I set out to start researching what best diet paths to follow. I always think of dieting to mean that you are cutting back what you eat and start to exercise. Since I've failed at dieting, I wanted to follow an actual legit diet plan this time around. I'm trying my best to find a diet I can actually handle and not fail at. I say this because the last diet I tried - Atkins, you SOB - I failed miserably. That was a harsh diet.
Whenever I ask anyone how'd they learn to do anything new, almost everyone responds with "Google" or "YouTube." So, Google was first.
Dude, Google.
I did a search for diet blogs and got 218,000,000 hits (in 0.26 seconds as it liked to point out). I breezed through the first few pages and.... amazing. Just, amazing. I already have favorites and am SO ready to get this diet underway. By the way, these pages are really cool:
- http://www.diet-blog.com/
- http://www.bestdiettips.com/content/blogcategory/3/54
- http://ronisweigh.com/
- http://www.dietsinreview.com/diet_column/
- http://happyweightafter.blogspot.com/
And tons more, of course, but I'm really liking those pages. I still have a few more millions hits to go through but I really liked those pages. I haven't done YouTube yet because I really just want to read as much as possible and get inspired by others' stories. I just love blogs (obviously).
The trend on most of the blogs I've read to lose weight have been either to completely cut everything out of your life (a life revamp, if you will) or getting the lap-band surgery.
Ok, so I'll admit I have strongly considered the lap-band surgery. Here are my pros and cons:
Cons: I am deathly afraid of the surgery itself (it might be a simple surgery but it's still a surgery). Once you get the lap-band put in, it stays in forever. I get that dieting and watching what I'll eat is a lifetime commitment so why should dieting and the lap-band be any different, right? However, after reading what you can eat and how you eat after the surgery - blending your food to be able to eat/process it and super small portions at that - sounds like a shitty way to live life. Food is one of the joys in life and I can only have bite sizes of it FOREVER? Good grief. Also, I've read a few horror stories (bands slipping and repetitive surgeries) and those are nothing to laugh at. It could potentially kill you, hello that's kind of a big ass deal!
Pros: You will lose weight. Massive amounts of it. And most likely keep it off. This is a dangerous to know especially when you are a person that tends to do badly in plateaus during dieting like I do. There are plateaus with the lap-band but they don't seem to last very long -- you will be losing weight almost every weigh in you do, or the doctor will keep tightening your belt until you barely can eat at all. I think of it as a magic pill, the solution to the problem -- you'll lose the weight almost overnight and get to be skinny, yay!
Verdict: Let it be a last alternative. I am not completely closing the door to it but I'm not strongly considering it either. Let me give myself a chance to win this battle on my own. I use to think that getting the lap-band was a person quitting and taking the easy way out. BUT, I don't believe that now. I've read boards and blogs and I now know that I was an idiot to think that. We all have our weight problems and deal with them differently. When you're 300+ lbs. and have tried everything, have failed, and this is the only way you'll be able to lose the weight? Get it done. For most people, it is a last alternative -- it's that or death. For me though, it's an alternative that I hope not to need.
I will admit though, I've switched my HMO medical plan to PPO. For a few reasons -- a) I want to be able to see more than my regular doctor and getting a referral to see specialists is a real bitch with HMO plans, b) should lap-band come to pass, PPO will help pay for it, and c) the more choices I have, the easier my life will be. If I want to see a therapist, I will see one because I want to and not because I've explained to my primarily healthcare provider why I deserve to see one.
So, what's the game plan?
First of all, Weight Watchers.
Just like me, I joined WW a few months ago and have rarely logged on to use it. Don't let me start rambling about the year I payed for the gym membership that I used twice. Soooo much money wasted, sigh. I refuse to pay for WW for a year and not use it.
My biggest problem is figuring out how to use it properly. I swear I'm not an idiot but when I see numbers, I pretty much zone out. I went online and God that webpage is so fucking complicated. I just want to document my breakfast and move on WW, not tell you the story of my life! I'm going to be logging on a bit more because I have to learn to use that webpage. I'm online all day at work so logging on to the webpage and totaling my points during the day is going to be a easy. I also downloaded the app on my iPhone for nights and weekends.
I'm allowed 40 points a day. I AM sticking to that as much as possible. But first, learning how to track those points. I'll be damned if the screen below is gonna stop me from losing weight!
The diet plan for now is moderation. Start cutting out the bad stuff completely (soft drinks, you're out!) and start to learn what is good foods (veggies), what are bad foods (pasta & breads) and what 40 points a day really means. And water, I must drink lots and lots of water. I drink about half a glass of water a day (sadly, I'm not kidding) so I have got to start drinking water. Let's see how this first week will go.
Ze diet tis good. Ze diet wilt not kill me. Ze points, they are no enemy of mine! *I picture myself as a sophisticated French woman in the 60's while I say this. My brain is weird.*
Hell hath no fury like the WW tracking system.
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