Another day, another crucial conversation, this time with 'Pat'.
Pat is bemoaning that the weight is up to a level that very uncomfortable, thirty pounds over normal.
So as you people know, I ask the Why question;
"How's your eating?"
"Lately I've been eating like crap...eat for comfort...eat bad because I'm depressed..."
"What did you eat today?"
"I had bowl of bran cereal for breakfast and a turkey sandwich for lunch so far."
Hmmm. "Did you eat chips with your sandwich?"
"No."
"Soda?"
"No."
"Well Pat I can't help you if your going lie to me. Lets face it you didn't get 30 pounds overweight eating like this."
"Well today was a good day."
"Well you didn't add 30 pounds by stringing together a bunch of 'good' eating days Pat. How do you normally eat?"
"Like crap."
"Thats right, like crap. Now tell me how you really eat...."
I am not picking on Pat because poor Pat suffers from another condition of Common Man Syndrome, eating denial.
When presented with reality, most people will subconsciously illustrate themselves in the best light. See Pat already told me the diet was bad, but when confronted with a specific question about eating habits, spun a best case scenario at me that did not add up to the facts. When I probed deeper then the truth came out.
This is a typical person who needs to be honest about their weakness and create accountablity with themselves. I would recommend education on nutritional information, like calorieking.com and a food journal.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
17 comments:
Thanks Commodore, for the great link to calorieking. I have signed up for regular email updates!
Thats right on Comm. Denial is a funny thing.
It sucks when we lie to other people, but it's most damaging when we lie to ourselves.
We are all guilty of doing just what you say here.
Weight loss is a simple as calories in, calories out. No fancy diets, tricks pills, books etc will help. (Although I do recommend a Sport Nutrition book book by Nancy Clark)
OMG. i've been keeping a food journal for the past month or so. WOW. talk about being accountable. i really feel that if you are serious about losing weight, you have to do this. just having to write down "one pint ben & jerry's chunky monkey ice cream: calories - 96445345631" makes you not eat it.
damn food journal...
30 pounds is NOT inconsistent with so-called "healthy" eating, if it was put on over a long period of time. Over 10 years, that's only about 50-60 excess calories per day over caloric expenditure.
You're right Comm, the biggest problem is denial and self-sabotage. For some of us, when things get hectic at work or in life and we get depressed, rather than eat healthy, we eat unhealthy, and our stress or depression worsens and we start a vicious cycle. Often times we don't even realize it because our "comfort" food temporarily satisfies us in a self-destructive kind of way. At least for me it did. I've overcome it, simply by telling myself:
"I eat for health, not for taste."
Food journaling can be a pain for a long term lifesytle but absolutely necessary for starting out.
Nancy- I know 'Pat' and this was not done over ten years, more like ten months. Even if 'Pats' diet consisted of weeks of grilled chicken, wild rice and steamed veggies, if at the end of the day Pat ate an additional 500 calories over engery expenditure that would put on a pound a week.(500x7=3500cals=1pound)
What I think you are trying to say and it is absolutely correct, is that a persons 'health' is not dependant upon what society deems as desirable to the eyes or unrealistic body casting. In fact the lower the bodyfat past a certain percentage, (12% woman and 8% men)the worse off a persons body becomes.
Health is determined by many more internal factors than external, and in that I include mental toughness.
"Accountability" -- two days in a row the word has shown up here. It packs a punch!
I think this issue has some of the same root causes as Sally's from yesterday. Without goals, an extra helping of Cherry Garcia (the best!) is too easy to do.
When I'm choosing between the bacon doublecheeseburger or the salad with chicken, I think -- I'll be carrying that extra weight/crap with me at mile 135. Not interested!
If I didn't have the goal, I'm not so sure I would make the same decision -- hell, with the goal, it's hard to do!
"Accountability" to a goal. It gives you every excuse & all the motivation you need: "I would have that extra helping but I've got to do a big swim tonight." "I would have another beer but -- OK, I'll have another beer." Face it, sometimes the goal has to take a back seat -- but only sometimes.
Also, check out fitday.com -- you can track your daily intake & it breaks it down into carbs, fat, & protein. It's pretty cool, eye-opening & free!
Guilty.... Pat sounds just like me. Thanks for the call!
No Limits -- I just did 30 crunches: 10 straight, 10 left, 10 right. Ouch.
You're absolutely right in that last paragraph. Personal accountability is the first step to achieving any goals and reaching our potential. Until we hold ourselves accountable to our own dreams and desires we can never really be succesful in any endeavor.
Good tips, Com. One such food journal that I've used in the past is http://www.fitday.com. Track your food in there honest. If you lie, you're only lying to yourself.
There may be better ones out there. I haven't looked for newer online food journals in a while.
ahh... see the real question of emotional eaters like Pat (and me) are "what did you eat before your turkey sandwhich for lunch? did you eat an oreos when you were packing your kids' lunches before breakfast? how many turkey sandwhiches?" truly, when you fudge what you eat, you're only setting yourself up for failure. but emotional eaters also tend to be closet eaters. we'll put on a good face at the table and then slink into the pantry to polish off the cookies. emotional eating starts and ends with nothing but lies. lies that you're eating it, lies that it makes you feel better, lies that it is what made you fat.
another condition of CMS: denial eating. that book is shaping up...
seriously, i see 'Common Man Syndrome' at the top of the best sellers list, and you on Letterman yucking it up with him... get a ghost writer, make it happen, i'll only take my standard 10% fee.
no need to thank me, i'm here to help.
Good analysis, anyway, Commodore. I was just putting "healthy eating" in quotes because I see a whole lot of really wacky dietary recommendations out there with big claims about which is healthiest. :-) Not that yours were wacky, didn't mean that!!
Yeah, +30 pounds in 10 months means something not-so-healthy is going on in the person's life, usually. :-)
COOL! Thanks, now I don't have to flip through this calorie book anymore!
Thanks!
I was shocked when I looked at my food journal for the nutritionist. I thought it was horroible. A cookie here, extra butter there, etc. But she said overall I did well. I balanced my big days with lighter days, my big meals with lighter meals. I used to eat more and there was less balance. I see that now.
But she said the key to losing weight for me wasn't just food. I had to knock the pants off my workouts. They have to be more intense, more frequent, and more consistent. I guess I've been working on the food thing so long there aren't any major changes I can make that will knock a load of fat off.
Funny how you can put it on by eating, but you can't lose it just by eating less.
I'm a HUGE fan of CalorieKing and food journaling overall. The 25 bucks for the software was probably the best investment I've EVER made...I mean that sincerely. Since I started journally my food (Before I started using it, I really had no idea how many calories I was eating before....I typically underestimated by a factor of 2)
Since then, I've lost 27 lbs am healthier, happier and look better....and the results are still coming....
The only drawback is that it doesn't break down the different types of fat (mono, polyunsaturated, etc).
Still a great tool.
I fifteenth the use of fitday as a super tool. The on-line version is free, and you can also download it to your handheld device.
But what I really want to talk about is conscious eating. It's being aware not only of *what* you eat, but why you're eating, and when you're eating, and where. I'm doing a post on it tomorrow or Friday, so please stop by.
Post a Comment