Have you ever decided to go on a diet, (something like South Beach, The 17 Day Diet, or some weird cleanse or fast), and gotten so excited about the results they promised you, that you forgot to notice how CrAzY it sounded? You get all fired up and go to the grocery store to buy buckets of grapefruits or pounds and pounds of green tea, even though you HATE grapefruits and green tea. Or you vow not to touch a single carb until you’re in those skinny jeans. Ever done that?
Yeah. Me too.
In fact, I’ve done it more times than I can count. And you know what happens every time? After the novelty wears off and my stomach is growling? I sabotage myself. I’ve spent the entire two weeks, while I was guzzling green tea and eating nothing but salad with fat free dressing, thinking about a hot fudge brownie sundae. I think about it until it reaches obsession level in my brain, and then I FREAK OUT and binge on an entire pan of brownies in the kitchen by myself. And then I eat more brownies the next day, followed by more junk I didn’t let myself have during my crazy diet, and all of a sudden, I can’t stop. Then, I gain back all the weight I lost, and usually a little more on top of that.
What? I'm only gonna have one....
Once you’ve driven yourself to extremes one way, it’s not hard at all to find yourself on the other side of that extreme. This is especially true for me, as I have one of those pesky ‘all-or-nothing’ personalties. I have to work hard to find the right balance.
No one can live the rest of their life on a diet. We should begin as we mean to continue on. Which is why, when I set this goal of losing twenty pounds this year (see that post here), I vowed to myself that I would go to NO EXTREMES. Here’s the plan:
I will NOT:
-Go on a crazy diet
-Force myself to eat food that I hate. (I hate green tea. I don’t give a shit how much it’s gonna “boost my metabolism”. It’s gross.)
-Completely eliminate any one food group
-Set any outlandish goals. (Like losing 3+ pounds a week, or running a marathon. Guess what? Not gonna happen.)
-Kill myself in the gym and end up with an injury. (Already have a few, don’t need another. I’m sticking with moderate, low-impact exercise)
-Whine to all my friends every time we’re at a restaurant or a party, “Waaaaah! Poor me! I can’t eat any of this!” (Don’t you hate that girl?)
-Beat myself up if I screw up. (Just get up and get back on that horse!)
What I WILL do:
-I will consume between 1300 and 1600 calories a day of a wide variety of foods. (I’m using MyFitnessPal to track my calories.)
-I will give myself two days a week to inch a little more toward 2,000. (Let myself have ONE small brownie or ONE scoop of ice cream, if that’s what I’m really craving. Thus avoiding the freak-out cycle)
-I will avoid white, refined sugar and grains. (Sticking with whole grains is best, of course.)
-I will exercise 4-5 times a week for 50 minutes. (I’m obsessed with Jazzercise, the perfect combo of strength/cardio, and it’s fun! They happen to be having a big sale, so check it out if you’re so inclined.)
I know that it will take longer this way, but I’m not ON A DIET! I’m trying to make heathy choices a part of my everyday routine. Minus the stomach bug I had this week, (I know, lucky, right?), it’s been a good start. Look for my progress report on Monday! Happy un-dieting, everyone!
