No recipe here today- just a dietitian on her soapbox.
You know, what the heck does that even mean? Soapbox? Is this some old timey phrase that made a lot more sense in 1923?
Ye olde soapbox?
When I’m counseling patients, a great deal of time is spent discussing popular diets. Most of my patients have not had sustained weight loss with Weight Watchers, Atkins, Jenny Craig, etc. Weight might come off initially, but then a plateau will occur, the patient will feel discouraged, abandon the diet, and regain all the weight that was lost- sometimes plus extra.
So why is dieting so hard? And should we even bother?
First point of the soapbox- the word “diet” is just really unpleasant. Like you have to go ON a diet. Going ON a diet implies that at some point you will get OFF the diet. In nutrition land, we let the word “diet” mean simply the foods that you eat. When I ask my patients to describe their diet, I want them to tell me what they eat and drink on a typical basis. We need to resist the temptation to think of food/drink in set periods of time. Any large-scale deviation in the way you eat is bound to only last for a certain period of time, so quit thinking in terms of going ON anything.
Second point of the soapbox- quit trying to be an overachiever. I am totally guilty of this. Take a look around my house- I cannot finish one project before starting the next. My bedroom walls are 13.7% painted. My living room floor is covered with photo frames for a wall collage. And don’t get me started on my half finished (or is it half completed?) kitchen. I try to take on too much at one time. I would be better off just focusing on small, manageable tasks. The same applies to modifying your diet (again, “diet” as in what you eat/drink). You might have the motivation to try and do a complete overhaul, but truly, several small sustained changes will work best in the long run- remember, we’re not going ON and OFF of this stuff.
Last point of the soapbox- save your money and skip diet foods. Weight Watchers, Atkins, Skinny Cow- they all make a fortune selling food-like products that come with the false promise of “eat me and you’ll be thinner.” Craving some ice cream? Have a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich! Want some pizza for dinner on Sunday night? Try the frozen Smart Ones! Except- do these products even taste all that good? Will they truly be satisfying? A common wish I hear from my patients is the desire to no longer crave chocolate. I’ve heard stories of patients plowing through bags of sugar-free chocolates and 100-calorie snack packs trying to satiate a craving for chocolate. Fakey products just don’t do it. I do believe in choosing real food products. Skip all the altered artificial this-and-that stuff.
But…
…be real about setting yourself up for potential failure. If I had a craving for brownies, let’s say, then I could be tempted to tell myself “I will just cut a small piece and save the rest for later.” History has proven that approach just does not work for me. I may cut the small piece, but then 10 minutes later I’ll go back for another sliver, but then I’ll need to even that out a little bit, and then well there’s only a bit left in the corner anyway, and before I know it, I’ve eaten way too much and am feeling blah and guilty.
So I just have to skip making brownies. A few years ago I started buying squares of dark chocolate. I’ve learned that one of these will do it for me. Unlike brownies, peanut butter M&Ms, Teddy Grahams, cheese puffs, pretzels, etc., I can stop with just one. You need to find the foods that will not lead to overeating. If history has shown that you can’t lay off the chips once that bag is opened, you need to just not buy the chips. No rationalizing. No excuses. No “it’s been so long since I’ve bought a bag and oh look they’re even on sale and well I’d probably have just a few and give the rest to my husband and-“ NO.
I’m not perfect, but I’ve certainly learned a lot from my time counseling patients. Just some food for thought when it comes to dieting.
Bad pun.
Don’t get on your soapbox about that now please.
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