Behavior change, with the ALL the data, wasn't that effective for me either.
Telling a person they're at high disease risk doesn't seem to change behavior much. Hard to change behavior.https://t.co/Lz75qSn251— Stephan Guyenet, PhD (@whsource) September 30, 2017
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| May 2010, yes I binge ate that frosting!! |
- I had to feel poorly
- I knew that I was going to age poorly late 40's, early 50's
- I had to see someone close to me pass way too soon
- I had to see my HA1c reach 5.7%
- I had to get a lot of aches and pains and lose my ability to do my favorite things
AND STILL, the addictive nature of sugar and grains kept me hooked from January to April 2011, I was in a contemplative state.
For me personally, a perfect storm while WITHIN a completive state.
What worked:
I knew all about type 2 diabetes from working with a diabetes clinic in large, urban, medical center. It took me BOTH feeling bad with T2D blood work AND having someone close to my age drop dead from Type 1 diabetes complications.
Wanting to paddle a kayak and hike a long time and knowing that I could have it, only if I addressed my root causes. So yeah, abstaining from binge inducing foods for the win! I had to want something bigger than getting "food high" from sugar.
Paleo, LCHF, and Keto (via intermittent fasting) all helped, too. Better hormone signaling. Few binge urges. Excellent mobility, strength. A lot less pain and no migraines.
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| June 2016, long term weight maintenance |
What didn't work
1. In effective ways that didn't address food addiction at the root cause. So intuitive eating, WW meetings preaching moderation. (except the ones lead by my leader who talked frequently about "red light food avoidance") I lost weight, but didn't stop binge eating and couldn't keep the weight off.
Take away message: next time you are ready to change, grab some Gretchen Rubin books, study habit change, and get ready to be honest and do a lot of hard work. It was so worth it. But don't take my word, do the work work. I found it did pay off, in the long run.
Be honest, don't stay stuck in the same diet group circles if your current food plan or food environment, or family group is not the right environment for your change. Onward. Echo chambers feel good, but may not be effective.
I love this entire post, Karen! All of it. You are blunt without being touchy feely about how to change. That's another reason what you do and write resonates with me. You tell the truth, and you walk the walk. I so agree that it takes a lot to change our behaviors. I have some friends who eat poorly, and I make it known to them that is not how I want to live. I also know people (one in particular) who takes medication for type II diabetes and claims she can't lose weight. But then I see her eat bagels, bread, and all the junk. She thinks I'm silly for giving up food groups, but I don't want to go down the diabetes road if I can help it.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for another great post.
Thanks, Ali. Sometimes I think it takes a certain level of physical and mental pain for someone to reach their breaking point. I do think that at a subconscious level people see and hear that message, most people. Or not. I know for a long time, getting high off bagels, bread and junk was wheeeeee fun. Until it wasn't and it was getting painful.
ReplyDeleteI think those who think it is "silly" not to be proactive (and high inflammation is very far from silly) will eventually change out of necessity. Or not. It will be interesting.
It's hard to watch. It really is. And so, so expensive. We all pay big time. I've never paid such high insurance, and I'm well and have "good" insurance. I guess that's why reversible diseases are part of the global obesity pandemic. Sigh. Glad there are starting to be more folks speaking up about removing food groups. :) Thanks for stopping by the blog.
Sometimes I'd like to be really freaking blunt, but I know that it creates another wall. It won't help. Almost all folks saying they almost never eat bread or grains are almost always eating it and pretending. Do it or don't. But pretending is a weird state. Pretending takes the effort and that could be put into something else.
People who have really cut grain out and put life into living (LIL) a few times a year say "I eat bread at communion, at my kids birthday and on Christmas Day. That's it" Talking it and walking it are very, very clear to me. LOL. Or they are completely abstaining. And say so.
Adele Hite said it well in a recent podcast- when she eats out with people and they think she's looking at their plates- it's more important (she cares more about )people knowing why they are eating and the effects on themselves. It really had nothing to do with what she thought you were eating was good or judging the person. My take away was :Did that person she was with understand themselves, the food quality, the nutrients, if it worked for them.
LOL- whole new blog post, right here in the comments. Thanks again for stopping by, Ali
I always enjoy your posts and I can see you've worked hard to maintain. You've done so well and inspire me to keep at my own self improvement. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you Larcana!!! Glad you stopped by the blog. I'm pretty sure I'd be like Jessica Beal (she said this recently in an interview) If it weren't for ________ (she said her hubby and kid) I'd be siting on the floor, in sweats, eating cake pops.
DeleteFor me, If it wasn't for my blog, I'd be sitting on the couch moderating icecream sandwiches and watching The Biggest Loser. Probably true. Keeping my head in the game is key. :)