The ShowDown

When it comes to losing weight, I’ve been a yo-yo most of my life. I’ve tried all the fad diets and taken all the pills that claimed to miraculously melt the fat away. I’ve lost and gained back the same 10 pounds too many times to count. I’ve counted calories, carbs, fat grams, portions, and bites that I’ve put in my mouth. I’ve been there, done that, and have the t-shirts to prove it.

Hello, my name is Pookie Ryan, and I am a serial dieter.

(you all are supposed to respond here with, “Hi Pookie!”)

Does any of this ring true for you? Have you always struggled with your weight? Did your mom make you clean your plate at mealtime? Did your mom then remind you about all the starving children in Africa that would have loved to have the food you just left on said plate? When you look in the mirror or at a photo of yourself, do you cringe? If so, you too, might be a serial dieter.

Being a serial dieter is not something you can ever be rid of. Advertising won’t allow that. But you can reinstall your dieter brain. As I age, I’ve had a few “aha” revelations about my past weight loss behaviors and what is really important as far as obtaining and maintaining a healthy weight. It all boils down to this one truth:

Truth: If you are willing to change your lifestyle, you will never have to diet again.

My mindset was so screwed up in my younger days. I thought that obtaining a certain weight was the goal of every diet. Jumping on the scales and seeing the coveted number was everything, sort of like becoming the Queen of the Prom and thus winning at the board game of Barbie.

It wasn’t until I realized that dieting cannot be grouped into segments of time, but rather, requires a whole new attitude about food and exercise. Here are the basic don’s and don’ts I live by nowadays:

• Don’t eat processed food. Period.

• Don’t drink diet drinks, and drink sodas only occasionally.

• Stay away from white sugar.

• Do some sort of exercise every day. Make sure it makes you sweat.

• Don’t drink alcohol. (I do have a drink occasionally, like twice a month.)

• Do eat slowly, until you are full. Then eat again when you are hungry. Again, stop eating when you are full, no matter how much is still left on your plate.

•Don’t eat anything after 7 pm.

• Do drink a lot of water.

• Instead of counting calories, count steps, miles, and minutes on exercise machines, and do a lot of them.

That’s about it.

If you grew up in a food-obsessed family (like me) or if you know for sure you are a serial dieter (like I was) then nothing can be more freeing than learning to listen to your body and eating and moving instinctually when it tells you to. It takes a little practice, especially mindful eating, but, if I can do it, you can too.

En Garde Fat! Prepare to die!