Monday, February 23, 2015

And when the diet ends....

Before
and you cut a thin figure
Well not quite right but you might get the picture...   Then what?

The typical response is we stop exercising all that will power and go back toward what we were before.

But if the same problem that caused the overeating is there still, the weight goes back on. So if it is addiction or addiction like issue, and you (I) never again eat those foods I should be OK, right? Even if those foods are dense carbohydrates, O6 oils, and other processed carbage?

But what if it was also a maladaptive issue that has not been addressed? I would expect the weight to come back on. The other problem(s) has not yet been fixed. It has started to. Now I need to get rid of all potential underlying psychological issues. Anxiety, need some form of treatment. Habit needs another. Stress is different from anxiety. Boredom need activity that produce, for me, a positive emotion from the start, has meaning, interest, engagement, commitment, and if fate permits, achievement, satisfaction, mental joy. You might realize that, unless the original problem is dealt with, the weight will come back.

Now how does one figure out what the problem is and how to fix that problem? Self examination may lead to the cause or not. Do we understand the difference between boredom, aka lack of desire to do something unknown, or something we are not keen on doing, just for the sake of doing it for something to do, and how that is different from frustration of not being understood by other people? What is obvious to me is not obvious to others. Do you expect me to explain the obvious? Frustration, isolation, disinterest in what other people are interested in are all drivers of potential stresses, but the treatment cannot be the same. It will require deep analysis of our past and present, and a search for understanding of each separate cause and cure/treatment.

Or how about the stewing over doing something that we are expected to do, and we do not know how to do it and there is no available help? It got dumped on me because I solved the last one, and the one before that, and the one before that, and the one before that, infinitude back to graduation or shortly after that. Being able to solve engineering puzzles does not mean we can live on a steady diet of them without stress.   

I am happy for all yous who have found a solution, but I have not, yet anyway. Parts but not the whole.

Enough.

4 comments :

  1. It was a process for me. I have never been successful in weight loss maintenance. I had lost 60 lbs. two other times, but failed both times in maintenance. Two differences for me:

    1. this time, I lost the 'deprivation' mindset. I like myself better when I make good food choices. I know the real evils of sugar, processed junk, and wheat. I no longer look at it as "I can never have that again, woe is me." It's "I usually hardly ever eat that shit, because it's shit. Once in a blue moon, but then right back on the health bandwagon.' Yes, it's a shift in psyche.

    2. Had to go through the process of learning to change my knee-jerk reactions to normal daily stressors, boredom, ways to 'celebrate.' Definitely a process.

    good luck!

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  2. "I am happy for all yous who have found a solution, but I have not, yet anyway. Parts but not the whole."

    Keep looking Fred ....... you have found parts .......

    All the best Jan

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  3. Exactly why diets don't work... they don't get tot he root cause of the issue. I still struggle as well, but this time focused more on the mental aspects of healthy living instead of the physical ones.

    -FogDog Weight Loss

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  4. I lost 75 pounds but my goal was to lose another 40, so I never "made it". And I think that's truly a blessing in disguise! Because I keep trying. I have not given up on my way of eating because I feel so great on it, I love the food I eat, and it is just part of my life now. As a result, I've managed to keep ALL the weight I lost off for three years, right through menopause. Are you impressed with that? I am!

    I keep tweaking and hoping to lose a little more. But if it never happens, I'm OK with that, as long as I keep the 75 lbs off and continue to feel so well. I'm not sure I would have managed to keep this weight off for three years if I'd actually "met my goal". And with years of experience eating well at this point, if I ever do lose more weight I would hope it will be easier for me to maintain, as I've had 3 years of practice so far!

    ReplyDelete

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