Image source: Merlina McGovern
About three years ago, I lost 60 pounds, and I have kept much of that weight off in the intervening years. I wrote about the impetus for that initial weight loss in a previous blog post, but, basically, my blood sugar levels were elevated, and I was headed towards the same type 2 diabetes route as my mother. And, unfortunately, given my Latino and Asian heritage, I was already at a higher risk for diabetes.
So, of course, that put the fear of god in me, and I set out to lose weight. I restricted my calorie intake. I started eating whole grains and brown rice and increasing my fruit and vegetable intake. And, I started incorporating exercise into my daily life. I remember being very strict in those early days. My life revolved around journaling what I ate and having strict control over everything I put in my mouth. This meant that family gatherings and meals out were fraught with anxiety for me. I would often take meals with me to these outings, with folks giving me the side eye when they noticed I wasn’t partaking in the family feast.
This worked for a while, but being that strict with my diet just wasn’t something I could keep up forever. I started to go out to restaurants more, and I started being less strict with myself at friend and family gatherings. Snacks started to creep back into my daily diet, and I started allowing myself occasional (and then daily) desserts.
I could feel the pounds starting to creep back on. More importantly, I could feel myself feeling sluggish and having decreasing amounts of energy throughout the day.
And, so here we are. Spring has sprung, and I’m determined to begin again. Today is a new day. I don’t really want to be as strict with my diet as I had been, though. I wasn’t really that happy, and I’d rather avoid making outings stressful rather than fun activities to look forward to.
For now, here are four small steps I can take to get back on the healthy track.
1. Journaling.
At the beginning of my diet, I had been using Weight Watchers and documenting every single thing I put in my mouth. Journaling is definitely an effective way to help you lose weight. In a 2008 study of 1,685 participants published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers found that those participants that journaled the most during the trial lost about twice as much weight as those that did not journal at all. Now, I know from experience that this is effective. However, for me, tracking every single thing I ate and weighing portions out so I could write down those portion sizes as well became something I began to obsess about. It was such an onerous task, and I felt guilty when I couldn’t journal.
Now, I’ve gone back to journaling, but I’m writing down what I eat when I eat it and I’m not weighing every single portion size down to the gram. This small activity has been enough for me to pause and think about if I really want to get that chocolate bar for dessert, knowing that I’ll be adding it to my daily journal.
2. Meditation and yoga.
I can’t sing the praises of meditation enough. I am definitely a stress eater. I can be overly full from snacking all day, and I’ll still reach for more snacks if I’m going through a particularly stressful episode. Of course, I don’t meditate every time I feel stressed, but trying to incorporate more time where I can just sit and breathe quietly helps me to truly calm my frayed nerves. Yoga does the same thing for me, with the added benefit of moving my body and keeping joints limber and mobile.
3. Light exercise.
At the beginning of my initial weight loss journey, I was jogging every morning. I would then walk for 45 minutes. Finally, I would end my day with 15-30+ minutes of yoga. This amount of activity was just not sustainable for me. It left me very little time for my family. I now make sure to incorporate at least 20 minutes of walking or other light exercise every day, and I try to make an effort to get in more vigorous exercise like jogging on the weekends. For me, this feels like a much more sustainable amount of exercise.
4. Making healthier food choices.
In my initial diet journey, I spent a lot of time eating absolutely no sweets or chips. I could sustain this activity for a bit, but I found myself constantly thinking about salty snacks. Instead, what I’m trying to do now is to *add* foods rather than taking them away. What I mean by this is that I’m trying to add more servings of vegetables and fruits to my daily meals. I’ll add a handful of mixed berries to my lunchtime meal. Or, I’ll have an orange along with the snack bag of crackers I’m eating. This is helping me to get more nutrition into my diet, and it helps me to feel fuller and less likely to snack later in the day.
The other healthy choice I try to make is when I eat out. When I go to a restaurant, I try to order things I generally wouldn’t make for myself at home. Instead of that filling and cheesy pasta dish, for example, I’ll order the fish or seafood dish. It’s a tasty treat, one that I wouldn’t normally fix for myself. This allows me to indulge in a restaurant dinner without feeling overly guilty about it.
These are the things that I’m doing to get back on track. Going back to my family motto: every day is a new day. There’s no reason to get discouraged if you’re feeling yourself backtracking. These tips are small enough that I don’t dread doing them, and they are effective tactics that work for me. The key, as it is in almost everything, is moderation.
Let me know the tips you have for getting back on track in the comments below.
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