If you have, you aren’t alone. There are a lot of people who think that the most important aspect of weight loss is reducing calories and you can eat foods like this with abandon and without consequence as long as you are creating a calorie deficit.

Today, I’m doing my monthly post over at Attune foods, and I’d love for you to click over and read whether or not eating real food really matters. (The picture clicks too!)

Comments are closed at Fit to the Finish today, but open at Attune. Please, please come on over and read the article or comment so I can see what you think and catch up with you!! Diane

Photo Credit

Here’s a picture of me on our wedding day all those years ago.

Although we’ve had our shares of normal ups and downs like any married couple, these years of marriage have been a blessing beyond words.

John stuck with me through my years of obesity, when my wedding dress wouldn’t have even come close to fitting, stuck with me when my life was turned upside down by an adoption reunion, and has been there through sad and happy times.

My grandmother proudly told me that she could always fit into her wedding dress, except for her three pregnancies. That always stuck with me, and every year I unpack my dress and try it on. Well, except for the pregnancy years, and those 10 years of obesity.

This year was no exception, and I’m proud to say that the dress still fits. It fits a little differently now because I’ve aged and given birth/nursed seven kids, but it fits nonetheless. I have to admit I felt a little silly letting them take my picture. John wanted me to put on the veil, but I said, “No way.”

Being able to fit into my dress is one of my continuing goals for myself, and I’m not giving it up!

Do you have a favorite dress or outfit you want to be able to fit into for years to come? Diane

She held up a Kit Kat bar, a few cookies, and a brownie. We all laughed nervously, maybe because many of us would have liked to eat one or all of them. I know I did.

The brownie was hard as a rock, the cookies appeared very dry, and the Kit Kat bar was a little bit grey.

She explained that these foods were her challenge foods. She had these foods in her house when she had first begun her quest to lose weight, and did not throw them away. Instead, she decided that she was going to put each of the foods in her refrigerator and see if she could not eat them.

Instead of these tempting foods being a temptation that drove her to eat, she decided to use them as a challenge to her willpower. I remember thinking, “Wow, I could never do that. Those treats would be gone before days end.”

As time went by for her, those foods became a symbol of her good choices, and she had kept them in her refrigerator for over a year.

I find this philosophy interesting, especially in the light of one of the challenges on The Biggest Loser, which is called a temptation challenge. The contestants are faced with tempting foods and they have to decide how to handle it.

The Weight Watchers leader won her temptation challenge every single time she looked in her refrigerator and said “no” to herself. She proved to herself that her desire for those particular foods were not stronger than her commitment to getting to a healthy weight. And she won.

What do you think about this technique? Would you find looking at a tempting food day in and day out a challenge meant to be won, or a frustration that causes you to grab whatever the food is and stuff it in your mouth?

For me, I don’t think I could have survived the challenge in the very beginning of my weight loss journey, but as time went on, I could have let those treats sit in the refrigerator and resisted the urge to eat them. (Of course after a while, they would have been inedible anyway, which is a whole separate issue!)

Do you believe that purposefully challenging yourself is a good strategy? Diane

Image: Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I don’t usually post on Thursdays, but I wanted to let you all know that I’ve made a great friend in Rebecca Regnier, who blogs at “Does This Blog Make Us Look Fat.”

She has an e-book called “Your Twitter Diet” that she is giving away for free today in honor of Groundhog Day.

I met up with Rebecca through a twitter chat that she was hosting, and she and I are working together to get the word out about weight loss and using Twitter. Did I say it was free?

Additionally, for those of you who like to Tweet, I’ll be joining Rebecca at her #twitterdiet chat (she also tweets under @LaughItOff) tonight from 8:30 to about 9:00 p.m. EST.

She’s funny, real, and you can check out her blog or download her book at the above link. It’s available on iTunes, Amazon, in a Kindle format, and a couple of other ways! Go check it out and I hope to see you at the Twitter Chat tonight!

Comments are closed today, but if you missed my post yesterday on Calories Matter More Than What You Eat, check that out too! Just enjoy the book if you so choose!  Diane

There are as many ways to try to lose weight as there are types of flowers – or so it often seems. There’s been the low-carb craze, the high-carb craze, the liquid diets, the cabbage soup diet, and the Beverly Hills diet to name just a few.

Because I’ve been in the weight-loss arena for a lot of years, between my decade of obesity and my almost 14 years of weight maintenance, I’ve seen a lot of diets come and go in popularity. One thing has always remained constant in my mind. It has seemed that no matter what type of diet the person I was speaking with tried, it tended to boil down to caloric intake.

Recently, a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that calories are the final frontier in weight management.

I found this interesting, because it really has been what I privately thought for years. Yes, people lose weight with the South Beach Diet. Yes, they lose weight balancing fat calories. Yes, they lose weight eating a high-carb diet. But the key ingredient seems to be calorie control.

The study found “no differences in weight loss or the reduction of fat between four diets with different proportions of fat, carbohydrates and protein,” according to an article in the Chicago Tribune. Instead it was “diet adherence” that made the difference in whether the participants were successful with losing weight.

Why Does it Matter?

At the end of the day, you’ve got to eat in a way that is sustainable for you, helps you feel good physically, and allows you to lose weight at a reasonable pace. Within those three areas, I think that the sustainability factor is of great importance. Can you sustain the method by which you are losing weight once you reach your goal weight?

If you are eating low-carb, can you transition to maintenance and keep up that lifestyle? If you are following a very low-fat diet like the Ornish Diet, can you keep your fat calories that low for the long-term? Asking yourself these questions is part of learning what weight loss method will work for you.

I can’t tell you the number of people I’ve met who did cut their calories to a weight loss level, but were absolutely unable to sustain their plan long enough to get to their initial goal weight, much less move into weight maintenance. Believe me – it’s a big number.

As you work on losing weight or maintaining your weight, remember that at the end of the day, it’s about calories, sustainability, and being able to stay at a healthy weight once you get there.

Does seeing this study that says the source of the calories doesn’t matter surprise you? What do you think? Diane

Photo FreeDigitalPhotos

When you set out to lose weight  the first time, you may expect to have success. I know I did.

I still remember that first dieting attempt – when I only had 22 pounds to lose. I began the diet enthusiastically, followed the plan fairly well, and lost a few pounds. Honestly, I wasn’t surprised, because I really thought I would lose weight. After all, I was doing what I was instructed to do – even if I didn’t really think about the fact that the changes in my eating habits were going to need to be permanent if I was going to keep the weight off.

I see a lot of people struggle with the weight loss process. Some struggle because they aren’t getting themselves ready for success before they even start.

Are you doing this to yourself?

Here are four pitfalls to avoid, and four strategies for success as you travel your weight loss road.

Four Pitfalls and Strategies for Weight Loss Success

Pitfall Number One:

Expecting to lose weight quickly. It likely did not take you four weeks to gain the weight you are trying to lose, so do not expect the weight to fall off at a steady or quick pace.

Strategy Number One:

George Blackburn, in his book, Break Through Your Set Point, recommends setting an initial weight loss goal of 10 percent of your body weight, then maintaining that weight for a period of time to allow yourself practice at maintaining a lower weight. Then set another reasonable goal and work towards that goal – allowing yourself to maintain for a time before you lose again.

Pitfall Number Two:

Expecting that you really can eat anything you want in moderation – at least at first. Let’s be frank. If you struggle with your weight, you likely struggle with controlling your food intake. Moderation is a learned behavior and in the beginning stages of your journey, you may find it difficult to stop at one cookie or 1 oz. of chips.

Strategy Number Two:

Limit your food choices. We all know how hard it can be to make good choices at a buffet line or social gathering, so limit how many food choices you give yourself during the day. Find your favorite three healthy breakfast foods and vary them during the week. Always have a salad and fruit with lunch and switch out the protein. For dinner, avoid eating out when you can, and cook your own foods.

Pitfall Number Three:

Thinking that exercise doesn’t really matter. I was guilty to this every single time I dieted – until my final and successful attempt. Just losing weight through cutting calories can theoretically work, but why limit yourself to reducing calories when increasing your physical activity is a proven strategy for weight loss success?

Strategy Number Three:

Get active. Start where you are. If you have a lot of weight to lose, taking slow walks will help in ways you cannot imagine. As you weight comes down, increase your intensity, time, and variety of exercises your perform.

Pitfall Number Four:

Burning the candle at both ends. An article on WebMD discusses a study which found that people who sleep less often weigh more.

Strategy Number Four:

Get more sleep. See? That’s a very painless way to set yourself up for success. You will have more energy, your hormones that control your appetite will be positively affected, and you can stop saying, “I’m too tired for exercise.”

How are you doing? Are you setting yourself up for success are is there something that you need to change to help you meet your goals?  Diane

credit: FreeDigitalPhotos

The state of Georgia decided that parents weren’t paying enough attention to the obesity problem plaguing children in their state, so they launched a series of anti-obesity ads called “Stop Sugarcoating” that spelled out provocative and demeaning messages.

Some of the messages in ads are:

“It’s hard to be a little girl when you’re not.” (Meaning it’s hard to be a little kid when you are overweight.)

“Fat prevention begins at home. And the buffet line.”

“Being fat takes the fun out of being a kid.”

The ads featured children and the one interviewed in this article indicates that she is glad that she participated in the ad campaign.

The Quandary

My quandary as I see it is this: Is is okay to target overweight kids by sending such pointed messages that are demeaning? After all, young children don’t take themselves to the buffet line – their parents do. I know that not every child who sees those ads can read, but a lot of them can. My kids, like many others, are very aware of television ads, billboards they read as we drive down the road, and even Internet ads that they see when they surf the web. They would certainly take in messages like the one Georgia has used and likely internalize what they read.

These ads seem to place the problem squarely on the backs of the child which in my opinion, will do nothing except make the child feel bad about himself. Put yourself in the child’s place. Here’s an ad that says, “Being fat takes the fun out of being a child.” What’s the child going to think? “I’m fat. My life isn’t fun. I’m stuck. It’s my fault that people make fun of me.”

The problem of the high rate of obesity in children shouldn’t point back to the child.

Stop the Blame Game

Children don’t go grocery shopping.

Children don’t purchase fast food on their own.

Children under 16 don’t drive themselves to restaurants or convenience stores.

Parents do.

It makes me sad to think of a child reading those ads and feeling worse about themselves than they already do. Kids can be merciless and mean to other kids. In many cases, overweight kids are teased and harassed. I’ve seen it myself and it makes me mad.

Blaming the kids isn’t going to fix the problem of childhood obesity, and it may make it worse. Just like we as adults often turn to food in times of stress, so do kids. The stress they feel over their weight can possibly lead to them trying to fill up the bad feelings with food. Makes you think doesn’t it?

Ideas for a Solution

Instead of blaming kids, or just focusing on weight, what if we were to make an effort to focus on true healthy eating in the home, at restaurants, and in schools. Wouldn’t that send a more positive message than pushing the blame on children and demeaning them?

I don’t see the government being very effective at handling this, so in my opinion, it’s going to have to start with each individual family. Within that family, the parents need to quit making excuses. I have heard many parents say, But my child loves soda and ice cream.” I said right back to them. “Who buys it?” We then had a conversation about stopping the excuses that often come with being a parent.

Sure it’s easier to give in and get the kids what they want, but it’s not always the right thing.

Like I told this mom, “If your child liked marijuana would you get it for him?” She laughed and said, “Of course not.” I said, “Well, giving in to food that is contributing to your child’s weight problem is harmful too.”

I’m of the mindset that kids should be encouraged to do the right thing by giving them positive examples, healthy choices, and encouraging words.

What’s your take on the Georgia campaign? Demeaning or not? Solutions? Diane

Photo Credit

I was remembering back to my 300 pound days. And unfortunately I wasn’t having fond memories of those days, but rather pathetic memories. I was a young woman with young children and my overriding emotion during those 10 years of obesity was tired.

I was always tired. If John were here right now he’d affirm that statement. I always complained about exhaustion and lack of energy – always.

I was too tired to do any of these things:

♦Go shopping

♦Play with the kids

♦Cook dinner

♦Exercise (HA!)

♦Take a trip to the Nature Museum where I had to walk for any length of time.

♦Ride in the car for longer than 30 minutes.

♦Stand up for any length of time (like waiting in lines)

I was pathetic. And as the years went by and I became more and more obese my feelings of tiredness increased rapidly. I could almost feel getting more tired as the days went by. I’d get up as late as I could get away with in the morning, put on my robe, and feed the kids breakfast. Then I might get dressed or I might lounge around in my PJ’s and robe for a while longer.

I’d shuffle from the kitchen back to the couch, sitting down in both locations to rest and eat. When the kids napped after lunch I’d nap too – only I’d nap after finishing off the box of Cheese Nips that I had just opened that morning. When the kids and I awoke I’d be tired again and just sit and watch them play.

Such was my life. I never associated my weight with my energy level. I would have told you that I was just a tired person in general. But I had never been a tired person before I gained over 100 pounds so I don’t know why I should have all of a sudden developed the tiredness syndrome.

The Weight Was the Problem for Me

Of course the weight was 99% of my problem. Yes, I had small children. Yes, they were busy. But the tiredness and lack of energy were primarily due to my weight and not the children. It’s hard to move around 300 pounds. It takes a lot of effort to keep 300 pounds balanced on two legs for any length of time. No wonder I was tired.

Tiredness was an excuse for me to keep sitting in one place. But thankfully, I did get off the couch and try to move my bulk around. And it wasn’t easy.

Those first months of dieting were an eye opening experience. I hadn’t realized or acknowledged how far away from fitness I had gotten. Those first walks I took – now they made me tired! I came home sweaty (Florida), tired, and hot. But I also came home with a glimmer of internal energy that I hadn’t experienced in a long time.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

That internal energy was a little spark telling me that I was moving in the right direction. For once in ten years I was making choices that were positive and helpful rather than negative and hurtful. That little spark stayed lit as long as I kept it moving.

Surprisingly to me, I did keep that internal spark alive and kept fanning the flames until I reached my fitness and weight goals. I am still amazed at how quickly my body changed, and how fast my level of fitness improved. Even when I was still 250 pounds, the amount of energy and “get up and go” I had was a far cry from my energy level at 300 pounds. And the energy level increased the more weight I lost and the more fit I became. It was like a miracle.

I hope that if you relate to my life before I lost the weight you are on your own path to finding that internal spark. It’s there in all of us, and will extinguish that “I’m Tired” excuse.

How did you find that internal motivation to improve you energy level and get healthier?  Diane

Photo Credit

As my weight ballooned up from 200 to 250 and from 250 to 300 pounds I often found myself living in social isolation. True, I had a loving husband, two small children, and a sprinkling of friends and family, but my social world was shrinking day by day.

In some ways I isolated myself. The bigger I got, the less willing I became to interact with new people. I vividly remember having a near panic attack when John asked me to come to his office for a work celebration. “I can’t,” I cried. “What will people think of me?” And so I didn’t go, but instead stayed home on the appointed day baking batch after batch of chocolate chip cookies. I ate all the cookies but six. When John came home from work he said, “Oh, you made cookies. Where are the rest of them?” I looked at him and said, “I accidentally burned a few batches so this is all that’s left.” He looked at me. He knew the truth. I knew the truth.

I stopped attending social activities at church or school. Instead of going I’d send John with the children, begging off with some lame excuse such as, “I’m just really tired today.” He always encouraged me to go but I dug my heels in and refused. So I’d stand in the doorway of our house waving to them as he backed the van out of the driveway to take the girls on an adventure I should have been participating in. I just couldn’t face the stares and humiliation that I often felt so I stayed home.

Days would go by with the phone standing silent like a sentry in front of a military installment. No one called to chat. I called no one. My world shrank.

And with that shrinking world came an expansion of my food world. Not in quality foods but in the quantity of foods. I shoveled food in without even realizing I was overeating to compensate for loneliness. I gained more weight. I lost self esteem. I got bigger around the middle and my world shrank a little more.

By the time I got pregnant with my third child, I literally had two or three friends. That was it. Sure I knew a lot of people in town, but no one whom I would call if I needed a ride to the airport. (You know – airport friends – those people who would willingly get up at the crack of dawn to give you a ride to the airport across town!) I didn’t have many of those.

When I think of those years of my life I still am sad. Sad for myself, and sad for my family. Because of the choices I made to feed my soul with food rather than relationships I missed out on developing some valuable contacts. My children weren’t able to see me function as a vibrant mom who was always around to volunteer to chaperon trips or teach classes. I isolated all of us.

I take 100% responsibility for my own actions. No one was forcing food down my throat. No one explicitly told me I wasn’t welcome to volunteer for the committee, but I felt those messages in my heart just the same. I wish I could tell you that I worked on overcoming my isolation before I lost my weight but that wouldn’t be truth. No, I stayed isolated from those around me, insulating myself from possible hurt by getting fatter and fatter. It wasn’t until I began to lose the weight that I was able to come to terms with the full implications of my choice to isolate myself. It was a painful day when I realized that I had missed out on things because of my choice. But I did manage to put the pain behind me and move forward. It was a process though.

Where are you today? Have you ever experienced social isolation because of feelings about yourself? How do you handle those feelings? Or are you just a naturally self confident person regardless of the number on the scale?

I’d love for you to share your thoughts to encourage yourself and others.  Diane

Photo Credit

It’s a funny world we live in. Sports stars are either revered or reviled, depending on the day. Celebrities are “in” or “out” depending on who is writing about them. But Food Network stars and cookbook authors usually aren’t the fodder for numerous talk shows and hundreds of Internet articles – unless it’s the not so startling revelation that Paula Deen has type 2 diabetes.

Paula Deen, who is famous for saying that her “favorite spice is butter,” is well-known for outrageously unhealthy recipes like deep-fried cheesecake and casseroles rich enough to add points to your cholesterol immediately.

I admit to having several of her early cookbooks, like the one featured above. (She looks a lot different in those un-Photoshopped pictures – I bet she wishes I didn’t still have that book!) Some of my family’s favorite recipes are hers, although I changed to make them healthy. For example, her Pecan chicken recipe calls for an entire stick of butter to be drizzled over the chicken. Obviously I chose not to do that, and kept the recipe healthy and low fat.

The controversy with her diagnosis is multi-layered. Apparently she was diagnosed three years ago and kept it quiet. I completely respect her privacy rights. However, I wonder if she had a moral responsibility to begin changing the way she taught and encouraged people to cook on her television show and through the cookbooks she has recently published?

I saw her on a Christmas special this past December where she laughed and joked about the fat, sugar and calories in the dishes she was making and tasting. Now that I know she has diabetes, I am surprised she was eating those foods and a bit disappointed that she chose not to use her fame and platform to teach people that you can cook healthy, delicious meals.

It’s interesting that on an interview on the Today show, she referred to a type 2 diabetes diagnosis as a lifestyle issue. She never wanted to address her weight, which several articles have called her out on. She also did not indicate that she would change the way she encouraged people to cook.

With the obesity epidemic in our county, the incidence of type 2 diabetes rising, and even children suffering from this previously adult disease – I would have loved for her to become a role model for healthy lifestyle changes including getting to a healthier weight and training other cooks to make delicious, healthy food.

Instead, she is now a spokesperson for a diabetes drug, Novo Nordisk. Sources say that lucurative contract is the reason that she has now shared her diagnosis publicly.

It makes me disappointed because I do admire her story of going from a struggling single mom with two young sons to a mega-star. I may be wrong and you may disagree with me, but I believe those in the public eye do have a responsibility to do their best to be a good role model – whether they are sports stars or cookbook queens.

What’s your take? Do you think those three years that Paula kept her diagnosis quiet she should have been merrily dunking cheesecake in hot oil without feeling a tad bit guilty?  Diane

For another perspective on Paula Deen, click on over to Dr. J’s article.