Wednesday, January 07, 2009

How I'm Not Dieting

Sometime near the final quarter of 2008, I happened upon a book that looked interesting to me. I decided to Bookmooch it and check it out. I also mooched the workbook that can accompany the book. Both books have sat in my bedroom for several months with the thought that I would get serious about "weight loss, dieting, and all that other stuff" at the beginning of the year.

My friends at work and I have been talking for a couple of months about a new start in the new year and what diets we thought we might try. We talked about biggest loser challenges. We talked about exercise. Names like Atkins and Sonoma were thrown around.

My friend, Patty, has struggled with weight for a good portion of her life. She is one of the most beautiful godly women I know. I love her. She and I always talk a lot about our poor eating habits and how we want to do better. After I had skimmed the book I bought and showed it to her, I went and bought her a copy as a Christmas present. (About now you're probably wondering what kind of friend buys another friend a diet book for Christmas...).

Patty ended up reading part of the book before I started reading. She told me that it had some really good stuff and that she had underlined things to go back to later. (Phew. She liked the Christmas present!). We both planned to start this weight loss thing on January 2nd.

Knowing that I was going to start my annual-miserable-food-restricting- diet, I spent the week before that day binging on everything imaginable. I'm pretty sure that I gained around 6 pounds the week between Christmas and New Years. I was packing away a lot of food and calories. My grand total on January 2nd? 250 pounds. Yikes! I have never weighed that much in my life, not even pregnant with twins. I am more than 100 pounds overweight.

I started reading the book. It's not a miracle cure. It's not a guide to fast weight loss. It's not the next great newest thing. It's a book about eating to honor God. It's a book about not listening to the lies of the world in regards to weight loss and dieting. The book doesn't tell you what to eat and what not to eat (although there are some suggestions in the back if you want some). It focuses on "the total solution -spiritual, emotional, and physical- for permanent weight loss". It's full of scripture that pertains to overeating. It has a lot of common sense stuff about eating right that I already knew. The first time that I sat down with the book, I read about a third of it. I underlined things to go back to later. For some reason, this time around, things were starting to click and make sense in my mind.

The name of the book is "Lose it for Life" by Stephen Arterburn, M. ED. and Dr. Linda Mintle. You may recognize Steve's name from Christian radio (I hear him on K-Love). He does a "New Life Minute" segment on there.

The book has caused me to rethink my weight loss plan for this year. I'll share how my thoughts have changed and what I am doing (and how it's working) in my next post.

6 comments:

Crystal said...

I have heard of that book!! Can't wait to read your next post.......this sounds very interesting, I may even get this book!

Cheryl said...

Awesome! I am glad things are "clicking" for you. I am back to my good routine now. I didn't eat really well during Christmas, cookies and pumpkin pie...hey it was the holidays right. I am not dieting, that would never work for me, I just decided last April to live better, take better care of myself and to exercise. It has worked so far. I made a life change and it isn't even too hard. I am glad you are "happy" about your new start!

Unknown said...

The gestational diabetes will force me to do better. I want to lose 50 pounds in the next year, though I can't start for another 9 weeks. That would take me back to prepregnancy weight. I would like to lose a bit more then that, but that won't come until after nursing. I am just so impressed that you will post your weight...I never could.

kellerie said...

good for you! this sounds like a really good plan - eating for health, not dieting and making yourself miserable.
I am trying a variation of the same sort of idea. I know that my biggest food issue is my willpower after school. so, I am going to eat healthy during the day - packing a good breakfast and lunch - and then not restricting myself at dinner time. If I want a burger and fries, I'll eat it. If I want dessert, I'll go for it. but, I won't eat after dinner, and I'll work out every night.

I'm interested to hear more about the book, and how things work for you.

Anonymous said...

I've never heard of that book before sounds interesting. I looke forard to more of your posts on this subject!

Creative Play Child Care said...

wow, i wanna know all about it so I can tell my fat friends. they really need to get moving!