming addictions on the Internet. It seems that the human psyche is such that given two choices, one "should I" and one "shouldn't I not," too often we will choose the negative. The old enemy of every person dealing with addiction, "tomorrow," plagues every dieter.
That is why I came up with very short lists of both yes foods and no foods. First I made a decision to eat the same menu for breakfast, every day. . . no exceptions. So I didn't have to make a decision about what to eat for breakfast. For me it is about 3/4 cup of low-fat cottage cheese, accompanied by low-sugar fruit in season, with about six walnut halves chopped and sprinkled on top. If I don't have fresh or frozen fruit that is appropriate, then I will take canned fruit, wash off all the syrup, and chop tit before mixing with the cottage cheese. (You may on occasion use plain yogurt instead of the cottage cheese. Be sure it is PLAIN so that it contains no sugar or fructose. I find the European or greek styles are worth the little extra they cost.)
Why cottage cheese? I had great luck using cottage cheese as a cornerstone of successful weight loss programs when I was a young woman. Humm! Don't know why I had forgotten that for years.
I eat the same thing for lunch as breakfast. See how I'm avoiding decision making? I avoid boredom by varying the fruit. Blueberries, fresh or frozen, strawberries in season, peaches, chopped apple or cantelope, etc. I avoid high sugar fruits like bananas.
For these two meals - breakfast and lunch - I am getting good, high-quality protein in the cottage cheese, and good low sugar carbohydrates in the fruit, and the few chopped walnuts I sprinkle on top provide some good fat. This menu provides a very well-balanced, healthy meal for breakfast and lunch. These are all YES FOODS.
Now comes dinner where my short yes and no foods list becomes important. Here's my list, without a lot of rules:
YES FOODS
Lean meat or skinless poultry
Eggs
Seafood or shellfish:
Hi in Omega 3 fats are best, like salmon or tuna
Plain Yogurt (be sure to add your own fruit)
Walnuts and almonds
All vegetables - except those high in starch
Olive oil and lemon or lime juice for salad dressings
NO FOODS
Bread of any kind (including pizza, bagels, etc.)
Pasta of any kind
Processed sugar of any kind (or anything containing processed sugar or fructose)
High starch vegetables
In my case I always have a big salad at dinner, and I have a protein serving (meat, shellfish or seafood) either on the side or on the salad.
If I find myself with a luncheon away from home, I follow the dinner plan above, and then have fruit and cottage cheese for dinner at home. This is a very easy plan to stick with when eating at a restaurant. TIP: Don't look at the menu. Just tell the waitress/waiter what you would like. Example: A broiled chicken breast, and a salad with dressing on the side.
Notice the lack of decisions you must make. About once a week for dinner I make an omelet - remember that eggs are one of my protein "yes" foods, with steamed veggies on the side, or stirred into the omelet.
If I want a snack, I have either a piece of fruit, or a few almonds. Using the yes and no foods, as you settle into your weight loss program and when the weight begins to consistently come off, you may play around a little just using the yes and no foods. They work like magic. Why do they work? I think it is the balance of protein and carbohydrates that keeps your insulin production level. Once you add more sugar or starch, you boost the insulin level, which biochemists tell us is the "fat storage" harmone.
I have found I can stick to this program without any difficulty, and I believe I can actually live with it indefinitely. It will probably be the way I eat for the rest of my life.
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