I will be off-line during this Holiday weekend.

Those of you who would like immediate inspiration
can find it here in the Archives, which holds
seven months of daily posts.

Or you could take this time
to review the rest of this site.

For those who are following my “Ask Grandma” videos
click to see my latest one: “Kpop Music? Still like that old time Rock 'n Roll”
which is located in DietHobby under RESOURCES, Videos, Ask Grandma.

It’s Friday, and today is the start of Labor Day Weekend.
It is common for dieters to lose focus
around special events, like holidays and vacations.

Think about what happens to us at Thanksgiving,
Halloween, or Christmas when we tend to “forget”
to pay close attention to our food intake. 

Imagine you are a (good) parent shopping at the mall
with your two pre-school children.
You wouldn’t get so preoccupied that you forgot
that you brought your kids along.
Instead, you’d always know where your children were
and what they were doing.

Most parents have the mental ability to stay alert,
even after the kids are in bed. This built-in awareness,
or focus, helps them know when their children are at risk.
Sometimes we don’t set out to overeat or ignore our diets,
we simply lose our focus – the ability to stay aware
of our eating plan while we enjoy our food together with
conversation and special activities.

We can have fun and still Focus.
We need a way to hold continual awareness
in spite of what’s going on around us.
It’s tough, but it can be done.

Part of staying focused is:

Remember:  Frequently remind ourselves about our food-plan and goals.
Pull Focus back quickly:  When slipping into old patterns, intentionally renew focus.
Stay Alert: Mentally identify our individual emotions in the situation.

  It is important that we don’t “forget”
about our weight-loss or maintenance efforts,
so we need to develop a built-in awareness to help us
stay focused on what it takes to live with the weight we want.

There are many different food plans,and many ways to look at eating.
All of them work for someone, but none of them work for everyone.

The following quote is from a member of a forum I frequently visit.
The principle discussed is the matter of choice and responsibility for that choice,which actually fits into many different food-plans, however. in the present quote,
the principle is being applied to “S” days in the No S Diet.

“Something I want to mention is out of the books
Beating Overeating and Overcoming Overeating by Gillian Riley.
She says to give yourself Complete freedom (seriously)
and tell yourself you CAN do whatever you want.
Then ask yourself, I am I really Choosing??
This has really freed me in the past eating changes.

I ask myself, What do I really want,
do I want to go ahead and eat/overeat,
and then imagine the outcomes of both choices
the negative and positive, how I will feel, ect.
if I choose one or the other.

Then I can decide what I TRULY want to do,
whether its negative or positive,
and I also have to ACCEPT the consequences ect.
So in doing it this way I am taking responsibility for my choices.

Instead of just binging a whole bunch and beating myself up afterwards,
If I think it over and imagine how I'll feel later
and what might be the consequences of doing it,
I didn’t always want to overeat/binge!
In fact, a lot of times, I chose NOT to do the negative thing!

I can ask myself what I REALLY want (quality vs. quantity)
and then eat accordingly. If I REALLY want to binge, I can binge,
but then accept the consequences with no problems.
If I REALLY want to enjoy a few treats without going overboard,
then I could choose that too.

I think If I truly ask myself I could be more true to myself
and my true desires. It is a powerful tool,
with also allowing yourself complete freedom!”

This is a principle of mental control, and seems completely reasonable.

 The elephant in the room here though, is the possible chemical effects of highly altered foods on the body,
and their attraction and availability in our current world.

And ….if…. these modern (non) foods with combinations of salt/fat/sugars and man-made chemicals that help with flavor and shelf-life, actually affect an individual body the way alcohol affects an alcoholic… making it almost impossible for some bodies to establish ongoing mental control after any of that substance enters the body.

I don’t know. 
But when bingeing is a personal problem, it seems like this might be an issue to consider.

Avoidance of regaining lost weightis the primary goal of weight-maintenance.

Recently on a forum I frequently visit I read a post by a person who is working to maintain her weight-loss.  She had gained 5 lbs over time, and said:

“I can’t believe I let myself slip”

  I considered that statement and compared it with my own experience.
Over the past three years, my body has added about 5 - 7 lbs to its stabilized weight.

All the while, I’ve been working hard to keep that from happening, and I’m still working to lose that regain and to avoid gaining more.

In my own case, I wouldn’t call it “slipping”.  I didn’t “slip”.  It’s more like my body was being pulled along a surface by an unknown force,
while I was desperately working to cling, grasp, clutch, and hold on to any surface that would stabilize me and keep me from moving.

This process is still going on. Every day I work to keep my body at its “normal” weight, here in my maintenance weight range near the 115 lb area,even though my body thinks “normal” is over 200 lbs, and seems to inch my weight higher despite all my best efforts to keep this from happening.

Based on my past experience, I am well aware that if I chose to stop continually and consistently working to maintain my current weight, it wouldn’t be like missing my step
and falling off a curb to land on a nearby surface.
It would be more like jumping out of a plane without a parachute, my body rapidly hurling a long distance toward my potential destruction.

I’ve now been maintaining near my goal weight for 5 years and 7 months, and it takes more work to do it now than it did the first two years. It’s not surprising to me that less than 5% maintain their weight-loss, what surprises me is that the percentages are that high.

Some might think that this article is negative thinking,but I believe that   Acceptance of Reality is a positive and helpful thing. I am grateful that I was able to reach my weight goal,and I am grateful for every day that my body stays near it.

The Reduced Obese are constantly being lied to by the media, and marketing interests...including the medical profession, which serves to instill false expectations.

Weight loss is not easy, and long-term Maintenance is even harder.
It is a mistake to believe that maintaining a weight loss is easy, and that someday in our lifetime we can do it without a struggle.

   We need to get over it.  It ain’t happening.

Each of us is an Experiment of One, and
what works for one doesn’t always work for another.

 People have different genetics, body composition,
lifestyle, and eating preferences.

Also, the BMR or RMR and Activity Factor percentage numbers re individual calorie burn contained in the “experts” charts are formulas that are based on averages, and are very incorrect for many people.

  Even that generally recommended Low of 1200 calories a day can be more calories than the body of a small, older woman is able to use, and will cause a weight gain for some. My past 7 years of detailed daily food-intake records prove that this is the case for my own mid-60s, 5’0”, 115 lb body.

Approaching weight loss with a "one size fits all" eating routine results in frustration and loss of motivation  when our results don't match those of another.

 The best diet plan will allow us to learn new eating habits and re-shape our lifestyles in a way that will allow us to achieve and maintain our desired weight.

It helps to figure out our desired eating pattern. Some people find it difficult to eat a large breakfast and make that a smaller meal, or skip it entirely. Some skip dinner. Some do well eating three meals, avoiding all snacks, and others find eating small meals and snacks works better for them.  Some people eat only once a day within specific time limits.  Some people vary their eating schedules to include frequent fasts.

Different eating schedules can be an effective tool in weight management, but it is important for each of us to know our own preferences, and figure out what eating plan will work best for us, individually. After a desired eating schedule is determined, we divide our food-intake and calories with that plan in mind.

 Be realistic.
We need to know our diet weaknesses so we can incorporate them into our plans.

Set reasonable goals.
The only program that is guaranteed to help us reach our weight goals is the one we will do consistently.  There is no magic eating plan, program, or product that is guaranteed to help us lose weight and keep it off. 

 
Trying to follow a plan or program that has worked for someone else through a one-size-fits-all approach is a path doomed to fail  if it isn't something that fits into our own personal lifestyles and preferences.

Instead of giving in to the marketing campaigns or the success stories of others, and following a plan that doesn't fit one’s preferences and lifestyle, it is helpful to take a little time to make a plan that does.

 I find that when I build my own individual program and put my likes and preferences at the center,  I am more likely to own that plan and make it work to reach and maintain my goals.