So I seem to be in a similar situation, though I have no desire to eat a bag of Oreo cookies, fortunately. But I didn't like how I would eat too many nuts and say, okay tomorrow I'll start over, and then I would eat more than I even wanted, like it's my last meal. I don't want to waste mental energy on this silliness anymore. I'm not starting over with anything and I'm not going to deny myself anything. As a vegan, I don't feel like I'm denying myself meat. I just don't want it. I'll just have to tell my clients that I can't follow a plan myself, but I still manage to eat healthy as if I am following a plan. I'm sure that will make perfect sense to them, haha.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
I can't follow the 6-week plan
I think I develop eating disorders when I try to diet or follow diet plans. I wanted to follow Dr. Fuhrman's 6-week Eat to Live plan because I would like to become a "Certified Eat for Health Counselor." I figured if I'm going to advise people, I should be able to follow the plan myself. My plan was to start Jan. 1. So I over-indulged before that, mostly on healthy stuff, but still, it was more than I normally care to eat (as my posts at the time show). Then I did pretty well for a few weeks, but I occasionally overindulged on nuts. And I've been tempted by things I never really cared for in the past, like baked goods. Why did I not care for them in the past? Because I felt kind of yucky after eating them. I mean, I would eat some occasionally but I didn't crave them. So I'm tired of trying to follow a plan, as it's too much mental work. I'm just going to go back to my way of eating, which, ironically, is the Eat to Live plan, but with more nuts and seeds and fruits and dried fruits if I want them, since I don't need to lose weight. It's just weird psychology that I can't diet or follow a plan, but if I don't follow it, then I can follow it. When I was about 18 years old I started dieting, because I noticed I was gaining weight, and over the next few years I gained about 20 lbs. I would say I had something of an eating disorder, along with most other women in my college dormitory--we would eat a bag of Oreo cookies and say, tomorrow I will start my diet! Then my senior year I got tired of it and didn't care about my weight and I lost 20 lbs and stayed a healthy weight until my late 3os when I started gaining a couple of lbs a year like everyone else from the Standard American Diet (SAD).
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5 comments:
Makes perfect sense to me, Barb! I can't follow a plan, either. I completely agree it takes way too much mental energy. So, what I'm trying to do, and what you already are doing, is to gradually get into the habit of just generally eating well and healthily, and not really worry about it too much. If once in a while, we get a craving for something, go for it--by being in the healthy eating habit a little bit of indulgence will satisfy the craving, and not really hurt our overall health. Plus, you certainly don't need to lose weight! And, your total cholesterol is practically lower than my LDL (last year)!
Interesting post. I started Fuhrman after losing weight on the McDougall Plan. I like being able to eat lots of food -- I am not good at deprivation. If I want nuts/seeds, I eat them. If I want pasta and rice once in awhile, so be it. So far, I haven't gained any weight with this strategy, but, like you, I exercise a lot. If I were a couch potato, I would probably have to control myself more.
Maybe you can tell your clients that you are an avid exerciser and need the calories. Staying on the 6 week plan, would probably cause undersireable weight loss.
I think it's okay to admit my weaknesses to my clients. I'm not good at deprivation either--that's what I've relearned the last month or so. But I seem to have no problem avoiding the cookies and muffins because I don't want them (rather than because I can't have them). Now I will just enjoy eating what I want again. I don't understand my own brain but I'll just go with what works.
Barb,
Have you started the certification class yet? I am thinking about it too.
Hi Howard, I think all they've come up with so far is a reading list. It's on this thread:
https://forums.drfuhrman.com/view_topic.php?id=15544&forum_id=2
I've been slowly going through the reading list. There are a couple of nutrition books that look kind of boring but maybe they'll be interesting once you get into it (I hope).
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