Confessions of a Chronic Dieter

Hello. My name is Tin-Tin and I am a chronic yo-yo dieter.

 

It happens. I love food. But it doesn't love me back. I've probably been on a diet since I was 8-years-old. Since January 2007, I have been on four diets: the South Beach Diet, the Three-Hour Diet, the Self-Magazine Challenge and now hopefully the final one: Weight Watchers. But oh no. This ain't my first time at the rodeo...Since 2004, I've been on Atkins, Slim-Fast, the "French Women Don't Get Fat" diet and MyFoodDiary.com, too. I've also had several trainers at 24 Hour Fitness and used their food plans. All of these programs have the potention to work very well for me because I've lost weight in the early phases of each one. But my problem is always whether or not I can stick to the plans and just how motivated I am to reaching my goal. Lately, I have been slacking off on both counts. 

I found that while I was studying for the bar exam full-time, the South Beach Diet worked very well for me. I was very disciplined and I had a routine. These are critical for me to be successful on a diet. So the only way I can think of being more disciplined and developing a routine is to find a plan, stick to it and plan ahead. In the past while on South Beach and eating at restaurants, there were few things that were South Beach diet friendly so I didn't have room to be picky. I would make a healthy choice because it was my only choice really.

Which brings me to another point: I think people who love food like I do are very picky eaters, though we don't look that way. If we weren't picky, we would just eat the same healthy things everyday like oatmeal with no brown sugar, chicken breasts with a small side salad and no dressing and egg white omelettes. BLAH! I can't live like that. I need variety! And most of all, I need cheese!

The June 2007 issue of Consumer Reports listed 8 simple ways to lose weight. One of the ways to lose weight was to "bore yourself thin." The magazine stated, "Since variety stimulates the appetite, the more monotonous your diet, the less you'll eat." This is very true for me. I can almost guarantee I will lose weight if I eat leftovers everyday. But if you put me in a restaurant with a menu of anything I can order, my diet is in trouble. 

However, one of the main reasons I wanted to do Weight Watchers was because I get to eat a variety of foods. It is also one of the reasons why it didn't work as well for me as the South Beach Diet. In the past while on the South Beach Diet, I have lost about 30 lbs and been able to keep it off through Phases 1 and 2. I avoid sugar and carbs like white bread and white rice, but sometimes I really can't avoid these things. Whenever I go to family parties or celebrate at a restaurant, I choose what the restaurant is known for and probably not what I should eat to lose weight. As with all diets, it's still a matter of "calories in vs. calories out." And being lazy as I am, I will always find a way to be "energy efficient."

So now I just want to develop a healthy relationship with food. I don't want to dread going out to eat at new places like I did on South Beach. I'd just like to be able to make better choices. And I'd also like to look really awesome in a wedding dress next year.