Paul Plakas on the 17 Day Diet

 17 Day Diet, Last Ten Pounds, Maintenance  No Responses »
May 272011
 
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I love straight-talking Paul.  Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone was so unambiguous in their advice?

question

Paul,

I wanted to know what you thought of the 17 day diet? Is it something people who are overweight should look into?

Nichole from Winnipeg

answer

Hi Nichole,

The 17 day diet is dumb. Let me explain to you the key to weight loss. Eat high nutrient dense foods specific to your metabolic rate, daily activity level and metabolic type. It is making the right choice for you as much as possible through your entire life time. Identify obstacles that prevent you from making the right choices.

Paul

YES!  And no.

Here’s what I’m thinking.  Paul is absolutely right because he actually wants to obliterate the “culture of diet”.  Just eat well according to your age, size and activity level and you’ll weigh what you’re supposed to.  I even wrote about it as a weight loss tool in The Maintenance Diet.

In fact, I think this three year journey has cemented both that intellectual fact and the practical ability to put it carry it out into my soul.  When I eat like that, I keep off the weight I’ve lost. However, I didn’t ever manage to lose those last few pounds permanently.  Why?

Because I don’t always eat like that (D’oh!) – and sometimes I need the motivation of a quick weight loss.  My eating sometimes needs a shake-up and I need the structure of some plan or other to get back into good habits.  That’s exactly what I’ve got from the 17 Day Diet.

Cycle 1 of the 17 Day Diet forced me to eat in a way that required more planning and food preparation than usual.  I couldn’t just mindlessly reach for the peanut butter and Ryvita because I was too lazy to prepare something for lunch. Instead I had to think about making a big salad for the two of us or scrambling eggs for breakfast in addition to the normal supper prep.

I quickly got tired of all that planning and prepping and cooking but not before it jolted me out of my “usual” and into a diet where every calorie provided something my body needed.  After a couple of weeks, I find that I’m naturally eating a little every couple of hours until my evening meal.  In a way, snacking on healthy food has become the norm so there’s no time or room for snacking over and above my caloric needs.  I’m craving a bowl of plain yogurt or a little piece of cheese or an orange or a carrot. By supper I’ve packed in a lot of nutrients but not a lot of calories.

So why have I stopped the 17 Day Diet?  I got the jolt I wanted, lost a few pounds, and now feel able to go on without all the restrictions.  The family budget was straining under the weight of all that protein and I much prefer the idea of eating a little meat and a little brown rice with a lot of veg. I must say that we’re not eating nearly as many carbs as before.  Both the husband and I have learned that we can live without a FULL portion of rice or potatoes. In fact, we haven’t even had a potato yet – but there are some lovely little Jersey Royals in the potato basket.

I will certainly got back to Cycle 1 if I ever need to lose a few pounds again, but, for now I’m happily back to losing ounces and feeling energetic and enjoying food including healthy carbs and a bit of wine.  But I’m very grateful to the 17 Day Diet for giving me that kick that I needed.

 Posted by Millie at 5:57 am  Tagged with: ,

Progress, Goals & a Little Bit of Planning

 Last Ten Pounds, Maintenance, Things to try, Thoughts on the Process  No Responses »
Oct 272010
 
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I’ve now weighed a hundred and forty-something pounds for more than year – a feat unheard of since I hit my 40′s.  It makes me think that I’ve actually learned something by writing my little heart out for the past 27 months.

Am I where I want to be?

No – but I’m close and so very very proud of myself for not giving up and gaining back what I’ve lost – and all this in years of grief, living in 2 countries, health worries and just getting older.

I’m chuffed.

I’m also thinking that it would be nice, one day, to write:  “I’ve now weighed less that 145 pounds for a whole year.”

I think that’s a sensible goal for my age, my level of commitment to activity and my level of commitment to wine. But it means losing at least another 7 pounds and I’m so so so so so sick of the process…….

I appear to be, once again, choosing what I want more:

  • to be free of “dieting”
  • to be free of 7 pounds

Good question.  Since losing the weight will also make me free of dieting, I guess that’s the sensible choice. I need to make this as easy as possible for me and those around me.

What 3 small changes could I make for maximum impact?

  • Eating fruit and veg between meals has become part of my “diet” mentality and I need to shift it back into my “everyday eating” mentality.  So there’s a start. Will commit to reaching first for fruit or veg when needing a snack or just something to crunch on.
  • I also tend to be so all or nothing about exercise and I hate both states.  So why don’t I just commit to exercise 3 times a week and see how it goes?  And why is that so difficult to do? Really, why?  But I will take at least 3 walks per week and, if they turn into runs, so much the better.
  • I’ve fallen back into the 5 o’clock glass of wine to signal the end of the working day.  I will commit to having a 5 o’clock glass (or two) of mineral water and then have the glass of wine.  I will consider it a very good day indeed when the first glass of wine coincides with the meal.

OK.  Those are the three things I’m going to do for a week.  If I haven’t lost a pound by next Tuesday Wednesday, I will get back to journalling.  At least, that’s the plan from here.

 Posted by Millie at 3:50 am  Tagged with: ,

The “Maintenance Diet”

 Keeping Going, Maintenance  2 Responses »
Aug 022010
 
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Lying awake last night, in an effort to stop thinking about packing, I started thinking about this whole weight loss journey.

For ages now I’ve been thinking that I’m ready to experience maintenance, finally – for the first time ever – actually paying attention to keeping my weight stable.  But I’m not yet at the weight I want to maintain.

SO…..and this is where I’m feeling a little bit clever, what if I focus on maintaining the weight I want to be?

What if I just eat and move as though I’m lighter than I actually am?  Wouldn’t I eventually just weigh that much?

I’ve taken 2 years to get to where I am anyway and that slow process has been the best thing possible for changing my thinking about the “all or nothing” pendulum of weight loss and weight gain.  However, it’s only slowed it and I want to stop the pendulum completely!  I want to just eat the way I’m going to have to eat for the rest of my life, understanding that I will need less as I get older and that I will have to stay committed to moving.

There’s no getting away from the fact that, to lose weight right now, I have to put myself into “diet” mode and I need a break from that. A big fat permanent break.

Of course, I’m only saying all this because I’m not particularly unhappy with how I’m looking these days.  For my optimum health and vanity I should weigh less, but, in the big scheme of an increasingly obese society, I don’t look very fat.  I also own clothes that I like and want to wear again in the autumn and winter.  In truth, I’ll be very happy to take a whole year to lose the last bit of weight.  But I’m not sure it’s going to take that long.

Here are the numbers:

A sedentary 50 year old woman who is maintaining a weight of 135 pounds should eat about 70 calories per day less than a moderatley active 49 year old woman who weighs 145 pounds.

When I factor in my minimal weekly activity,  I figure I’ve got a deficit of around 230 calories per day.

Of course, I will lose that 70 calories from the age and weight difference as I get older and lighter, so I’ll have to move that much more every day.  I’m hoping that walking about extra mile will do the trick.

If 10 pounds equals 35,000 calories, it will take me around 22 weeks to actually end up weighing 135 pounds.  That’s basically how many weeks there are left this year.  And I’m not that fussed about the 135 number – it was just nice and tidy to think in terms of 10 pounds. I’m also not that fussed about the 5 months.  I turn 50 at the end of April so wouldn’t that be a nice gift to give myself?

So – a recap of this experiment.  For the next few months I’m going to eat as though I’m an inactive 135 pound 50 year old.  But I’m going to live as though I’m a moderately active 49 year old. By the time I’m actually 50, I will know what it takes to stay slim and healthy.

That’s the plan.

At least until someone points out the fatal flaw in my apparently flawless thinking……….

 Posted by Millie at 3:11 am  Tagged with: , , ,
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