Dieting 101 Week 1 Being Flexibile Is Key

Losing Weight Requires Flexibility

Why is it that when you decide to get in better shape or lose a few pounds, life suddenly throws you a curve?

I decided to "get back in shape" and had a planning session about what I might change, how I might do it, and whether I believed I could do it (would I follow through or was I kidding myself?).

My plan is a regular workout schedule (four days a week at home), drinking less wine (special occasions and weekends instead of regularly), and tightening up "weekend eating" from my current Thursday evening through Sunday to just Saturday and Sunday.

Monday: All is well, worked out and ate as planned. Good day.

Tuesday: Worked out and ate as planned. Good day No. 2, this is easy.

Tuesday evening sister No. 1 invites me over Thursday evening, "I'll have something there to eat," she adds. I'm about to say, "That's okay, I won't want anything anyway," but thought better of it. Telling someone you don't want what they're serving because you're trying to get healthy is a surefire way to be attacked with a full-frontal assault on why that is ridiculous and, "Just this once won't hurt." Who needs it?

Wednesday: Ate fine and worked out according to plan. Very good, hump day and all.

Wednesday evening sister No. 2 calls saying we're celebrating family birthdays with a Friday night dinner out. Nobody requested traditional birthday cake (I'm the family birthday cake maker) so I'm bringing a blackberry cheesecake, while mom is bringing blackberry pie.

Wednesday evening I'm taking stock of the rest of this week and it's not pretty: The Thursday evening workout won't happen because I need to be baking and said I'd go to sister's thing (evening workouts are often waylaid); Friday evening is also shot due to birthday dinner at restaurant. To top it off Easter is this Sunday so most of Saturday I'll be shopping and baking. I already decided I want to make the "Almost Better Than Sex Cake" and scalloped potatoes. This is turning out to be a lousy week for my new getting in shape plan.

But, all is not lost. This is a typical week in a typical life. You must be flexible if you expect to lose weight and keep it off. You're always going to be confronted with the unexpected occasions, birthdays, parties, special events where they have that yummy goody you just can't resist.

Thursday, ate well. Didn't eat at my sister's Thursday event (nothing out of the ordinary was served). Too busy with baking to do my exercise routine (I knew this would be the case so I'm not upset about it). Since evening workouts are so often missed I'm already trying to figure out how to get them done earlier in the day.

Friday: Ate great, dinner was wonderful. Had a "splurge" glass of wine with dinner at the restaurant (tasted pretty darn good too, but didn't leave me wanting another). Ate plenty but not until over-stuffed; I knew we had birthday desserts coming after all. Enjoyed a piece of blackberry pie and cheesecake and it was great. I'm right on target.

Saturday: Ate well, did my exercise as planned. Shopped for groceries for Easter dinner and suddenly decided to make homemade peanut butter cup easter eggs; how's that for a healthy eating plan? Now I'm a candy maker! I enjoy candy, so sue me.

Easter Sunday: Big family dinner, potluck style. Nothing is better than good homemade food, especially when you're learning to eat better and make better choices. I ate what I wanted and felt great, satisfied, content. You can take a bit small amount, eat it slowly, taste it, check out the texture, and really make an effort to enjoy the buffet style dinner. There's no need to stuff yourself. It's not the last time I'll ever eat. Easter eggs turned out great. I left plenty behind and took the rest to my office on Monday.

I love to bake for special events as I get to eat the goodies but I ditch the leftovers. A piece or two of cake every so often is not a problem, but half a cake on the counter, or sweets and desserts every day for a week is a recipe for the beginning of poor eating habits. I use my 3-Day Rule (more on this next month).

Sunday evening (remember I had the big Easter dinner earlier) I started feeling somewhat hungry, but it was late, so I ate the leftover desserts I'd brought home for my dinner. Cake for Breakfast, that's my motto; this time it was "eat dessert first," as grandpa used to say. You make a choice, sometimes you'll overeat, and sometimes you won't and it's okay. The trick whether losing weight or maintaining weight loss is to change the equation from overeating and indulging often to eating well most of the time and indulging infrequently.

A look back at Week 1: Lots of sweets, plenty to eat. I stuck to my overall plan for the week. I drank far less (from a couple glasses of wine a night down to just a couple for the entire week). I ate plenty of the good foods I wanted, but didn't feel the need to stuff myself, nor did I ever feel deprived. I didn't have the, "I better eat now because I'm starting a diet on Monday" mentality. Every meal stands alone, so if you overate at lunch that doesn't mean the rest of the day is blown (why pre-blow it?).

Overall I exercised and ate according to plan Monday through Thursday then lots of unexpected events started to occur that could have been big roadblocks but weren't. Was the week a success? You bet. Having dinner out once a week, a glass of wine, even enjoying homemade desserts is not what makes a person gain weight, but having them every day, or never exercising regularly does. You don't have to be a fanatic, but with consistent effort you can win this weight loss race.

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