Sunday, July 15, 2012

Practice- weight maintenance tool



I'm picking a rule, with a sub-rule from Refuse to Regain (by Barbara Berkeley, MD) to write about. My opinions are my own, your experience may vary.  I would highly recommend the book.

Rule 1, step 5- Practice

Practice is a part of becoming a weight maintenance expert. In the book, Dr. Berkeley encourages us to face our eating challenges (parties, conferences, events).

When I first switched from Medifast to primal/Paleo I took a trip to the east coast. Fortunately, there was lots of seafood and healthy choices at all meals, so it was a good time for me to practice.  Plane trips,  car trips, long errands, parties, pot lucks, conferences, etc are all do-able now. Practicing the first year, and staying primal/paleo is a great way to get the whole meal template down pat. A lot of work and some planning, always worth it.

What is working for me

  1. Events  or meetings at restaurants- surf the web and check the menu for gluten free items. Seafood or grilled chicken are always good choices with a salad or steamed veggies.
  2. Parties- ask the hosts what is being served and bring something to share.
  3. Parties- where there are no good choices, eat before I go and drink coffee and chat
  4. Conferences- I can usually navigate most choices, but I always have a back up protein bar if not for the main meal. Coffee to end the meal is always nice.
  5. Travel- I practice asking about gluten/sugar, etc and how things are made or I bring a small cooler. I stop at local groceries and markets when I find them. Stopping for Starbucks as needed, for coffee or unsweetened ice tea only. If there is a local specialty that fits my food template, then I will have it. If not, I'm sure it was fabulous, but not for me.
What did not work in the past

  1. Eating from the low fat or low calorie menu and finding out later those foods were full of sodium and much more calories than stated.
  2. Parties- cooking up something special and calorie laden for a "special treat" for all.
  3. Parties- eating a little bit of everything because it was there and it fit on my plate. ( I learned that from Weight Watchers- unfortunately, for me = total FAIL. :0 )
  4. Conferences- eating whatever was there and the dessert, too! free food!
  5. Travel- eating at fast food (it is easy and we are in the middle of the desert), eating some biscotti with my coffee ( I'm on vacation, I will treat myself to biscotti!) Trying all the sweet local specialties. (fudge? pralines? salt water taffy? frozen custard?) Buy some to bring back to work and eat it then, too! 
If you have any other examples of practicing eating your food plan/template, feel free to comment. 

3 comments:

  1. As I always tell you, I LOVE your what works for me/what didn't work for me lists.

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  2. Hi Karen! I love this! And thanks so much for your comment on my blog. Congrats to you for a big loss and keeping it off. I'm so glad to meet you and I've been thinking primal/paleo is what I will do on maintenance.

    What works for you sounds exactly how I intend to deal with food from now on. Planning is key, for sure. I never let myself leave the house without a bar or some other protein food, just in case :)

    We had a little office party for some employees that were retiring, and of course there was cake. Still in the losing phase, I didn't want to offend the cake-baker, so I asked for a tiny piece. I took a bite and sipped water and chatted. When no one was watching, I dumped my plate in the trash. No harm to me, but I still didn't like that I felt obligated to eat it. That is something I need to work on.

    Gosh, long comment :)
    Tena

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  3. Practice is so important in weight maintenance as is understanding what does and does not work for you. I find that being "in the moment" is really important when I am at social situations so I do not forget about all the lessons I've learned along the way.

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