A New Normal - POSTED ON: Apr 25, 2011
I have been using DietPower for the past 6 1/2 years, and I have logged in all of my food every day during that period...ie. 2409 days. I intend to continue using it for the rest of my life.
During my first 16 months of DietPower use, I lost from 190 lbs down to my goal of 115. I have been working to maintain at or near that weight during the 5 plus years since then.
During that time I've used a great many different diets and food plans, but always continuing logging all my food into DietPower every day no matter what that food plan was. Even all my VERY HIGH-CALORIE were always logged. I consider myself a 100% success with DietPower. This is a Habit that proves very useful at times like now, when my normal routine has been disturbed by an injury. I don’t feel very well, and I have had a few higher calorie days, but tracking my food gives me a feeling of stability, and the hope that soon things will adjust, and I will be able to establish a new normal, during my recovery period.
New Beginings - POSTED ON: Apr 24, 2011
Easter has different individual meanings for many of us. For some of us it has great religious meaning. For others it means a new wardrobe and annual church attendance. Many of us associate it with colored eggs and chocolate bunnies. All these things symbolize a new beginning.
On Good Friday while in my yard i tripped and fell backwards on my left wrist, breaking the two bones that connect my forearm to my wrist. My left arm is in a temporary splint, and tomorrow it will get a cast. A side effect of my WLS 18 years ago is a restriction against all aspirin based drugs, and my body's intolerance for many prescription pain killers. This currently limits me to Tylenol for pain relief.. . . . Although I am not absolutely convinced that the ears of a chocolate bunny would not provide additional assistance toward that goal. Currently I must also use the one finger typing method which takes much more time and effort. This might result in shorter articles and comments for awhile.
I have several recipe videos already filmed, and will be posting them once a week until they are gone. After that there may be a delay before I can make more.
The Thinspiration Moment videos are much easier to do, and i've shot quite a few of them already, so I don't anticipate an interruption of that function.
I am continuing to weigh daily, and to track my food. When I get my cast, I will use that scale number as my beginning stabilized weight for maintenance and weight-loss. Hopefully this will give me a small weight-loss to look forward to when my arm heals and the cast is removed.
Life happens. Behaviors leading to Weight-loss and Maintenance need to continue despite individual difficulties and setbacks. Each of us goes through hard times on occasion, and sometimes we respond with an inappropriate use of food. The same for good times. But each day, each hour, each minute is a new beginning for us.
Words Are Labels For Concepts - POSTED ON: Apr 23, 2011
If you expect to fail, you will. The word “Failure” is simply a concept meaning the Opposite of SUCCESS. Words are the way we label concepts, and are often very powerful.
No matter what term you use to label Failures, it doesn't change what they are. Failure is a label for a Concept meaning the Opposite of SUCCESS.
Many Dieters don’t like the word “failure”, and look for different labels. Some choose to call failures "exceptions" or "indulgences" or “cheat days”
The word “failure” is frequently used in the concept of Diets to describe a “deviation” from the rules of that particular eating plan. However, one might be better served to devise rules that include an occasional “deviation”, which would exclude that “deviation” from being a “failure”.
Lets look at the definitions of some of these words.
Failure: to be unsuccessful. Deviation: a noticeable departure from a rule. Exception: a case in which a rule does not apply. Indulge: to give free rein to, to yield to the desire of. Cheat: to violate rules dishonestly.
Failure is the only above-listed word that conveys the meaning of: "to be unsuccessful". Deviation simply indicates "a departure from a rule".
However, the words “Exception”, Indulge” and “Cheat” are not effective "replacement" labels for the word "Failure" or for the word "Deviation".
The word Cheat means to get something by dishonesty or deception. Cheat suggests using trickery that escapes observation. I find the word “cheat” an especially inappropriate label to use while dieting because it indicates an attempt to circumvent both the need for personal ACCOUNTABILITY as well as the need to avoid DENIAL.
In a Diet exactly WHO is one “cheating”? Of course, the actual answer is that one is “cheating” oneself, and to trick or deceive oneself is to deliberately put oneself in Denial, which is a mental method to avoid accepting responsibility for personal behavior.
The terms, "Exceptions" and "Indulgences" and “Cheat” by definition actually give permission to noticeably depart from the rules. Giving oneself the ability to excuse oneself from following specific rules at-will, renders an entire Plan ineffective.
Regarding labels, there’s an old saying that one should "call a spade a spade". It’s probably important do that. A rule that doesn't need to be followed, is merely a suggestion.
Perhaps when dealing with the concept of Dieting, it might be better to replace the label “rule” with the label “guideline”.
Rule: a prescribed guide for conduct or action; a regulation or law controlling conduct. Guideline: a line by which one is guided; an indication or outline of policy or conduct.
The Bottom Line is: You can attach many labels to the concept of Dieting. However, no matter what label you choose to use to describe the concept of successful BEHAVIOR within any diet or eating plan Every minute, every day, you can choose to Succeed or to Fail.
Goal Setting - POSTED ON: Apr 22, 2011
This picture is my most recent recipe posted: Tofu Chocolate Brownies. I enjoy doing recipe videos, but DietHobby is not a cooking blog or channel. The Recipe section of DietHobby is simply to share with you the amounts and types of foods I normally eat, and the ways that I prepare and handle those foods.
In order to quickly share many of the recipes that I commonly use, I've made and posted a great many cooking videos here within a very short time period, I feel that I have now established a good base of personal Recipes here at DietHobby, so I will soon begin posting cooking videos less frequently, My ultimate practice will probably be to post a new cooking video once a week or so.
I’ve found that goal setting helps me focus on the areas in my life that are meaningful to me. rather than be guided by what other people want me to be, to do, or to accomplish.
First I need to clearly identify what I want. “What is my Goal?”
The next question is “What kind of BEHAVIOR is needed to take me there?”
The very last, and most Unimportant issue, is the question of timing. Timing is essentially: ”When will that behavior bring me the desired RESULTS?” or "When will I reach my Goal?" and timing is an issue that is outside my direct control.
I’ve spent a great deal of time in my life thinking about my various weight goals and my food-intake and my exercise goals.
Today, I’ve been thinking about my goals for this website, DietHobby. I’m really glad to have discovered making videos. It is such a convenient way to share the way I do things with people who might be interested. This whole website has become a very interesting project for me. It is a great deal of work, but I’m having a really good time with it. I've just started making some very brief videos entitled "Moments of Thinspiration", which I plan to post frequently. These are located under RESOURCES in the Video Section. Every video I make is designed to be part of DietHobby; to reflect my basic philosophy and vision; and to provide encouragement and support. While I understand the values and motivations of “marketing” and “social networking”, I don’t really enjoy making efforts in those directions. “Social networking on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube takes away from the time that I want to use writing quality articles about the diets and tools etc. and viewpoints that really matter to me. And from the time that I want to spend finding and reviewing quality articles of others.
I do understand that I need to take steps to let people know that DietHobby exists and to make it easy for interested people to find it, and I am willing to make some small efforts in that direction. However, I'm hoping that somehow, through my normal activities and connections, without extensive "marketing" efforts, DietHobby will become known to the people who need it. It certainly helps that I’ve no interest in becoming a YouTube or blogging “star”. I just want a simple and friendly place where I can post my own viewpoints and share with other people who are interested in the same things as I am. I don’t need to make money. I don’t want to “convert” the world. I don’t need to change anyone’s mind, and I don’t feel a need to make thousands of strangers like me. As my goals for DietHobby's "Success" are simple, I think it is reasonable to believe that I can achieve them.
Sugar Binges - POSTED ON: Apr 21, 2011
I recently heard someone say:
"I plan on making the most out of tomorrow’s holiday. Even if that means I'll be shoveling plain sugar into my mouth and eating until I vomit."
The above-quote is a good description of binge behavior. Some people are only joking when they say that they are going to eat sugar until they vomit or feel like it. This may only mean they will actually have a few pieces of candy and/or cookies which will seem like a lot to them.
But, some literally do Binge on a regular basis, and this means they actually do eat a large amount, such as one or more family size bags of candy/and or cookies and these people...despite a great deal and time and effort.... are not able to overcome this "addiction-like behavior".
People are mentally and physically different. One-size-does-not-fit-all.
I think there can be no doubt that Taubes, author of Why We Get Fat is correct when he says that sugar is a special kind of food, because it seems to "hijack" the brain. Sugar seems to be an issue with almost everyone, however the definition of "bingeing" seems to differ between individuals. For some, "bingeing" means "giving in" to a piece or two of cake and for others it means eating the entire cake." Most people equate "bingeing" with "Emotional Eating", but perhaps Taubes is correct when he says that this isn't merely a mental or behavioral issue.
Maybe there's actually a large physiological issue ... maybe our respective bodies are different in more ways than size.
Some of us seem to be more sensitive to carbohydrates than others. There are some people for whom even "healthy" complex carbohydrates ... such as baked potatoes and whole kernal corn... can trigger binge behavior.
Mar 01, 2021 DietHobby: A Digital Scrapbook. 2000+ Blogs and 500+ Videos in DietHobby reflect my personal experience in weight-loss and maintenance. One-size-doesn't-fit-all, and I address many ways-of-eating whenever they become interesting or applicable to me.
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