Among the commenters to last week's post, Sue rightfully said: "been dieting since I was 16. Just have to shut my damn mouth" which, really, is such good advice. If only I could master moderation! Alas, that's never been my strong trait. Can one learn moderation?
Despite the Extreme Makeover and Biggest Loser, which seem to have a lot of a appeal (based on the crowd - and volunteers! - they gather), there's also a new trend in weight loss and health, and moderation seems to be the key word. Two big proponents of this trend are Devin Alexander and Ellie Krieger.
Devin Alexander is actually the mind behind the Biggest Loser meals and cooking tips. She is the author of The Biggest Loser Cookbook, which I bought and wasn't too impressed with, mostly because of the format. I like cookbooks that look like cookbooks (not showcases), with recipes and photos of the finished dish, because I find them most inspiring and enjoyable - which is why I immediately loved her new cookbook, The Most Decadent Diet, and I plan on using it to avoid holiday weight gain this year.
My family will be flying in from Italy a few days before Christmas and stay until New Year's. They are, as all Italians, most spoiled when it comes to food; and even when they need to shed a few pounds they have absolutely zero tolerance for anything that vaguely resembles "diet food". So I plan on using this book to trick them into eating diet-friendly food ;-) *cue evil laugh here*
Do you know who Ellie Krieger is? I had actually never heard of her until a couple of months ago, when she appeared in SELF (I think that was the mag), but I have since googled her and found out that she is a Food Network celebrity chef, with quite a following! She has written two books (including a cookbook)and now also has an online program, where you can sign up for healthy eating/healthy cooking lessons and coaching.
I've never done this - I've been tempted, but the various "E-Diet"-type websites and so on don't seem to focus on how healthy and wholesome the food you consume is - but if I was to sign up, this would probably be it. Because if you want to be healthy and keep in shape, in the real world you will need to be able to juggle and balance indulgences with a healthier day-to-day lifestyle. And that's the goal, isn't it? Because personally, I have lost weight before... it just didn't stay off. Real life gets on the way. So despite last week's diet-focused post, I'm thinking that dieting isn't really the way to go, when it comes to long-term weight loss.
The problem I have when faced with this decision is that the little devil on my shoulder whispers in my ear "yeah, sure, you can learn to do things the healthy way and that will last, but you will lose weight much faster if you diet! And that's what you want, isn't it? FAST weight loss. You know I'm right". And damn it if I don't fall for it every time.
9 comments:
I truly believe moderation is the key to a healthy lifestyle. You can't diet for the rest of your life, so it's important to learn how to eat right! You are so smart!
Thanks for all of the good links. I'm going to check them out now. Knowledge is power, right?
Wow, what an insightful post. I've never been a dieter. It's only been in the last couple of years that I've had to pay attention to what I ate. (I owe my dad's genetics of a wonderful metabolism) But something about hitting 30, it has slowed...to the point where if I don't think about what I'm eating then my jeans don't fit. And I finally found jeans that fit well, so I am not going to grow out of them!
I think realizing what your weaknesses are (following a "diet") is a step in the right direction.
It's always a big choice: Diet or LiveIt. Good for you for choosing to live your life within your means! You can do it!
What a fun holiday you'll have with all of your Italian family flying in for the holidays!! A Great Big Fat Italian Holiday!! Perhaps you should consider a movie? I've given up on trying to diet, but you are right.... moderation is key!
What I do is eat a big salad and drink a lot of water before a meal. Then I hardly have enough room for the main meal.
Sounds good anyway!
I have a couple no-no's: aspartame and any soda. But, that's because it is too hard for me to deal with cravings that they bring up for me. But, mostly I changed how I said things, like- 'You can't have candy.' to 'You can't have much candy.' And 'You can't eat out.' to 'You can't eat out as often.' I don't know why, it just helps to not feel completely denied.
Everybody who wants some weight loss must read your post once.
Love your post. Moderation is a good thing. I bet I wouldn't be here in the first place if I had tried some first! Thanks for the great insight.
Great post! Very insightful. I'd love to hear your review on that cookbook once you've had a chance to try it out. :)
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