Temptation and Weight Loss

My favorite personal finance blog, Get Rich Slowly, had a great post yesterday about temptation.  It proposes that humans only have a limited amount of self-discipline, and that this self-discipline will always run out!  When I read this post yesterday morning, I thought it didn't apply to me.  I thought "but I am good at breaking bad habits and starting good ones!"  Last night, however, was a pretty good example of getting weak in the face of temptation!

After my daughter's strings concert, my loved ones went out for onion rings and hot fudge sundaes.  Now I love both those things very much, and not eating either was outrageously difficult.  To make matters worse, I hadn't eaten regularly yesterday and neglected my own supper before the concert.  I ate exactly 1/2 of 1 small onion ring, and it was glorious, then reigned myself in on the forbidden foods.  What I did instead was over-eat on low-carb foods, to the point where I was overfull.  Now I don't think this is the right decision, but perhaps it was a better decision than eating a hot fudge sundae and onion rings.

Overall though, I felt my ability to resist temptation had failed me a bit, but not entirely.  I would love to be a person who can effortless reject harm-causing pleasure-bringing foods and habits, but I think I am a person who has to work very hard at it.  I don't know if "moderation" ever works for me, either.  I seem to be an abstinence kind of person, which is why I think I am having some success with Dukan. It makes me sad to think about hot fudge sundaes.  I miss them.  However, I think when I see some tangible results from the weight loss (like new clothes!), I won't miss hot fudge sundaes nearly as much.

First Week Report

In the first week of the Dukan Diet I went from 169 to 166.6, which is a loss of 2.4 pounds.  I was hungry some times, tired a lot, and weaker than usual.  My skin looked pretty great, however, and overall my moods were okay -- not as cranky as on some other diet regimes.   My stomach and face seem less puffy, which is the first thing to happen to me on a diet.  I discovered just how much I love vegetables, and also how much I am resistant to doing things "by the book."

I am at least content to know I am not one of those people who loses a ton of weight when starting a low carb diet.  Slow weight loss is okay.  It's better for the skin, for sure, because it gives it time to adapt, and probably better for overall health.  This week I'll be happy if I lose one pound and get down to somewhere like 165, which is a great number to see on the scale.   I've figured out for the most part my goals are to eat around 1500 calories, keep my carbs under 40 grams, and honor the pure protein/ protein and vegetable phases of the Dukan diet (with a little more fat than is called for in the way of more Omega 3 egg yolks, flax seed, olive oil, and some nuts or nut butter).   I am undecided about daily intake of oat bran. Could it be that what I am really doing is some strange hybrid of a Paleo diet with Dukan?  So confusing!

I found a great deal on a fifteen pound kettleball yesterday, so I am thinking I am not going to renew my expired gym membership and spend the summer doing home workouts if at all possible.  I might add some classes to this for fun, but I really love the idea of having the kind of routine a person can do in the backyard, or upon waking, that is regular, intensive, and efficient.

I'm on a two week break before summer school starts and trying to stay as far away from my normal responsibilities as possible, even to the extent of not being on facebook, twitter, or email.  I find this "relaxation" generates a lot of anxiety in me.  I am simply no good at it, even if my version of relaxation means working constantly toward personal goals.  I think it is a good thing I am on a diet right now, or I'd be eating through all this anxiety at a fast pace! 

Dukan Preparation Weekend

Weight: 166.6
Mood & Energy: Excellent

I'm trying to be relaxed about eating this weekend, not counting calories or carbs, but also not eating sugar, wheat, or corn if I can help it.  The result has, so far, been wonderful, with no-fat greek yogurt and a few blueberries for breakfast, a salad of greens from the farmer's market with olives, feta, and spanish olive oil, and some stir-fried chicken with lots of onions and bell peppers.  I have more energy already, and walked to and from the farmer's market, shopped with my daughter for over an hour, and mowed the front lawn.

I calculated my ideal weight at the Dukan website, and it suggests 149.  I find that to be a little bit of a depressing number, though I would be happy today if I were at it.  In fact, one of the dangers I face is getting done to a rare-to-me weight (like 155) and being so happy I stop losing!

I think one of the things which keeps me heavier than I ought to be is my desire, always, to be strong, and my tendency to lift heavy weights to build muscle mass.  I tend to get distracted from weight loss by an obsession with strength and fitness, then I eat too much to fuel my workouts, and finally just eat too much in general. This habit has gone on for six or seven years!  I do think I am probably strong enough already and need to get over this.

This summer, however, all my energy will go into getting to a reasonable weight, with my exercise simply to serve that purpose and to make me feel energetic and fit, not to increase strength.  To that purpose, I've really been considering giving up weights for a while and doing body weight exercises, pilates, and cardio classes.  It would be fun to try a different approach and see where it leads me knowing that when I have lost the weight, I can work out in the weight room to my heart's content and probably look so much better for it.

The Dukan website suggested three days of attack with a cruise phase lasting until July 11.  I think I could do all of that pretty easily.  I do intend to time eating carbs around workouts and other activities, and to use flax seed along with oat bran to keep from having low mental function from lack of healthy fats.  Because I work with my brain, I need to stay as sharp as possible, even while losing weight.  For this reason, despite sort of hating fish, I will make sure to eat plenty of tuna.

I think I am curiously stubborn about some rules, and lax about others.  For example, I'm pretty convinced that sugar and grains are poison to me, but I am not so convinced about such a dramatically low fat diet. I do see why cutting fat can help with weight loss, but it is definitely temporary, and something which might need to be adjusted.  I love cheese, but think it is probably the primary food that keeps me overweight, so am willing to give it up entirely as required.  I will not be above eating a berry now and then before a workout, and certainly think if I am going to cheat, eating in season fruit from the farmer's market will be the way to do it. It seems a lot better to plan these cheats, rather, than fail totally and spend days eating truffles and potato chips.

Overall, though I am so looking forward to this!  Often I think diets are enjoyable just to test a method, see if it works, and how effectively it does so. 

Preparing for the Dukan Attack Phase

My experience with low carb diets

Determined to lose weight by the time I start my new job at the end of the summer, I'd been eating a low carb, high fat diet (Atkin's induction) for almost two weeks, but I found the fat made me feel pretty awful.  Although I'd gone into ketosis by the second day, I didn't lose tremendous amounts of weight as promised. My skin  began to break out all over my body, my nails broke, and I was eating too much cheese, cream, and fatty meats to feel healthy, but for some reason, mostly my total love for cheese, I couldn't limit myself.  I could barely keep up with my normal exercise routine. I missed eating Greek yogurt, and I also missed eating vegetables.

On the other hand, I love eating low carb, and really feel like sugar, wheat, corn, and starchy vegetables are quite bad for my overall health.  I have diabetes in my family, poor skin, and super-sensitive reactions to eating carbs, which leads me to believe I have some of the problems related to insulin resistance. I started searching for a healthier, lower fat low carb diet without the fatty cheeses, and that's when I came across the Dukan diet.  I eagerly read the book, and decided that I would begin the diet on the day after Mother's Day, which also coincides with the end of my semester (I am a college instructor).

My plan 

Since I am already in ketosis, I am anticipating that the Attack Phase won't be too difficult for me.  My main challenge will be giving up the cheese, but I love Greek yogurt so much that I think this will make up for it.

I do plan to treat myself a little on Mother's Day, but will try to stay as low-carb as reasonable while not missing out any fun with my daughter.  One of my mother's day plans is also to take my daughter on a long walk through the park, preferably after our big meal.

My plan is to stay in Attack for only a few days and then move to the Cruise phase. 

I am the sort of person who loves to track data, so I will continue to count calories and look at macronutrient ratios just to see how this diet stacks up to regular calorie reduction diets.  I find that looking at charts and graphs is a great motivator for me overall.  I will also weigh myself each morning and take my measurements each Monday.

Every day I want to track not only my weight, but also my overall health, the condition of my skin, my hunger levels, energy levels, and my moods.  I think it is important that any eating plan not only takes into consideration weight loss, but overall well being.

Exercise

My hope is that I can handle vigorous workouts on my vegetable and protein days, and have my protein only days be my "light exercise" days on which I mostly walk.  I did read on the Dukan site that a person can add more carbs before an intense workout (for example, a glass of orange juice).   I will start with timing my vegetables before workouts, and then see if I need to add extra carbs to reach my full performance levels.  If I do add these carbs, they will probably just be berries, which I love to eat.

Planned Variations

I am considering two planned variations to the diet.  Instead of oat bran, I will use ground flax seeds in small amounts.  This will help me stay away from gluten and keep up my levels of healthy fats, while still getting some of the benefits of fiber.   As well, I am going to allow myself small amounts of unsweetened chocolate or cocoa (usually mixed with a tiny bit of stevia).  If these changes seem to stall my progress, I will reconsider them as I move through the program.