Give up Dieting and Still Change Your Life

By Gerri Helms

Are you one of the multitudes who made a resolution on New Year’s Eve to lose weight? You may have employed many tactics to achieve the beautiful body of our dreams. But if you are like most of us, that dreaded 2008 commitment is probably already abandoned. Why is that?

I have my own thoughts, not based on scientific research or great knowledge in nutrition. Instead, it’s my own experience in years of failed diets, but final success with permanent weight loss.

At age 43, I was more than one hundred pounds overweight, with a multitude of health challenges. My blood pressure was on the rise, as was my sugar levels. Terrible pain in my knees and hips made walking difficult and sports activities next to impossible.

Year after year, the same old determination on December 31st was followed almost immediate disappointment. Each year, the goal grew more out of reach as my weight surpassed 200. At 248, I just quit weighing myself, resigned to the fact that diets don’t work for me. Why couldn’t I get it?

In May of ’93, I was presented with a book by Kay Sheppard; Food Addiction, the Body Knows. In total amazement, I read where others had the same problem as I did; dieting, losing for a while, but returning to old eating habits and gaining back all the weight I’d lost and more. The books suggested some things I’d never tried basically giving up sugar, flour and wheat.

For the first time, I abandoned the concept of dieting and worked on changing how I ate. Giving up all those favorite foods at once seemed impossible but I could try a little at a time. Baby steps.

The results were amazing. The weight slowly melted away and after a little more than a year, I was over 100 pounds lighter. Continuing to eat in the same manner resulted with the weight staying off!

Last year I wrote my own book, called Trust God and Buy Broccoli. I’d developed some techniques for dealing with situations that used to result in overeating and wanted to share them with others. Looking back, it’s easy to see why the diets always failed. Look at the word itself it starts with die! I was doomed from the first skipped bite! Once and for all, I stopped dieting.

Since I didn’t gain one hundred pounds overnight, odds were against quick weight loss. The first step for me was to stop the constant eating and get back to 3 meals a day. I also gave up what I like to call ’recreational’ sugar; the obvious stuff like cookies, cakes and candy. As the weight started coming off, I was willing to let go of foods made with flour (bread, pasta, crackers). This was replaced with more vegetables, chicken, fish and fruits.

It was amazing how much better I felt. The weight was coming off and I was able to engage in more physical activites. I hated ’exercise’ but enjoyed sports. I joined a women’s softball league palatable exercise! As time passed, the new way of eating became even more refined and I actually started to hope that I would never have to be morbidly obese again.

If you’ve also failed at diets, here are some tips that may help you move toward a healthy body weight once and for all:

If you are an emotional eater, get some help. There are many great avenues of support, such as counseling, 12 step support groups like Overeaters Anonymous or coaching. Look them up online for something or someone close to you. At the very least, get a buddy to support you, someone you can talk with about how you’re trying to change your eating habits. If you hear, “One bite won’t hurt”, RUN! It might hurt and most likely will hurt! “No” is a complete sentence. “No, Thank you!” If you find that one cookie leads to eating the entire bag, don’t eat the first cookie! If you don’t eat a slice of pizza, you can’t eat a whole pie. Or two! You don’t have to eat anything, even if someone says they made it “Just for you.” That’s called Love on a Plate. Thank the person for their thoughtfulness, but don’t eat it! Watch the ’thin people’ at a party. They get a small plate of food, nibble on it, set it down and walk away from it. Amazing. A great tip at the grocery store is to stay on the perimeter aisles. Fresh produce, dairy, meat, seafood are all on the outside aisles. Okay, the bakery is too, but skip that, okay? Make beautiful, colorful salads, with great variety of flavor. Choose crisp romaine lettuce, red and yellow peppers, radishes, bok choy, snow peas, water chestnuts and cherry tomatoes. Great flavor and textures will increase the odds of staying on your new food plan. If your eyes are broken when it comes to portions, get a food scale and weigh your food! It is much easier to weigh a salad than to try and shove it all down into a cup. Gradually add exercise to your week. Start out slow. A fifteen minute walk is better than nothing. Exercise will give you energy and believe it or not, I look forward to it now. And I’m someone who hated that “E” word!

Summer is just around the corner. Why not start making some small changes now and when the time comes time to buy that cute new swim suit, you’ll be ready. Best of all, on December 31, 2008, you’ll not have to make that dreaded resolution again. You can do it!

Gerri Helms lives in Titusville and_ is a Life and Health Coach, Motivational Speaker and the author of Trust God and Buy Broccoli. She has maintained over a 100 pound weight loss for nearly fifteen years. To learn more about Gerri, visit her website at www.lifecoachgerri.com