Diets Suck

Like many women, I have tried (and failed) many, many diets, and with each one I had a similar problem: not enough calories. So many diets subscribe to the "one size fits all" approach when they advise a 300-pound woman to eat the same number of calories as a 150-pound woman. Years ago I thought, "Shouldn't the heavier person eat less since they have more to lose?" But now I know that our bodies burn more calories when they are heavier, particularly when there is more muscle mass.

The other fallacy that some diets promote is eliminating entire food groups, or completely eliminating 'treats.' Yes, I realize that eating junk food 3 times a day is a bad idea. But never allowing yourself to eat chocolate again is ridiculous. I know for me personally, the moment that I promise myself, "No more junk food at all," that that is the only thing I crave from then on in. I may be able to do it for a week or so, but then I end up bingeing on chocolate, chips, fries, etc. However, the times when I've done the opposite and said to myself, "You can eat whatever you want," I eat much less junk. (Obviously I haven't gotten it all figured out just yet, or I wouldn't be near 300 pounds.)

So where is the middle ground? What I've seen again and again is that different approaches work for different people, and the key is figuring out what works for me. I'm following the Canada Food Guide with some modification (since they don't factor in current weight), and I'm using fitday.com to track my caloric intake, aiming to eat around 2200-2400 calories per day. According to fitday, I'm burning approximately 2900 calories a day before doing any exercise, so I'm taking off approximately 500-700 calories/day to aim for a loss of 1 – 1.25 pounds per week. I'm also allowing myself a treat a day, or less, depending on cravings and overall fat intake. I'm aiming for 30% or less of fat, 50% carbs, and 20% protein.

I'm also adding in resistance training this week, following the women's Body for Life method. More details to follow.

Do I have all the answers? No, of course not. But I'm doing my best with what I know at this time.