Stanford University’s January 7 Inside Stanford Medicine newsletter had an interesting article on achieving three common New Year’s Resolutions, including losing weight.
From the article:
“A paper in the Journal of Clinical Psychology showed that people who made resolutions were 10 times more successful at changing their behavior than those who wanted to make a change but didn’t resolve to do so.”
I hope this bodes well for me, since I am making my quest to be healthier so public. The article makes the point that most people cannot go cold turkey and completely eliminate a portion of their diet. I know that I am not one of those people who can quit eating certain things forever. My singular goal is moderation. I won’t give up the things I love. I just try to remind myself that if I only eat a little bit or pass something up, it doesn’t mean that I will never have the opportunity to eat it again.
It was tough to start out the New Year on vacation at an all-inclusive resort with buffet-style meals. I could have done better, but I didn’t do bad. I managed to get some exercise, and never ate past being full. Now that I am back home, it will be a lot easier to be mindful about eating with a regular schedule and much less temptation. I still have just over 50 weeks ahead of me, but right now it all feels very doable.
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Good for you, Kara. I found that keeping a food diary was my best weapon. It was also a sort of fun project. Most of my cookbooks are marked with my “special” pink pen with calorie counts, by ingredient, and totals, too. Then I could eat anything by just choosing the right portion. I’ve written down what I did. If you think it might help, email me.
Hmmm…I’ve found New Year’s resolutions to lose weight are best made on a full stomach! All joking aside, Kara, your first post announcing your 2010 challenge really made me think. I was in the midst of my usual 600-calories-a-day “OMG-I-gained-weight” food plan, and I just couldn’t do it any longer. I decided to take the moderate approach. I’m eating three sensible meals a day and one sensible snack. I have to live with the extra weight a little longer, but I feel so much better. I’ve also given myself permission to eat a reasonable serving of a food that’s really tempting me. Otherwise, I’m going to end up eating ten servings because I think it’s going to be the last time in my life I can ever eat that item. Hopefully, I’ll be able to let go of my “all or nothing” approach to eating.