Reading about, diets, weightloss and nutrition

nosnos · Post by **nosnos** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 12:13 pm

A little thing I have noticed is that when I have read a lot about, diet, weightloss and nutrition. I think I feel the same 'piousness' as if I have actually applied this knowledge. It makes me feel as if I am being strict, which in the past has lead me to slip up, with the justification that I don't need to be be soo hard on myself as I am soo strict most of the time!! Even spending too much time on here can have the same effect! This week I have cut down my 'diet research time' and I have noticed I am much more aware of where I'm actually at with my diet and habit.
One part of my job is advising people on nutrition, I have spent years styudying and training in all aspects of health food and different systems of nutrition and after all this research I can still say that I am not at my happy weight only 5 - 10lbs over but I have been this much over for years. I eat very healthily and way better then average but clearly I still eat too much! Whereas my other half who never thinks about food is at the perfect weight for him. It's almost like I think it is just enough to know about food. I feel like I have 'dieted' less this week I have just eaten at mealtimes (bar one slip up) and got on with my life.
Anybody else find they are more leanient on themselves when they have read a lot of food, body diet stuff, or is it just me?

BrightAngel · Post by **BrightAngel** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 12:46 pm

nosnos wrote:A little thing I have noticed is that when I have read a lot about, diet, weightloss and nutrition. I think I feel the same 'piousness' as if I have actually applied this knowledge.
Anybody else find they are more leanient on themselves when they have read a lot of food, body diet stuff, or is it just me?

nosnos, that's a very interesting point.
My own observation is that inner pressure can build up
when the scale gets higher, or I'm not following my food plan as well as I wish.

Reading diet articles or books DOES tend to relieve some of that pressure.
It seems to "take the edge off",
and provide me motivation to continue working toward my maintenance goals.

I can see how this relief of pressure could also cause more leniency,
smilar to the way some people seem to think that
"talking about it" sometimes seems to be the same thing as "doing it".

jellybeans01 · Post by **jellybeans01** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 1:28 pm

I know what you mean. Maybe it gives a comfort of knowing all these answers to get to the weight we want to be at. Maybe it gives a sort of false security, not sure how to put it in words but I know what you mean.

Nicest of the Damned · Post by **Nicest of the Damned** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 1:37 pm

Reading about diet stuff is great, if that's your thing. Talking about diets is good, with a consenting partner. But it's no substitute for doing diet stuff like eating less and exercising more. If you start to think or feel that it is, then that's a problem. I suspect this is a common problem, and that's one reason why we, as a society, spend billions of dollars on diet books and the like and still have an obesity problem.

Reading cookbooks (diet or not) and planning meals, though, can be helpful. There are studies showing that people eat more fruits and vegetables when they plan their meals in advance. That certainly fits with my experience. I'm not a planner by nature, but I try to plan meals, because I know they will be healthier on average if I do. I find I'm inspired to plan meals by reading cookbooks.

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 1:53 pm

Nicest, you may be on to something. I'm not sure I think about food LESS on No-S as much as I think about it DIFFERENTLY.

Instead of angsting over calorie counts, I look at new recipes, try new vegetables, sign up for a veggie box to help me expand my horizons, etc. I bake on weekends, and make homemade bread.

It's nearly the same amount of time, but much more enjoyable!

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 4:41 pm

nosnos wrote:.
One part of my job is advising people on nutrition, I have spent years styudying and training in all aspects of health food and different systems of nutrition and after all this research I can still say that I am not at my happy weight only 5 - 10lbs over but I have been this much over for years. I eat very healthily and way better then average but clearly I still eat too much! Whereas my other half who never thinks about food is at the perfect weight for him. It's almost like I think it is just enough to know about food. I feel like I have 'dieted' less this week I have just eaten at mealtimes (bar one slip up) and got on with my life.
Anybody else find they are more leanient on themselves when they have read a lot of food, body diet stuff, or is it just me?

If you're eating well and you've been at a weight that is 5-10 pounds higher than your "happy weight" I have to wonder if your happy weight is really more between your ears than on the scale. If you've been maintaining that weight for years, it might be your happy weight. Not all of us are going to reach some ideal "perfect weight." Or, if we do, we have to deprive ourselves of pleasure.

In my experience, those who read the most about diet and nutrition aren't more lenient, but more strict. Or, like me who read about it for years and finally decided it was confusing and frustrating and just gave up and decided to enjoy food -- kind of like people did 50-60 years ago when most weren't concerned about it and few had serious issues with weight.

sophiasapientia · Post by **sophiasapientia** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 5:41 pm

I get what you are saying, too. There was a point in my life when I spent a lot of time reading diet books and I felt rather smart about nutrition and could spout off all kinds of information about calories, carbs, or whatever the latest diet trend. I think it made me feel like I was doing something at a point when I was struggling with my weight and felt rather depressed/hopeless. Unfortunately, for me, anyway, this knowledge didn't necessarily translate into practical wisdom given the fact that I was obese.

At some point, I guess I decided I needed to do rather than think. I needed to move my body. I needed to change my relationship with food by changing my habits. I needed to eat less. No S helped tremendously. Michael Pollan's writings did too. It was humbling for me to read about the history of nutritionism and discover how little even the experts understand and how the latest dietary "wisdom" can change in a blink depending on politics, the latest research, etc. So ... I no longer feel all that pious when I learn something new about nutrition, partly because I take everything with a grain of salt. But I do feel a little pious when my No S habits are solid and I'm living out my commitment to be a more active person.

nosnos · Post by **nosnos** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 10:41 pm

It's been nice to know others know what I mean. NoS and having a break from research is showing me where I need to tighten up, Cos actually when I've been doing well that should be the bedrock and when I've been a little greedy THAT's the work, that's it! Somehow in all my 'knowledge' I have failed to do the work when it's needed doing, which isn't really all that often... but a little more then I have been doing. Moderation- why couldn't I see it before?!
That being said being educated about food is a blessing and it has literally cured me of some stubborn long standing ailments so it has it's place for sure- despite all the contradictions!
Most of the stuff I have read recently I already knew so I really was just filling some kind of hole or releasing some pressure maybe (as Bright angel said). I'ts good to know, and it seems to make it much easier for me to get on with it

And I'm pleased to report my weight seems to have dropped (a little fraction) after literally a few days of checking in, being honest and getting on with it after being in a plateau since I started Nos

so it appears I have begun to head in the right direction.

BrightAngel · Post by **BrightAngel** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 1:47 pm

nosnos wrote: And I'm pleased to report my weight seems to have dropped (a little fraction) after literally a few days of checking in, being honest and getting on with it after being in a plateau since I started Nos so it appears I have begun to head in the right direction.

Congratulations, nosnos

NoSnacker · Post by **NoSnacker** » Sat Jun 18, 2011 7:43 pm

I am 1/2 way thru reading the No S Diet book again, as I really love it and it's no pressure approach. I read a lot too and I think it is great to read as one can take bits and pieces and apply what works for them.

I think so far of all the books I've read the no s diet is the best...for me to read something over again, speaks for itself.

I'm a sparkpeople member and I'm pretty much deciding to go dormant again only because I want to free up time to enjoy life, not obsess about things...

Read on I say

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sun Jun 19, 2011 7:59 pm

I think that is an absolute brilliant insight. I agree in regard to nutrition issues and I saw it in my reading of many self-help books, books on spirituality, and the like. I thought they meant that I was "working on myself," and had me believing that I was farther along than I was. Then I would meet people at work who had much better attitudes and coping strategies than I did, but who had never read a self-help book in their life!

However, now I think that those efforts all played their part and I'm glad for my exposure to them all. In fact, in some other realms, I have been able to be of help to others partly because of passing on learnings from all that input AND my implementation of it. Also, I think people who have not grappled with some of the problems and had to consciously look at what is going on and make efforts to change are often actually of little help to those who struggle. Basically, what they often have to offer is to say, boy, that's not very smart. Don't do that. Oh, okay. Yeah, right!

I think the field of nutrition has its main value in helping people who have specific health issues that demand a change in specific food intake. I think, with all due respect, that nutritionists became the experts in weight loss has been a big mistake, since weight loss, as Reinhard saw, for the majority of people was about finding ways to make it a habit of eating less food in general and less of a few specific foods that make moderation more problematic.

Actually, I think your experience with No S is going to make you more valuable in your nutrition work because you will probably be able to spot the hype more shrewdly.

BrightAngel · Post by **BrightAngel** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 1:10 am

oolala53 wrote:I'm glad for my exposure to them all.

I think...that nutritionists became the experts in weight loss has been a big mistake,
since weight loss...for the majority of people was about finding ways to
make it a habit of eating less food in general
and less of a few specific foods that make moderation more problematic.

I am one of those people for whom certain wisdom doesn't come naturally,
and I have to read and study to obtain it.

I also agree that, frequently, nutritionists aren't helpful for weight-loss issues.

M's sick of dieting · Post by **M's sick of dieting** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 2:02 pm

I think the more I read about health and diets the more food obsessed I get. "Diet Head" is a hard habit to break, I personally still battle it. My husband has even told me I need AA for dieting, I'm addicted. After 23 years of dieting I've come to the conclusion that it all works but it's near impossible to stick to a strict diet forever. I need to work on everyday habits. When I do this I'm not as hungry cause I'm not eating breakfast and thinking about lunch, and measuring and counting and obsessing over every bite. Then eventually falling off the diet and hating myself. It's a vicious cycle so many of us are on.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 7:35 am

Promise not to hate yourself if you have a fail here. Decreasing the energy on it is key. The more guilt you take away, the less compelling overeating will be and you can pay more attention to your real hunger. It doesn't work in just two or three days and then is never a problem again.

BrightAngel · Post by **BrightAngel** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 1:12 pm

M's sick of dieting wrote: My husband has even told me I need AA for dieting, I'm addicted.
After 23 years of dieting I've come to the conclusion that it all works
but it's near impossible to stick to a strict diet forever.
I need to work on everyday habits.

Personally, I've learned to view dieting as an enjoyable Hobby,
and this has helped me with my weight and food issues.
My life is part of a Whole, and eating is a consistent part of that.
I can choose to experiment with various Ways of Eating, i.e. Diets.

Some bring positive weight results, some do not.
Some eating practices become positive Habits, some do not,
but the key is to learn to ENJOY this process, of living with "dieting"
and not feel guilty or "less than" when incorporating it into one's life.

Everyday Systems

Reading about, diets, weightloss and nutrition

Reading about, diets, weightloss and nutrition

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