writingwyo's Journal, 19 March 2023

I am tracking even though some days are very ugly.  

Great plan! I am the same way and like to keep around my goal weight. I am a little above right now and working to get it down.  

Morticia...there are days I'm embarrassed to record what I ate, like Thursday when there was an office party and I had three desserts before the day was done. 🤣 To me, though, not being honest is like putting black electrical tape over the check engine light instead of figuring out what's going on with the car 

Awesome, redporchlady! Wise strategy on your part. I have to say, I made it longer without tracking than I did the last time. I'd love to graduate completely someday, but I recognize that might not happen. I do plan on permanently monitoring my weight to make sure I keep that in check 

I hear you! I have been on so many diets over the last 30 years that when I decided to strength train and follow a better diet I made the decision that this is something I may have to do for life. I told my trainer when I joined the gym and he has me weigh in weekly and still turn in a food journal.  

redporchlady -- I went into this with the attitude that I wouldn't do anything I wasn't willing to do permanently, and if it meant I stopped short of goal, so be it. My feeling is that if I can't sustain the actions, I won't maintain the loss. (Something I learned from following Dr. Yoni Freedhoff.) I also wanted to learn to nourish myself and my husband the best way I could find for health and longevity. Yep, this stuff is for life! I'm glad for you that you recognize that 👍 

Nothing against tracking if that’s your jam, but it didn’t stop you from overindulging on those desserts at the office. I struggle to understand why dieters log long after they’ve identified the high calorie items that prevent a loss. Simply tracking food and journaling on FS does not make people lose weight (not sure if this stems back to participation prizes). I realize everyone is different, but it seems that it’s not effective for the majority, and just busywork.🤷‍♀️ 

JB -- I allow myself indulgences Not every day has to be an exercise in perfection and discipline for me as long as I'm on the right path most of the time. Plus, I track as I go, so I knew how much I needed to reel it in at dinner to stay at least near my calorie goal, which I did. Not everyone's approach, I realize. I also track to make sure I'm getting adequate protein and fiber, given my specific needs. For me, it works, and it's not busy work. I know tracking affects my food choices for the better, mostly due to the protein and fiber goals. Data nudges me to adjust and correct. I'm in this for life, and I'm not going to be able to stick with it for life without giving myself some wiggle room to cut loose and enjoy myself with family and friends sometimes. All or nothing simply is not in my wheelhouse.  

Wyo, I am not disagreeing with your splurges (you're obviously at a healthy weight). You know to balance CICO -- intuitively or by sheer habit now. I'm just musing about the way logging is used after months of meals and measurements have been practiced. For some it seems like yet another (ineffective) way to deal with OCD or anxiety -- keeping hands and mind busy. Journaling is the same, but with an intent to socialize, and not really for identifying and correcting behaviors, because otherwise everyone would reach a healthy weight within a year. As a visual, it's like grabbing one's toolbox and arriving at the construction site, announcing one's presence, and then sitting down to watch everyone else build the house. 

I need to track, it is best to know where you are calorie wise. I did my best when I wrote everything down. Someone said if you take a bite, then write.😊 You can write it all down even if it includes three desserts, but remember you can write down your exercising too, because you are always working out, record your burned calories too, you can have three!👍 

Ah, I think I see your point, JB. I've read, and I concur, that any diet will work...if you stick to it. I'll add: permanently. Tracking isn't for everyone. Some people do better with the "psychological guardrails " of WFPB or IF or OMAD. Cuts down on the number of food decisions you have to make. No easy answer-- just CICO, adherence, and permanence, and finding the best strategy to achieve all three that doesn't make you suffer so much that you quit. And yes, actually doing the work. I didn't find the path I took required much willpower, because I didn't restrict so much that I was hungry. It did take focus and effort and time, though. I have a family member who's been off and on a ton of diets over the years. Many were simply unsustainable (and he damn near died from complications from Optifast). Others, he didn't do the work and went back to his old habits. Don't do the work, and it doesn't happen. Go back to your old habits, and you go back to your old weight. Just how it works. I think we're more on the same page than not here, but you may correct me if I'm wrong 🙂 

Ah, but Shrewdness, I cannot outrun my fork! 😂 I like to stay active, but I've had times in my life when I was both heavier and more active than I am now. My battle with weight was won in the kitchen, not on the ski trail. In fact, I lost weight last year FOR skiing and hiking, and not by doing them. Easier to go uphill at 20 pounds lighter 😉 

"Psychological guardrails" is a good term. I haven't really seen too much adherence on FS to specific diets with "rules," and especially not to any doctor/dietician's recommendations. This past week I researched Dr. Fuhrman's fat camp, thinking how wonderful it would be to attend for a month and have all the meals prepared for me, exercise classes, spa treatments and frequent medical checks, all with 7-8 other like-minded participants. 

I haven't been logging food for about a week and haven't stepped on the scale either. I mostly log food to make sure I get enough protein. I have done this for so long that I know by what I eat if I'm taking in too many calories - I don't have to log to know when that happens. I plan on weighing myself the morning I leave on vacation next week and then again when I get home 

JustBananas -- is Dr. Fuhrman the Nutritarian Diet? That one seems like it has some things going for it. Frankly, going somewhere for a month where someone else cooks me healthy meals and I get spa treatments sounds heavenly, regardless of gain/loss 😂 If you can swing it and think it would help you, go for it 👍 

Fritzy -- glad that's working for you. 😊 I think I might be someone who'll always struggle with portion size, so I may always be tracking off and on 

Wyo, yes, Dr. Fuhrman is the Nutritarian Diet. Unfortunately, it would not qualify as a Health Vacation as his facility/ranch is only a 1 hour BIKE ride away East. A one month stay would cost 5x my rent, and the spa treatments would be an extra $90/session. The location is in the hills, so there's lots of trails for hiking, plus a golf course next door, but overall, it's not a luxury vacation when I live walking distance from the beach and canyons of my own. To someone from Kansas I'm sure it would be fabulous. If it were half the price, MAYBE. I really would love the regular health checkups and the 3 squares cooked (and taught) by their chef, plus the daily yoga and hiking sessions with the other housemates, BUT $$$.😟