On Weightloss Recovery

So this blog is dedicated to a new friend I met this week that is dealing with weightloss recovery.

After four years and strict dedication to a fitness/diet routine, she looks amazing, restores cluttered houses to life like a sacred healer (I know because she brought mine back to life) and has proven has inspiration for countless women on their journey of self discovery.

The interesting to me is that despite strict dedication to her dietary routine for the most part, she mentioned there are times when she will go home already full and consume a huge amount of a "forbidden" food (think a quart of ice cream) late at night.

This leads to feelings of loathing and self sabatoge and reminds me of so many people who I have worked with in the past (as well as myself) who experience the symptoms of "weightloss recovery".  Much as it takes time to "recover" from using relationships, drugs or alcohol, getting over our addiction to food and the associated emotions is something that requires far more than pounds lost on a scale.

But before we get in to why the hell we would eat cookies after hours spent at the gym, it is important to understand that almost everyone goes through what you may be experiencing.

We lose the weight through a diet or method that seems to work like magic. The weight comes off and triumphantly we exclaim "hurrah for brocolli" or whatever roughage we decide to consume. Because this approach works to lose the weight, we reason it makes sense to stick with it for the long haul despite the fact that broccoli actually tastes like cardboard.

But while this approach works for a few months or even a few years, that cheesecake and quart of ice cream that you left with your other body are much harder to rid from your mind. Like Starbucks lovers whose presence we cannot seem to shake, they appear at every public dinner and wink at us as we stroll by the Dunkins Donuts around the corner.

One day after many months or even years, we simply break down and indulge in our temptations to the point that we can barley move or walk. This is called a relapse and what I want you to understand is that it happens to all of us.

If we compare this to dating, how many of us have simply said goodbye to our significant other of several years and moved on in a few days?

If the answer is zero, you are looking at about the rate of success for strict dieting. When we simply "cut out" elements which were a significant portion of our life, it stands to reason that they will stay in our heart (even if they are not in our stomach).

Instead, I want you to realize this is a gradual process. There will be times when things go well for months and then times when things fall of the rails completely. But the dedication you built to get here in the first place will always be there to pick you up when you fall.

What I will say is that part of your healing process will be to realize that "black and white" should and does not exist in dieting. It is absolutely ok and actually vital to enjoy a bowl of ice cream or several pieces of chocolate and and even (gasp) imitation crab meat from both an emotional and hormonal perspective because they keep us from craving these items in larger amounts.

This is why most "diets" now come with "cheat days" and carb- cycling has become so popular for weightloss. And one approach I recommend exploring is called If It Fits Your Macros (or IIFYM). In short, this approach advocates budgeting items we traditional view as forbidden (rice, ice cream, pasta, potatoes, etc) in to our diet over cutting them out completely.

The logic goes that as long as this stuff fits in to our daily dietary "macros" (or carbs, protein, fat), then we can expect to see continued progress. But whether or not you decide this works for you right now, Ive found that logging your calories consistently with an app such as My Fitness Pal or Lose It gives a greater sense of control of your diet and helps to dissociate the feelings of helplessness that may occur when things do go off the rails.

Whatever you decide, I want you to realize how strong you are and how far you have come to get here. Rather than worrying about all that is to come, take some time to celebrate your accomplishments and remember that fact that you do not lose this in a meal, a bad decision or even a relapse.

I look forward to your success.

Chris