The Holidays are fast approaching and “Sugar Season” is upon us. Let’s step back and get a big picture view of the season and our past and present status on the diet.
Consider these 5 aspects of the journey:
1. For many of us, our weight has yo-yo-ed over the last few years and we have developed medical problems as a result. We don’t like how we look and how our clothes fit (or don’t!!). We have come to Ideal Health Now to help ourselves in our quest to feel better and dare I say it, to learn to love ourselves, some of us for the first time. We may need to be reminded that we are choosing to work on ourselves. I think sometimes we can begin to view the diet as something someone is “making us do”. Again, remember that we are using this diet approach to help ourselves, not punish ourselves! To treat yourself as you would someone you cared for greatly and truly wanted the best for.
2. For many, there are learned “bad food combinations” where we eat high-fat, sugar, salt foods (in combination) that hijack our brain and cause us to eat more and more of these foods with very little nutritional value. You know these foods: they are like that old boyfriend/girlfriend that wasn’t very good for us but we kept going back to them thinking that this time it will be different, that this time they’ll change and be the person we want them to be. These foods will never change and be good for you! This is reality.
3. Many of us have developed emotional eating habits, where we give food some power to help us change the way we feel. To celebrate or mourn, comfort or excite, relax and cope.
4. We fall prey to these eating habits and then get into the binge/guilt cycle. We don’t seem to be able to stop and then feel guilty and berate ourselves for being weak.
5. And last but not least, some may be in denial or have become a “Gambler” of sorts. We see how much we can get away with and still lose. We gamble each week on whether our eating off plan will catch us or we will win the Jackpot and lose that week, beating “The House”.
And so, we find ourselves on a Quest, an Adventure if you will, to rediscover who we really are. We can’t ignore this aspect of our weight loss journey. According to Dr. Tran (developer of the Ideal Protein program), to lose the weight without learning to love ourselves will see us returning to our former habits and weight gain. And again he says, “A diet has a definite beginning and a definite end.”
We need to rethink and re-frame our minds with regard to our eating plan. We are on a time-limited eating plan that restricts carbohydrates and fats to “imbalance” our diet so we can lose unwanted and even dangerous weight while keeping adequate amounts of protein to spare our muscle.
We also need to challenge our former ideas of what is “good for us” eating-wise. I’m not talking about what we can recite as healthy or what we know we should eat, but what we tell ourselves is “the good stuff”. From all that is coming out, sugar is not our friend. And it hides in many forms. It works on our pleasure center in the brain like heroin or cocaine!! Yikes!! (Check out the article at CNN)
At Ideal Health Now, we want your success! We are interested in your health and well-being. We are here to encourage and hopefully educate you on living a healthier life. The weight loss phase is one part, but we are also interested in your living life, not in bondage to food, but in freedom. To learn to love who you are, and embrace this life you have been given.
If you have gotten off the diet, come back. We aren’t here to judge you but encourage you. It usually takes about 3-4 days of being sugar free and eating clean to get rid of the cravings and begin to see results. If you haven’t veered off, CONGRATULATIONS and keep up the good work.
Here’s to a successful week!
Holiday Tip: Practice Mindful Eating when you do eat foods off plan on your “free holiday”. On these foods you tend to wolf down or overeat, take a bite and allow it to sit on your tongue for 20 seconds. Really savor and attend to the tastes and textures of the food. Chew slowly and wait for at least a minute before taking another bite. Sometimes, we are really eating the “memory” of a food rather than the real, present taste. Or we ascribe magical properties to the food and what it can do for us.
Recipe: Mashed Cauliflower
1 head of cauliflower separated into florets. Place in a steamer basket over boiling water and steam until tender. Place the cauliflower, olive oil or coconut oil (depending on how many servings you will get out of it), and 1 /2 tsp each coarse sea salt and rosemary into a food processor bowl and process until mashed consistency. You can substitute any other herb or dried lemon peel for the rosemary.
Enjoy!
Chanh, Dr. Tran Tien, Ideal Protein…Because it’s Your Life
Leave a Reply