Warning: Weight Graphs, may want to skip if this is not your cup of tea.
Tools and personal belief system I use: I use a Paleo-ish, modified Auto-Immune Protocol, with a removal of binge foods for long term food sobriety. I believe I'm a food addict in recovery. I deserve to use weight management tools, as needed along the way. I do not feel like myself when I have obesity, and I feel like the person who I was meant to be in body and mind when I don't have obesity.
Step 0: Read this article first
Weight re-gain- when to panic : Article from Barbara Berkeley, MD.
http://www.refusetoregain.com/2011/04/pivot-corkscrew-ascent-when-to-panic.html
Step 1: What works for me:
My favorite quote from the article:" Your body is a balancer, not a static instrument"
1.a My own example: Pivot = normal variations
1.b I don't panic over pivots, they are cool and welcomed, my new normal. No action required.
1.c. I do take actions over trends or pivots or ascents over several weeks or months
1.d. Less panic, more actions and experiments. Good root causes
1.e A good dose of Self-efficacy is required.
1.f Understanding triggers in my binge brain is REQUIRED as part of this effort. Opting out of the SAD!
1.g I have to manage magic thinking, slippery slope thinking, and get support, too.
1.h It's not just about the food, but for me it starts with food!
My own example:
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| Weight Pivoting in long term maintenance- totally normal, Love it! |
Step 2: What doesn't work for me, what hasn't worked for me in the past:
2.a Scale avoidance in "Hopes, wishes and magic thinking" I can not look and get back to maintaining or my maintenance range.
2.b Panic instead of action. It's called weight management because it takes action.
2.c Trying to "Count WW points harder, while moderating binge foods"
2.d Panic, self hate
2.e I thought others had the answer and I was less than because people could moderate junk food
2.f I did not understand the brain chemistry involved in trigger foods. I OPTED into the SAD.
2.g I did not realize that other people abstained from sugars and grains and did well.
2.h I didn't realize how much the processed food really effected by well being.
I found my old weight graphs at Livestrong
Here's an example of both corksrew AND rapid ascent in weight gain: 2008-2011 I was headed for health problems.
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| Example of weight gain: corkscrew AND rapid ascent weight GAIN |
Okay, lets hear it from my readers, do you use weight graphs or clothing or measurements or just "how you feel" to reverse gains? Any personal stories to share after reading the article?
Throwing out all my Standard American Diet food has been life changing. Here's to Pivoting into what you need to do. Weight Management requires life long actions- in my opinion.
Thanks for the reference to the Dr. Berkeley's article. I absolutely must get on the scale every day. The only time I miss is if I am on vacation. I used to weigh in the morning and then in the evening before dinner, but that freaked me out too much because of the pound(s) gained. I also go by the fit of my clothes. Because I am short (and though not as small as you), I think I am leaner now, and even two pounds when they are a legitimate ascent can make my clothes feel tight. I don't worry too much about two pounds around my period. But... After Christmas I had snacked a bit too much (I never went wild), and I noticed the consistent rise of two pounds--and my clothes fit tighter. I am maintaining my lowest weight in 20 years and have been since summer though I would still like to lose maybe five to ten pounds. Right now I am comfortable with a two pound margin. Once I get more weight off, I can widen that margin by three pounds. But more than that is way too slippery a slope for me, and it is tremendously difficult to lose even two pounds so I wont risk giving myself too much leeway.
ReplyDeleteI notice several maintainers are more comfortable giving themselves a ten pound margin. Or I notice people gain ten pounds in blog world. Maintenance is very hard, and I really hope that doesn't happen to me. Losing ten pounds would take an enormous effort (heck, I am trying to lose even five now and that is hard) so I couldn't imagine giving myself that kind of leeway.
Ali, yes! I hear what you are saying- 2 to 3 pounds for me.. that's it. Just not comfortable higher in the sorter height 5'1" range. I think genetics and brain chemistry set the margins for a lot of people. The larger the loss, maybe the taller the person, the more variability. Even a short person who has lost a lot of weight may vary widely around a 10 pound range-IMO.
ReplyDeleteI had a shift up in weight in Sept 2013- just after a horribly stressful event (multiple deaths and illnesses- friends/family, , etc) . I thougt the shift was stress based (cortisol , sleep) until I found out I had two undiagnosed cavities for 1.25 years, and some gum inflammation, too. Once I dealt with the ROOT (pun!) of the problem and the inflammation went away, then my weight shifted 1-2 pounds lower. All within the normal pivoting.
When I was losing weight in late 2011, I took note how absolutely slooooooow my loss was in the last 5 pounds. Ugh! So I picked a natural plateau and that has helped. I also noticed when I don't record my food, I have a corkscrew type pattern over time. Once I track at MFP, then I can reverse trends. I NEVER tell myself - what the heck, I can lose the weight after vacation. Slippery slope indeed.
Finally, If my thyroid meds ever need adjusting, I will gain weight. And I've been told at some point, I will need more meds as I age. So, I decided that I would give myself a 10-15 pound variance for when the time comes. As long as I'm not binge eating, then I should be able to get the meds adjusted and see the weight come back off. ( goes for other medical problems I'll face in the future too.). Thank you for sharing your experiences.
Thanks for bringing this article to my attention! I've been "pivoting" for the last year or so, I'm worried this is the first time I'm "corkscrewing" upward (I'll find out in the next week if I'm pregnant, if not, I got to take a closer look at my diet!). Good, rational article to avoid panic over unnecessary things
ReplyDeleteThank you for inspiring me to go back to that older article from Refuse to Regain. No panic!!! Just non judgement, effective solutions. Sometimes, I felt as if I were guessing at the next steps. Statistically, I'm bound to guess wrong, but just keep going.
DeleteI developed weird inflammatory type things like a strange ganglion cyst on my wrist that had never been their before, strange soapy taste in my mouth. Good luck with everything. So excited that you changed your diet before starting a family. Your health (C's, too) will determine your kids and grand-kids genetic phenotypes- so kudos!
I enjoyed the Refuse to Regain article; it's not one I've seen before. I'm working very hard on my food conversion and am determined to see it happen!
ReplyDeleteMickie, thank you. And I'm cheering you on over at MFP. :)
DeleteI used to use graphs and recording weekly then monthly. Now I just weight every day when I can and use my clothing as my guide. If it fits well all is good, if it gets tight (like now) then I need to make changes.
ReplyDeleteLynda, I think that's a great way to do it. My binge brain steps in and tells me stuff I should not be doing Like- "oh you've lost it all before, it's easy, I'm on vacation, I earned this... sigh...
DeleteGlad you've got a system in place and thanks for the shout out!.
I keep track of my weight and if it starts climbing over the two pound wiggle room I need to take action. I can't just use my clothes as a gauge, because I can gain 5 or 10 pounds before my clothes start to feel tight on me.
ReplyDeleteRunning Stitches, I am the same way.. I could probably go 10-15 pounds of gain in many of my pants! Sigh... reversing the very small trends has saved me time. It might take a month or two losing a pound or two of true gain, then 1-2 months of stabilizing. Very small but reversing 5, 10, 20... hard stuff. And sloooooow. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteSuch a great post, Karen, and so timely for me. I'm in the middle of a corkscrew and am starting to unwind some of the hold habits that crept into my life with a return to good, whole foods that make me feel good. Thanks for posting Dr. Berkeley's article. It was great!
ReplyDeleteGlad you are looking at your habits, Happyinca. Here's to whole, real foods. And feeling great is awesome, too.
Delete"Throwing out all my Standard American Diet food has been life changing" ....... it certainly has and we've all enjoyed your journey and still enjoy following you.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Jan, thank you! Not brining the SAD with me has been the best thing ever!!! :)
DeleteHi Karen, Yes, that's one of my favorite posts from Refuse to Regain because it explains it better than anyone else has. As always, I appreciate your objective scientific approach to weight -- because losing weight and keeping it off is a scientific process. If everyone quit eating according to emotion and listened to what you were saying.... :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Marion, "because, losing weight and keeping it off is a scientific process". Yes, indeed. It is more biologically based than I ever thought. Once I got ahold of my 23nme DNA results, WOW. I've got the genetics. So I've got to make double sure that the food I put in my mouth supports my personal biochemistry.
DeleteI do a lot of work with mediation while I photograph, stress relief, working on better sleep- I know others are all woo-woo and it works. I'm a lab geek. Great data tools- If I can put a value to it, even happiness score, then I can improve it.
Thanks for stopping by... I'll be by your blog soon..:)