I have been researching different plans that I feel offer a healthy approaches to weight loss.
I love the idea of eating intuitively, but unfortunately for me, I just maintain my weight doing that. Which is good in one respect because someday, maybe, I’ll be able to eat intuitively once I reach my goal.
I’ve been trying to find a chart that tells me how many servings of which food groups I should eat and why. I don’t want anything TOO restrictive, but I know that I do need something to jump start my weight loss and my motivation again, so a little restriction may be necessary.
I started thinking about the South Beach Diet for a few reasons. First, I know that you don’t have to count calories, points, or anything for that matter. Remember when I followed the Simply Filling plan on WW? I liked that freedom. I am thinking maybe the South Beach Diet is similar. And the fact that you have the freedom goes hand in hand with learning habits needed for intuitive eating.
Way, way back, when I was a devastated teenager trying to get a hold of my weight and self confidence, my Mom made an appointment with a doctor for me. This doctor was a little overweight herself and understood where I came from. She never once made me feel like some of these doctors have made me feel today. But she recommended the South Beach Diet. For whatever reason, I never ended up following it, but it stands out in my mind as a plan that a doctor recommended to me.
I have also mentioned, numerous times, how I want to eat more “clean” foods. I am regularly improving and making small changes, but I’m not quite there yet. The South Beach Diet seems to incorporate fresh and healthy foods.
I am a little apprehensive about the first two weeks. Can I give up fruits for two whole weeks? Milk? All starches and carbs? I like to think that I could but I know how difficult that it would be for me. And what do you do if you have to attend an event where you can’t control the food you’re being served? But I know this might also be good practice for exercising my control. If I felt a little more in control, I know that would motivate me.
As you know, I have always practiced “everything in moderation”. The problem is, I haven’t been practicing moderation lately. I have come to the conclusion that I genuinely hit a plateau, A LONG TIME AGO, lost my motivation because of it, and have ended up where I am today. I KNOW that I’m not giving 100% right now. So I am searching for the plan, the knowledge, and the tools so that I can put my 100% into something that’s really going to work for me this time, something that will pull me through the wall that I hit.
I did contact a registered dietician and I am going to meet with her after the 4th sometime. So there’s a step. She says she has worked with people in my situation before who have lost a lot of weight and stalled. Maybe she will have some kind of nutritional plan that I can follow. I just need all of the pieces of the puzzle. Like I said in my post yesterday, I need to know what to eat. How much to eat. This seems so simple, but after finding so many different opinions in my own research, I am lost. I want an expert to help me, IN PERSON.
I still plan on meeting with a personal trainer but I am kind of waiting until our swimming lessons are done at the YMCA so that hubby can continue swimming lessons at the new location while I do my personal training. Did I mention that the new location has a swimming pool?! I have a newfound love for swimming and will definitely take advantage of that with such a cheap membership!! I have successfully learned three strokes in three lessons. We have two more lessons and I hope to learn two more! If there are two more? Probably are…