How to achieve moderation in Diet

jessie70

I have a weight problem and I'm currently about 30-40lbs overweight. The doctor told me I must lose weight, especially since heart disease runs in my family and I have thyroid problems, etc. Furthermore, have more energy and am generally happier at healthier weight range.

I have read Buddhist books on dieting. "Savor", by TNH, "Mindful Eating", etc. And have also read "Healthy at Every Size." (which is about being healthy, but accepting your size and not dieting). I enjoyed these books, and read them several months ago... I have tried to practice a more mindful way of eating, but without the structure of a diet it has not helped me lose weight at all. I'm afraid I really need to diet to lose the extra pounds... even if there is a good chance the weight will come back. In fact I doubt if I lose weight again that I will maintain it. I have been a yo-yo dieter my whole life.

In order to overcome my incredibly strong urges to eat for comfort/anxiety, I usually go on a pretty strict all-or-nothing diet to lose. That is why I yo-you: it's not maintainable. But I am unable to lose weight using a more "moderation-based" dieting model. Part of me wants to learn a new way to strike a balance, but part of me just wants to be thin again... I find I am treated so MUCH better by other people when I am not overweight. I feel more confident... even if this is wrong, and false, the allure of being thin again is irresistible. I might even view this yo-yo-ing now as a form of Samsara... but I am unable to conquer it mentally, and give in to it... watch myself lose and eventually gain without attachment, somehow...?

I am really only looking for input from those who struggle a lifelong weight issue. I feel it may be possible that our body-chemistries are different. I am looking for THOUGHTS that help control behaviors. THOUGHTS that inspire loss, how one functions when they feel somewhat doomed to wash, rinse and repeat their whole lives away....

karasti

I know this is not what you have asked for, but have you considered that it might be WHAT you are eating, and not how much? Some people's bodies react very differently to different foods and eliminating them (especially foods that cause inflammation with your risk factors) might help you quite a bit. Wheat is the #1 offender, with dairy in there too. I am wheat sensitive. I do not have celiac disease, but my body reactions badly to wheat and when I eliminated it from my diet, I lost 34 pounds within a matter of months, and it hasn't come back, even without reducing actual calories or increasing exercise. Not saying it's the answer for you, but it's something to look into.

I wish you the best of luck in your journey, whichever way you go. Regardless of whether you choose to lose weight, accepting and loving yourself for who you are is what ultimately matters. I can't say I struggled with my weight all my life, but after having 3 children (starting in 1996) and some other factors, I was about 50 pounds over weight and I struggled a lot in figuring out how to lose it. I tried exercise, all sorts of dietary changes and calorie adjustments, and it never worked. For me, wheat was the problem.

I do know my thoughts play a role, but I'll have to think on how really to put them into words. I brought my mindfulness practice not only into my eating, but into my meal planning and shopping. I think about how the food I'm holding looks, and feel, and what I know the pros and cons of that food to be. It takes me a long time to shop, lol. I also cook, and clean up, with a lot of mindfulness. Throughout the day, I am best as using mindfulness where my eating habits are concerned, and I have found that it helps over the long haul. Not because practicing it makes me lose weight, but because truly paying attention and caring about what I am putting into my body gives me focus to be tender and caring with it (my body) and that it carries over into all areas of my life at this point. I am much more mindful about how much time I spend seated every day, and how I use and move my body in all the actions I perform each day.

You don't have to wash, rinse, and repeat. It just can take a long time to figure out where the drain plug is to let the dirty water go.

JohnG

One of the things is to look at what you are eating and why. Is it because it tastes good? I like the amount on the plate? Or I just like to eat because I'm using it to fill in my hunger? Now, the other thing. What type of excersize are you doing? These are the major things necessary to get healthy.

I was approaching close to 300 lb.s and tried the scripted versions of diet and excercise; then I just went screw this and researched the whole process myself. I learned about diets, food, and excercise (now if only I can learn spelling) and how these worked together. And how these work together is the big success.

Get outside and do some walking, a great way of reducing stress by the way. Go slow and just start walking. Research the combinations of food and how they can be utilized in a real diet. Read the ingrediants of what you're buying, and cut out everything with high fat contents and sodium levels. Zero is good, but that's also dangerous, we need fat and sodium to survive and keep the body working. Raw fruit and vegitiables work well for snacks and in between meals.

Schedual meals and excercise, for example breakfast, is between these times XXXXXX. Granted there will be times when you'll have to do it early and such, but schedual things and keep to it. Take up a hobby that gets you out of the house, and out of the kitchen. With me, I didn't go out and use the idea of loosing weight; I adopted the idea of getting healthy, and if I'm going to have those numbers I'm going to make them good numbers; using the idea that their fat and place muscle in it's place.

Don't go out with the obsession of losing weight. Go out with the obsession of becoming healther, and the numbers will drop without even noticing. Take up the obsession of going further in my walks or bike rides; going further in my health.

Oh, almost forgot, skim the internet for recipies with low fat, low sodium meals, you'll be surprised what's out there; you just might find a way to open up a business here.

FoibleFull

Mindfulness. The ability to observe our desires without being pushed by them, the ability to allow them to be there.
After all, the Buddha promised us that suffering exists. And that includes the "suffering" of now giving in to our desires.
So the next time you have an urge to eat when your body does not need the nutrients, just be mindful. Observe it. Allow it to be there.

This is the benefit of the Five Precepts .. not so much in resisting things, but in observing what happens inside us when we do resist doing things. It really helps to realize that we do not have to "fix" our cravings by giving into them. And that the more we feel we must "fix" them, the more painful they are.
Play around with watching yourself.

fivebells

An alternative to "strict all or nothing" is the Buddhist monastic approach of only eating one meal a day. Eat as much as you want in that meal, just don't eat the rest of the day. It turns out to be a really good way to live, although I can only sustain it for a couple of months at a time because I don't put on much weight.