How Long??

First, I want to report that eating every 3 hrs has done the trick!! I've lost 2 lbs. in about 4 days & I've eaten out in restaurants 3 of those days!! (Salads w/ chicken - but BIG salads) So if I had eaten at home it would have been much more. So point proven to all of you out there that eating every few hours really does help the metabolism kick in!

Second, I've heard some interesting comments lately. One person asked me "How long do you think you can stick to this plan?" She had done the shake diet a few years ago & lost tons of weight but once life got hectic again & she stopped exercising, it all came back. And it seems like a very logical question - because we've been taught that "diets" are temporary & then we can go back to eating "normal" once we lose the weight. So I explained my new found philosophy - this is how I'm going to eat forever - with the exception that I will eventually add back a few carbs & fruits throughout the day, in extreme moderation. (I didn't tell her how scared I am about this & how I am worried that I will eventually go back to my old patterns & gain the weight back - but that's more for the therapist anyway)

And the other comment yesterday was from my mom. My dad was diagnosed with diabetes a few years ago. Side story - a few years ago my dad lost about 30 lbs. & no one was sure why so he was headed to the doctor. When I told Kurt, my husband, his first comment to me was, "Your mom is moving in with us, isn't she?" Hilarious! Anyway, my mom told me yesterday that my dad is taking his "diet" seriously now & they are going to a nutrition class to learn more about the eating plan. Now take into consideration that my mom is a professional dieter. She has been on a diet since I can remember. I call her professional because her dieting actually got her a car once. My grandma had told her that if she had lost a specific amount of weight she'd buy her a car & WALLA - she did it. She signed me up for Weight Watchers at the earliest age I could be signed up with them. She is a lifetime member with them & is now again trying their program. So yesterday she said, "So I'm learning so much from this nutrition class. I'm surprised at how much the diabetes diet is similar to Atkins type diet - low carbs & high protein. I thought that if I was eating within my points I was being healthy but now I can see that I can eat within my points & be having WAY too many carbs."

First, YEAH! How wonderful that she is learning this. And secondly, WHAT!!! You mean in all those years dieting you really didn't have any idea about nutrition? I'm really shocked at how little we know about what we put into our bodies. My friend's 7 year old child recently told my daughter that ice cream was healthy for us because it had lots of calcium. WHAT!!! I've always thought that on some level we know, but maybe we don't. Maybe most people really don't know about carbs & proteins & fats & sugars & how the balance of those factors determines our weight more than calories. The truth is, I didn't either.

I remember reading "Stop the Insanity" & telling my mom, "Mom, read this book. It proves that eating carbs won't make us fat!" How little I knew then!! I was eating tons of pasta & fat free foods & was gaining & not understanding why. Well, another lesson learned - stop assuming.