Diet-a bad word

Sunday was the birthday of a family friend and for various reasons, I was the sole representative from our immediate family to the afternoon tea held in his honour. I think I have a whole other post about the crowd that I was amongst but I will save that for another time.

Most present at the party were familiar to me but it has been over a year or two since most have seen me. I had a number of comments on my “recent” weight loss. One of the ladies sitting next to me was asking how I lost weight and wanted to know if I had gone on the Tony Fergueson diet. She went on to tell about the supplements on the diet and I don’t know what else. I told her that I hadn’t gone on any diet. I simply ate more sensibly and exercised, which seemed to surprise her.

I have never gone on a “diet” because I don’t feel it’s an appropriate way to lose weight. The whole idea is to change the way of eating. I feel there is so much risk of failure when on a “diet” because most people return to the bad habits that got them into the weight situation in the first place. The other part of the equation is exercise, which I personally find is essential to keeping my eating habits on the right path. Although it does not happen quite that simply, that is the basis of my weight loss.

I think I now understand an aspect of my struggles to eat properly. When I changed my eating habits last year, I was working around the goal of keeping my blood glucose levels within an appropriate range. I was able to do this surprisingly well. Instead of the older habit of often looking at the amount of fat in a product, I focused on the carbohydrate/sugar levels. Especially in combination with exercise, I was able to keep my blood sugar in the optimum range. I mostly craved chocolate, which I allowed myself to eat, but in small portions of dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. I also reduced carbohydrate portions of my meals to proper portions instead of massive amounts of pasta, rice, potato, etc.

Somewhere along the way, I went back to focusing on the fat content again so that I was allowing myself more carbohydrates and less fat.  This essentially increased my cravings for carbohydrates and has led to the increase in weight…at least in my opinion. Along with a return to moderate exercise habits, I am limiting my carbohydrate intake again and it already feels right to me.

I will never “go on a diet” but I will continue to adjust my eating habits and exercise so that my body will be healthy and fit again.