As I mentioned in an
earlier post - I decided to commit to a dietbet. I did so with some reservations, as I'm not a huge promoter of dieting per se.... but I did need to kick my healthy eating into gear and this provided the motivation that I was looking for. For the record I was 0.3 lbs shy of my goal on the final weigh-in day... which was annoying to say the least, but obviously I still achieved the more general goal of losing weight. Also, it's a week late, but I did step on scale yesterday to see that I had lost those additional 0.3 lbs (plus some). I still have a couple more lbs I would like to lose before I'm 'done', but I'm under no strict timeline for that and don't intend to dietbet again anytime soon.
I appreciated the push (or shove?) provided by dietbet though. At first I was attempting to micro manage my caloric intake but this was not something I loved and admit-ably after one week of strict calorie monitoring, I gave up on it and focused on more generalized healthy eating. I know this practice doesn't work for everybody, but I felt the hyperactive monitoring was driving me batty. Though, I did establish some monitor-able tasks for myself. I've found that goals are best achieved when there are steps to take. I only dined at a fast food establishment once and drank a lot more water. I avoided alcohol by keeping it strictly to social outings. I ate until I was satisfied but not stuffed, and I tried to make the foods I was filling up on more healthy in the first place. I made a point to have healthy snacks available and ate more frequently throughout the day so that my electrolyte level didn't drop, which usually ends in a desperate need for Taco Bell :). I also ran and exercised but this is consistent with what I normally do.
That being said I have mixed feelings about it and not just because I didn't win the money. Because this was (thankfully) my first experience with dieting...I've never truly been aware of how hard it is too lose weight. I tip my hat to anyone who has lost consistently for much longer than a month. Maintenance is soo much easier by my account. While I've seen my friends have both big success with weight loss, I've also seen disappointment (sometimes by the same people.) I'm not an expert on any of this by any means, but I do think the disappointment is often related to perceived external pressure (such as dietbet) which could very well be an unnecessary part of the equation. Also, I think the problem with dieting is that it doesn't feel very natural. I want to eat what I want to eat... I don't want to put it on a scale or scan it on my phone first. I'm beyond thankful my body is generally very good at telling me when I'm sated and that through practice I find myself craving vegetables and water as opposed to wine and cheese... or at least I can balance it. I think the pressure of the world is fierce and often clouds from truly knowing our authentic self. I think if we could sidestep externalities, we would all hear our bodies more clearly... and find that they are wanting nutrients and movement... as opposed to chemicals and carbs.
Okay, and one more thing. I hope it's a given, but just in case it's not I firmly believe there is no universal rule on what weight or dress size you should be, and that while bmi might be an interesting formula it is up to you to decide what your desired weight should be. That being said there are many health concerns linked to obesity and anyone who wants to move away from that deserves a few words of encouragement. Though in saying that it is still the individual's choice to want or not.
