YOU on a Diet - Chapter 10

[Guest guest]

The Right Route Descending into the valley can make the trip up to the promised land daunting. Dieting smartly will build you the bridge you need to transition to your playing weight. YOU TIPS!

Adopt the YOU-Turn Mantra. If you've ever ridden in a car with a GPS satellite navigation system, you know how it works. Plug in your destination, and the system-using satellites to plot your current and final points-tells you exactly what to do when. Turn left after 400 feet. Stay Straight. Get in right lane. But let's say you make a mistake and miss a turn or turn onto the wrong street. The GPS doesn't berate you, doesn't scold you, doesn't tell you that you might as well drive off a cliff, since you made a mistake and missed First Avenue. Instead, all it says, very politely, is this: "At the next available moment, make an authorized U-turn." YOU-reka! The GPS recognizes the mistake matter-of-factly and simply guides you back onto the right road. The GPS allows for mistakes and tries to help you correct them. That's the

kind of mentality we want you to have. You're going to make wrong turns. You're going to turn left at the hot dogs, make a right at the blueberry pie, and occasionally merge onto the interstate of banana-nut pancakes with a side order of sausage patties. Does that mean you should steer off the dietary cliff and fall into the fatty crevasse of destructive eating? Of course not. What it means is that you need to pay closer attention to the road signs and the instructions about how to make it to your final destination. It also means that you can't beat yourself up with a basket of croissants every time you lick a little whipped cream off your finger. So what you're going to do-right now-is acknowledge that you will face obstacles. And instead of falling into the avoidant and defeatist mentality by drop-kicking healthy eating the moment you make one bad choice, you will confront it. How? By repeating the YOU Diet

Mantra: "At the next available moment, make an authorized YOU-Turn." "At the next available moment, make an authorized YOU-Turn." "At the next available moment, make an authorized YOU-Turn." Get back on the right road. What kills any regimen of healthy eating isn't the occasional dessert or slice of pizza; it's the cascade of behavior that happens after the initial indulgence. Use this mantra to steer yourself back-to understand that you can make mistakes but that you can correct and overcome them with some nonjudgmental coaxing. Why does it work? It gives you a mental crutch to carry when you're faced with difficult eating situations. It reminds you to be confident, to be positive, to know that the harm isn't in the first mistake, it's in not figuring out how to deal with it.It reinforces the grand scheme of this

whole plan-the reason why you're trying to manage your waist. The long-term benefits to your health far outweigh what you're giving up in your Pyrex dish. Know Your Fighting Weight. In all likelihood, the most common way you've measured your so-called dietary success or failure is by pounds lost. If you've lost down to your target weight, then you've won. If not, you've lost. But the reality is that over the long term, all of us will intermittently gain and lose small amounts of weight, even when we're trying to lose it. For one, our water weight often fluctuates depending on what we're eating. The reason why so many low-carb dieters lose weight fast is because the lack of carbohydrates causes them to lose glycogen stores from their muscles, and with this loss of glycogen comes a loss of a lot of water; as soon as the reinstate the carbs, the glycogen comes back to the muscles and attracts the

water. That adds the pounds right back. So the first five to eleven pounds of weight loss on a low-carb diet is the fake loss due to a temporary loss of water. Instead of tracking your weight by a single goal weight of, say, 145 pounds, what you're going to do is pick your weight class. You're going to pick a range of weight that's comfortable for you-say 142 to 148 pounds (or 31 inches to 33 inches of waist size). When you divulge your weight to someone (not that anyone will be asking), it should never be in one number; you need to think of your weight as an ideal range. For one thing, this allows for the natural fluctuations that occurs. For another, it also does something even more crucial to your psychological success: It stops you from focusing on some arbitrary number that promotes the idea of all-or-nothing success or failure. And it puts your mind in the right programming mode-to remind

yourself that your body is supposed to change. Stay Accountable. You can use your weight range to tell when you're pushing the upper boundaries of your ideal weight/waist with periodic checks using a measurement too-be it a tape measure around your waist, a scale, or, hey, how about a plastic waistband that you keep around your waist to alert you when you're getting too big, like a large version of one of those Lance bracelets/ Whatever your accountability tool, we suggest checking it every Saturday around midday to keep yourself honest with your weight and waist class. Think of your body as a rubber band. Stretch it a little, and it can certainly snap back into shape. But once you stretch it too much, it's going to lose its shape and make it more difficult-if not impossible-to return to the original size. Plan to Fail-and Develop Contingency Plans for When

You Do. We keep tires in our trunks in case one goes flat. We keep candles in our drawers in case the power goes out. We keep backups of files in case our computers crash. (and some of us wish we backed them up more often.) And that's good; contingency plans give you the mental assurance that you'll be able to adapt to unexpected crises. But the one area where we don't make backup plans is in our diets. We eat broccoli, fish, and fruit for three days, then splurge on a double-fat burger with supersize fries on the fourth. For so many of us, that's grounds for euthanizing the diet right away-putting us right back in touch without three favorite food groups of chocolate, chips, and chocolate chips. Instead, start carrying a dietary contingency plan-a diet emergency pack for those times when you may experience a crash-causing blowout in one of your meals. Follow this three-step

contingency plan to help you cope with occasional mishaps and potential catastrophes. Exercise it the moment you feel you're deviating from your waist management plan: Mental: Say the YOU-Turn mantra ten times. Let the mantra remind you that it's OK to stray occasionally, that you can take control of the situation and steer yourself back, and that the positive reinforcement and confidence that come with overcoming challenges will give you the mental strength of a tank. Plus, the relaxing aspect of it will help influence your serotonin levels in your favor. And it will help distract you, which is what you need when you're beelining toward the bonbons. Physical: Do a yoga pose or try the hippie stretch (see the YOU Workout). We suggest the downward dog pose (see below), balancing your weight on your hands and feet with your butt hiked toward the ceiling in an inverted V.

Not only will it help you refocus, give you a few moments to take deep breaths, and remind you of your goals, but it will also work because it's sort of difficult to eat when you're upside down. Nutritional: Keep in your fridge a container of baby carrots, celery, or any crisp vegetable of your choice, or a favorite apple type (yes, types matter to our individual tastes choices). Carrots and apples are perfect antistress foods because, one, they have just a tinge of sweetness to satisfy that craving, and, two, they give you something to crunch into at times when you really want to sink your teeth into your boss's neck. This will become your turn-to-food- that is, the food you turn to when you feel angry, frustrated, mad, sad, or upset-as well as the one that will help you feel better about the nutritional mistakes you may have just made. Many of us take the me natal approach that the only way to "do a diet" is to do

it perfectly. But that's a setup for failure and shame, because it never works. Success comes with persistence- persistence to overcome challenges, persistence to see the big picture, persistence to work hard enough in the beginning of the plan so that good habits come automatic. Make It Automatic: Think of your waist management plan a little like the way you drive to work. Maybe the first day on a new2w job in a new city, you took the highway. But then you found out it was More clogged than Rapunzel's shower drain. So you experimented with a few back roads, shortcuts, and bypasses until you found the very best way to get to work. Now you don't need a map; you do it automatically, and you don't spend a single nanosecond worrying about what turn you take. It's automatic-just the way your approach to eating should be. When you're starting out on this plan, you'll experiment

with different routes, get stuck in a few traffic jams, maybe even get a little lost along the way. But if you stick with it and find the right course, you'll automate your habits, regulate your chemicals, and make eating the easiest trip you've ever made. How do we make it automatic? By using the tools that we've outlined in the book. (For those of you who've skipped ahead, the major ones are listed here.) The 99-Second Edition In the dietary gates and can't wait to start the race? Then skim through this cheat sheet of the YOU strategies-big and small-that you'll adopt and automate as your new eating,

activity, emotional, and behavioral plan. It's the path to your new life. And your new body. The Major YOU Principles YOU Need to... Choose elegance over force. Dietary battles are won not when you work hard, but when you work smart. Make your eating plan automatic. Train yourself over fourteen days to make appropriate choices, and you'll reprogram your body so that you never have to sweat over what you're eating again. Remember that waist is more important than weight. Belly fat is one of the strongest predictors of health risks associated with obesity. Ditch the scale in favor of the tape measure. Know your body. Understand the beauty of your internal organs to appreciate what you can do to influence them. Stay satisfied. To lose weight, you need to eat. Add support. Enlist a friend, family member, or new cyber buddy as your partner. Know that it's OK to make mistakes. As long as you quickly get back on the right road, you won't travel too far down the wrong one. Eating Strategies for YOU To help make eating automatic, pick at least one meal a day to alter and have the same foods every day for all other meals. Eat throughout

the day so that you're constantly satisfied. The less you eat, the more likely you are to sink into starvation mode and make your body want to store fat. Inspect food labels. Limit saturated fats to less than 4 grams per serving, and avoid all trans fats. Don't by foods where high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), or another simple sugar, is more than 4 grams per serving, or one of the first five ingredients. You're avoiding simple sugars in foods not just because of the calories but because they induce highs and lows in blood sugar that put you into a cycle of craving more high-calorie foods. Eat foods with fiver, healthy fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) , whole-grain carbohydrates, and protein, as well as fruits and vegetables. Eat a little healthy fat before your meal (like one handful of nuts) to allow the satiety signal to go from your brain to your stomach, so you don't overeat during your meal. Eat fiber in the

morning to help control afternoon cravings. Eat anti-inflammatory foods to help counteract the effects of obesity. Anti-inflammatory foods include green tea, omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish and walnuts), coffee, vegetables, and fruit. Drink a glass or two of water before you eat. Your perception of hunger signals may actually be thirst signals. Keep on hand emergency foods and items that can help you kill cravings, like V8, carrot sticks, an apple, or even Listerine breath strips. Keep a log of how hungry you are on a scale of one to seven (one being famished, seven being gorged). Try to stay in the three to four range at all times by eating moderate amounts of food throughout the day. Two spices have been shown to aid in waist management: red pepper and cinnamon. Realize that it's OK to make mistakes. The key is getting back on the right road, not beating yourself up over them. Use YOU-Turns to

right yourself as soon as possible. Use nine-inch plates for meals. Smaller dinner plates equal smaller portions. Activity Strategies for YOU Walk thirty minutes a day ever day. No excuses. Then call your support partner after you do it. Start strength training program focusing on core muscle (legs, abdominal, and upper body) in form of twenty minutes two or three days a week. Stretch every day after physical activity to keep your muscles loose and pliable, to help you prevent injury. Do this exercise any time you want: Suck in you belly button and squeeze your butt As if you're pulling up tight jeans. It helps with posture and strengthens your abdominal. Get up and go. Anytime you can move at work or at home,do it. Who Would Thunk It Strategies for YOU Get seven to eight hours of sleep a night. Lack of

sleep promotes hedonistic eating as you search for something to boost chemicals in your brain. Your brain needs sleep to regenerate these chemicals, and sugary foods help release the diminished supply of chemicals you have, to make up for the lack of sleep. Play video games. Keeping your hands full keeps them off the coconut muffins. Have healthy, safe, monogamous sex. Satisfying one appetite center of your brain can help satisfy another. Measurement Strategies for YOU Measure your waist. Ideal is 32 1/2 inches or less for women, and 35 inches or less for men. Ask your family what your parents and grandparents looked like when they were eighteen, to give you a sense of what your ideal body should look like. Get tested: Blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and C-reactive protein (a marker of inflammation) , and certain hormone levels, depending on your weight

situation. Medicine Cabinet Strategies for YOU Take two aspirin (162 milligrams) every day to decrease arterial inflammation and health risks associated with obesity. Consult your doctor first. See your doctor about prescription drugs associated with weight loss if you hit a waist plateau on the plan (see appendix). The following supplements have been shown to have effectiveness in some aspect of waist management: chromium picolinate, grapefruit oil, Garcinia, Hoodia, 5-HTP, L-carnitine, coenzyme Q10, turmeric, jojoba beans, simmondsin. consult your doctor about which ones may be appropriate for you.

[Guest guest]

from Michigan wrote:

>it will also work because it's sort of difficult to eat

> when you're upside down.

heh heh.... i really like these dr guys... not only do they give

great info, they have such a cute sense of humour.

this book is looking better and better to me, especially after

reading the excerpts that jen has posted. i do think that i will

get it after xmas (with $ that i might get for a xmas gift).

> * Keep on hand emergency foods and items that can help you kill

> cravings, like V8, carrot sticks, an apple, or even Listerine

> breath strips.

i think that i should get some of those breath strips !! thats a

good idea.

> * Two spices have been shown to aid in waist management: red pepper

> and cinnamon.

because of these guys, ive started putting cinnamon on my kashi go

lean... tastes great!

> * Use nine-inch plates for meals. Smaller dinner plates equal

> smaller portions.

::nodding:: yes, i really need to do this regularly.

> * Measure your waist. Ideal is 32 1/2 inches or less for women, and

> 35 inches or less for men.

when dr oz was on oprah last, i realized that this measurement is

done at the belly button and while we are sucking in our guts as

hard as we can.

:*carolyn.