I lost only 1/2 pound this week which is a little disappointing but I am not surprised. I'm still figuring out the rules of my "Losing Weight with Rachael Ray" program. In my first week I faced a few challenges.
1. Figuring out the right portions.
I believe that diets fail for two reasons. I think the primary one is that while dieting people feel deprived of the things they love. So....the concept I'm experimenting with is losing weight while still eating the things I love, but in the right amounts. This is where quality over quantity comes in. I don't know about you, but I'd rather eat only a few bites of food that I love than a whole bowl of boring food that I only like. Let me illustrate the point with a food that is my personal all time weakness - mashed potatoes. First, I save them for special occasions, this is not a daily treat. But when I do eat them - only those few times per year - I make them with lots of butter and with cream instead of milk. They are rich and decadent, yes. But every bite tastes spectacular. I would much rather eat only 1/2 cup of those decadent potatoes only a few times per year than eat potatoes made with fat free milk and only a pat of butter more often. I'm not a sweets lover but for those who are it's the same concept. Only a half-cup of full fat, high end ice cream is so much better than an entire bowl of low-fat frozen ice milk, right? And you know - the lower fat products are all loaded with other crap to give them flavor and mouth feel - so you're just consuming a bunch of chemical anyway. So as I'm cooking up these recipes from Rachael, I have to find the right portion to provide weight loss (and maintenance later) without feeling deprived. I didn't do so well on that this week but no worries - that one I know I can get figured out and stick to.
(The second reason I think diets fail is because people don't eat the right things - including way too much processed food which is loaded with crap that our bodies react to. I do not believe weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight is as simple as calories in must be less than calories burned. Our bodies are WAY too complex for our nutrition and health needs to be that simple. But more on that another time.)
2. Eating 3 small meals per day - I have to eat to lose.
I learned LONG ago that if I skip meals I do not lose weight. I suspect it is because I may consume more in the meal that I do eat. On top of that, when you skip a meal your insulin levels drop (and as a mild hypoglycemic my insulin is very sensitive) and then when you eat, your body is flooded with insulin, then it drops quickly causing all kinds of issues. Insulin roller coasters are BAD. (You know how you eat something sweet and you feel like you want more and more? That's your body responding to the insulin. That's what causes cravings - the insulin roller coaster.) Sustained, even insulin levels are good. The body will not burn fat if insulin levels are too high. And for me, protein 3 times a day keeps my insulin levels just right. I didn't have one day this week that I ate protein 3x a day. I am vowing to this week and I think we'll see the difference by next week's weigh in.
So for those of you who follow low-fat diets I'm sure you're reading my blogs and thinking "of course you didn't lose much - you're eating meatballs and broccoli cheese soup!" I hear you - and I don't blame you for thinking that. But stay with me - I'm out to prove that you can eat those things and lose.
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