Dieting and such

Here's a theory: skip focusing on which diet is best and start focusing on changing eating habits.

This translates to stop focusing on what we eat and getting the balanced diet and change to focus on how we can get people to make healthier food decisions. Are we eating because we are stressed? Do we have bad habits related to the drive through where we make a quick stop on the way home and eat the food in the car?

Researchers look at all sorts of diets - Paleo, Atkins, Weight Watchers - and compare them all. The FDA issues the nutrition pyramid which is now a plate. But does anyone stop and look at the eating habits we have developed and why we have them?

We live in a world full of light this and fat free that and a widening population. Why?

I used to work with a woman who was a fairly healthy eater at work. She did not snack, she didn't go out for donuts. But she was quite large. I never really figured out why.

Then I went on a business trip with her and  she insisted we stop at the grocery store on the way to the hotel so she could get some stuff for her room. I was happy to go and get some seltzer (my secret addiction). She bought a couple boxes of crackers and cookies - for a three day business conference. I think she went out and made another grocery run later on. I think she was an evening snacker - hence her hefty weight.

So why does a normal, bright, well educated person, sit and eat for hours at night by themselves? That is the question to answer.

If you watch the greater loser shows, people talk about their bad eating habits and are taught how to eat healthy -  no soda, no drive through, healthy snacking. They also get exercise and lose weight. But they change their eating habits. Maybe they eat more salads and fewer french fries but often these shows are accompanied by tears and emotional breakthroughs as well.

I know my weight stems from three issues I have.

1. At my job, there are more snacks than any place I have ever worked and the kitchen is right next to my office.
2. I snack after dinner which I shouldn't do. (Why did I eat that granola bar after dinner last night? I didn't have dessert is my justification and I wanted something crunchy. But I didn't need it.)
3. Sometimes I eat when I am not hungry because I am bored, stressed or in pain.

So if I can get rid of those habits, I can lose weight. I have been working on them, my weight is going in the right direction. The funny thing is I am still eating desserts sometimes and normal food. I didn't switch what I eat. I switched when I eat. My goal is to modify my eating habits so I can get to and maintain a healthy weight but still enjoy eating. I will no live on lite versions of crappy prepared food.

Maybe that's what researchers need to figure out so other people can more easily lose weight.

The Battle of The Bulge in History

I never know where I am going to end up on the internet these days. Its really amazing - even without the cat here to help - he is very helpful in websurfing.

Yesterday I found the historical battle of the bulge or "A Slim History of Dieting" on Ancestry.com (see you never know where I will end up).

Its pretty funny. I can tell you that we are much safer these days in our dieting techniques. Previous diet tips have included that fat people should move to swampy areas or "daily cold baths, lots of exercise, chastity, temperance, and hard mattresses".

Personally, I would prefer watching what I eat vs. daily cold baths and living in a swampy area.

What to eat

I am confused. In an age where the latest trend is to eat healthier food, buy local, and all that, I really do try.

My first motivator is the Mediterranean diet because it is supposed to be healthy and because I like the food. This means eating plant based food like grains, fruits and vegetables, less butter and more olive oil, less red meat and more fish and poultry. I can do this. Except my husband likes steak so when we eat red meat, I have gotten us smaller portions. This works pretty well for us.

Then there is the fibromyalgia diet which is lots of plant based food and lean protein which sounds pretty similar so that should work as well.

But then there is the arthritis diet which says lots of beans particularly ones with antioxidants like red beans, small red kidney beans, and pinto beans as well as black  beans and garbanzos. It also says to avoid the nightshade family to reduce inflammation. Night shade vegetables are tomatoes, eggplant, red bell peppers and potatoes. Some studies have shown them to contribute to increased pain in arthritis patients but this is not yet confirmed.

What is very common in the Mediterranean diet? Tomatoes, egg plant, red bell peppers and potatoes. This clearly leads to a conflict.

Also, there is the breast cancer - soy link. I hate tofu so I opt to skip it. I also avoid soy supplemented food and edamame because every time I turn around, the proverbial them change their mind if it is okay for breast cancer people to eat or not.

So if I take all this advice and summarize it. More chicken and fish, more beans and hummus. Less red peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and potatoes which could lead to a boring Mediterranean diet. Skip the tofu as well.

We need to make a switch

I think we, as in my husband and I, should officially switch to the Mediterranean diet. There is more research (because the researchers need to keep busy) showing the benefits of it.

Good things in the Mediterranean diet are olive oil, tree nuts and peanuts, fresh fruits, vegetables, fatty fish and seafood, legumes, white meat, and wine with meals. This to avoid are soda, commercial bakery goods, sweets and pastries, spread fats, and red and processed meats.

Therein lies the problem. My husband is Mr. Steak and Potatoes.He would happily eat beef every night. I will have to work on this. And the other problem is I'm supposed to avoid alcohol due to my medications. So I wonder does it work if you don't drink?

Anyway, we should be healthier. I hope. And deflabbed. (That's my word for it.) Well its better than the grapefruit diet.

Dash - blah, blah, blah

Blah, blah, blah. Dash. Again. do you know what Dash is? Its that boring diet that won again as the best overall diet. Its called Dash or - Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension. It was developed by the NIH. It also helps reduce cholesterol and the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and kidney stones. Blah, blah, blah.

It focuses on limiting your sodium intake as well as the usual balanced plate of grains and fruit and vegetables. So hide the salt shaker and you will do fine. (I like the picture on CNN.com which shows a salad full of olives.)

The thought of it makes my skin crawl. It was introduced to me by a doctor who told me the high blood pressure issues I was experiencing a couple of years ago was completely my fault due to poor eating habits and didn't listen to me at all. I will probably never go on the Dash diet but I don't really use a lot of salt in my food and I eat lots of fruits, vegetables, and grains.

See what a poor bedside manner can do to a patient?

And the best commercial, easiest to follow and all that diet is Weight Watchers, which I sort of live by anyway. You can see more at US News & World Report.

Diet, schmiet. I'm trying. The scale is slowly going in the right direction which is a good thing. We finally are almost rid of all the junk food/candy which accumulated since Halloween - a continuous influx of junk. Now we can go back to eating healthy. And I'll skip the Dash.

I chickened out

I didn't go bathing suit shopping. It quickly lost its appeal. I may go this week but I lost my motivation. I did productive things at home instead. I worked and got caught up on the DVR.

Maybe its time to return to plan A which is lose 20 lbs and then buy lots of new clothes. In order for that to work, I need to curtain my intake of flab producing calories. That would be a diet. I hate dieting. Dieting means you don't get to eat yummy things and the weight comes back when you stop dieting and return to normal eating patterns.

The way I see it is to change eating habits on a semi permanent basis. This would require examination of my current eating habits and decoding what is wrong with them. I do eat lots of healthy things but evidently I eat some less than healthy things as well. The things to get rid of will include chocolate and things from the snack box at work, the corn chips my husband insists on buying, red wine, and ice cream. Damn.

I can't exercise more because my body is ready to protest if I do anything more than 3 or 4 days a week. I have limitations there. Damn. I will have to decode my eating habits. I hate that. But then I can go clothes shopping.