Diary of a Failed Dieter

[Blitz]

I picked up a used copy of “A Journal of Daily Renewal” by Bob Greene and Oprah Winfrey recently at a junk shop. I say used – I do mean used. Someone had written a handful of entries chronicling their attempts at weight loss. It makes for interesting reading. With an experience eye the person’s mistakes are readily discernible and very typical of a lot of people’s experience. I thought I’ll post the diary’s daily entries and my take on where this person went wrong. By doing so maybe the reader may avoid a similar fate by learning from someone else’s failed journey. Names, events and places have been altered to protect privacy.

DAY 1
Well I slept in this morning so didn’t go to the gym as promised & the food for brekkie wasn’t as organised as I would like.
I am proud of myself for not ‘pigging’ out in the afternoon & snacking on chocolate, coke & chips. Actually felt better for it.
Woke up v(ery) tired.
Throat is v(ery) sore.
Still getting over antibiotics.
W(ake up) 7:30am B(edtime) 11:00pm

Of the 8 glasses of water, 4 fruits and 6 vegetables chart only two vegetables were ticked off.
Hours between last meal /snack and bedtime: 3
Number of meals: 3
Number of Snacks: 1
Minutes if Exercise: 0
Weight: 66 (kilos)

B(reakfast) 1 Brekkie Bar
S(nack) 2 cups of coffee
L(unch) Ham, cheese & tomato s’wich
S(nack) 2 slices bread
D(inner) Pastie – Bought bottle diet coke but didn’t drink it

Well as you can see; not a good start at all. The grand goal was to sweep into a healthy way of life but she ends up achieving nothing of what she had wished for. The main problem is that she hadn’t made any concrete plans on how she was going to achieve her goal. It would have been far better if she had concentrated on just one aspect of her life and got that right before moving on. Now as it is she has started her job with failure and there is no momentum.

She had wanted to get to the gym but slept in instead. The question remains as to how she was going to do it. Did she lay out her gym gear the night before in readiness to go early? Did she go to bed early the night before so that she can get up on time? Perhaps mornings are just impractical for her to manage; did she consider another time of day that would have been easier to achieve? Maybe going to the gym is too involved an effort; perhaps a simple early walk would have been better.

She congratulates herself on not pigging out in the afternoon on chocolates and the like but is oblivious that her afternoon “snack” was two slices of bread! She could have made it a lot easier on herself if she had actually eaten a proper breakfast. A “Brekkie Bar” just don’t cut the mustard. No wonder she felt the temptation of junk food in the afternoon. She started the day running on empty. It isn’t hard to organise a decent breakfast. If she had only toasted one of those slices of bread and put some (not a huge amount) of jam and eaten that for breakfast and save the “Brekkie Bar” for the afternoon snack (an apple would have been even better choice) she would have done better. At least the calories would have been available for use at the right time of the day and doing her more good.

Next she lists a litany of excuses. Woke very tired; throat very sore; still getting over antibiotics...these should not be viewed as valid reasons why things were not done. These are just the circumstances of her life at the time. If a person who is a paraplegic can get up and go to the gym then surely her small reasons then don’t wash. Notice the play on defeating words. She isn’t just tired, has a sore throat or getting over antibiotics. Note the words “very”, “very” and “still”. These are special pleading words. The sort of thing you say to your mother when you are trying to get a day off school because there is a test on. If it was a hot date I wonder if that would have stopped her.

Dinner was a disaster. What a poor choice to start your first dinner with. I imagine one of the two vegetables she reports eating for the day is the carrot in the pastie. Never mind that it was wrapped up in pure fat! Surely she could have come up with a better option than that. The clue is in the bottle of diet coke she bought with it. She yielded to temptation but doesn’t admit to it. She placates her conscious by dwelling on the fact that after all she hadn’t drunk the diet coke. That’s like a drug addict saying that he didn’t use the cocaine whilst sucking on a reefer.
We learn that she weighs 66 kilos. What we don’t know is what her goal is. Nowhere on this first page is a statement about her destination. Her mind hasn’t a clear vision and as a consequence she has no direction in how to achieve her desires.

Kim

[Blitz]

DAY 2
Well went to the gym today & nearly killed myself doing cardio workout. On fast track 5 mins. on treddie at 10kmh - & I’m suppose to do half hour to do optus. That’s my 6 week goal. Proud of myself that I didn’t give up on the 10kmh on the 2nd session. Kept telling myself I AM A JOGGER.
Had the worst migraine at 4’ish

W- 9:00am B- 10:30pm
Ticked off 8 of the 8 glasses of water, 2 out the 4 fruits and 6 of the 6 vegetables symbols.
Hours between last meal /snack and bedtime: 3
Number of Meals: 3
Number of Snacks: 2
Minutes of Exercise: 60
Level of Exercise: 8/9

B- Grapefruit
S- Corn on Cob fresh
L- Mushroom Soup – Low Cal & Wholemeal Bread Roll with lite cream cheese
D- Grilled flake & 2 cups steamed veges

The good news of the day is that she managed to get to the gym.
Judging by her late rise I’m guessing that it wasn’t an early morning session.
I do worry that she may have started her exercise too hard. You don’t want to burn out on the first day.

Again the breakfast choice is poor. Her choice echoes notions of the healthiness of grapefruit (42cal per 100gr is the attraction) as promoted by that 1930’s granddaddy of fad diets ‘The Grapefruit Diet’ aka ‘The Hollywood Diet’. There is little nutritional value except Vitamin A (52% daily requirements).
It is thought to help burn fat when eaten with foods high in fat...which is yet another reason why bacon and eggs (good breakfast) should have been part of her breakfast choices.

Her migraine may have been the result of her weaning off coffee. Yesterday is had two and none was mentioned today.
It makes one wonder what her regular consumption was. In any case, vigorous exercise (especially when you aren’t use to it) could have dehydrated her. Not knowing when she exercised makes this a guess but to her credit she did have her 8 glasses of water (again the question is – when?).

Corn on the cob is not a snack. It is more like a second breakfast or early lunch. Fruit would have served her better.
I noticed that she ticked off on two fruits...but where are they on this food diary?
Either she is being dishonest in not listing all that she is eating or fudging about eating healthy fruit.
She also reported having two snacks but only lists what one of them was.

Again her lunch was a poor choice.
What use is having a healthy soup with a wholemeal bread roll (but how big was the roll?) when you are having cream cheese (the lite variety is still 30 calories she could have done without)?

Dinner was an excellent choice. Overall her meals were far better than yesterday.
However for future success she must learn to start her day with a meal that will carry her through the bulk of the day.

Kim

[Blitz]

Day 3
Woke up 7:30am full of energy. Went back to sleep & up @ 9:00am Now I’m tired. Had a good brekkie, nice long walk and now off to the gym. No migraine but no energy either – hope it is waiting for me at the gym.

Well I found it. Really enjoyed the workout. Kept telling myself I’m a runner & ENJOYING the jog and actually did. The 5 mins. went by quite quickly. Come home buggered though & slept for a few hours. No migraine today - Yeah!!!

W- 7:30am B- 11:00pm
Ticked off 4 of the 8 glasses of water, 1 out the 4 fruits and 5 of the 6 vegetables symbols.
Number of Meals: 3
Number of Snacks: 2
Minutes of Exercise: 60
Level of Exercise: 8

B- Mushroom on soy/linseed toast; 2 tsp butter; 1 yoghurt drink & Cup tea /no sugar
S- 1 Yoghurt
L- 1 Wholemeal bread roll toasted with lite cream cheese; creamy pumpkin soup
S- Banana
D- Lamb with mango salad & potato (baked) Yum!!

Although she recorded a 7:30am rise, the truth of the matter is that she actually got out of bed proper an hour and a half later.
That’s like me having to get up at 5am to empty out my bladder and going back to bed until 7am.
It doesn’t really count unless I’m out of the bed for the rest of the day.
The secret of successfully rising out of bed early is simple. When the alarm goes off – shoot out of bed as quickly as possible and don’t look back. Lazing in bed will only mean you will end up stopping there longer than you had originally planned.
She HAD the energy at 7:30am...it had left her by 9am!

Her gym work was good. I particularly liked the positive self talk.
Those they that say they can – can and those that say they can’t – can’t...and both are right! Unfortunately the gym work was wasted.
She fell into a common trap that a lot of people also have.
Resting/sleeping after exercise basically negates all the calories just burned.
Studies have shown that a lot of exercise benefits are wasted by this practise.
It is better to be on the move consistently during the day rather than frantic exercise followed by a rest period. More calories are burned by consistent movement.
Her breakfast was good but lunch probably was too much unless it was a small roll.
Also it would have been better not toasted. Her fruit count is wrong...she had two fruits.

Generally it wasn't a bad day...pity she didn't keep moving rather than surrender to sleep.

Kim

[Blitz]

Day 4
Woke up early, 5:30ish fully alert & awake. Thought it was too early to get up considering I had a 12 hour day of full on work so I went back to sleep – woke up at 7:00am and wasn’t nearly as awake. Didn’t have time for brekkie...had a migraine/headache in the morning. Had a coffee & it soon went away – maybe withdrawal still. Had a breakfast bar. Fruit pack in my bag but chose a sausage roll instead. At least I didn’t have the coke I guess...instead drank water. Really must consider my food choices more wisely i.e. maybe soup for dinner etc. Didn’t exercise today as full on with work & I’m not going to kill myself as have Jodie tomorrow.

W- 7:00am B- 10:30pm
Ticked off 5 of the 8 glasses of water, 1 out the 4 fruits and3 of the 6 vegetables symbols.
Hours between Last Meal/Snack and Bedtime: 3
Number of Meals: 3
Number of Snacks: 2
B- 1 Diet Yoghurt
S- 2x Granita & 1 coffee
L- 1 Vegetarian Foccacia & 1 Apple Blackcurrant Juice
D- 1 Sausage Roll
A(fter) D(inner)- I Drink Yoghurt
No Fruit – No Veges (really)

Today was a real falling away compared to the effort she put in the day before. At least she was honest about what time she really got up at.
What a pity she hadn’t got up at 5:30am. If she had she would have had time for a good walk and a breakfast.
No time for ‘brekkie’? How true is the saying “we do the things we want to do – and don’t do the things we don’t want to do”.
I believe the headache could have been entirely avoided by a getting up on time, having a good walk and a great breakfast.

Her food diary recording is poor and not accurate.
She ticks off one fruit and three vegetable symbols without realising these represent daily portions requirements of each type and not just a descriptive of what may or may not be contained in processed foods.
The final written words are recognition of the truth of the matter.
Her food intake has no real nutritional value. Also she records that she had a breakfast bar yet lists that she had diet yoghurt.
Was it a breakfast diet yoghurt bar?

She is eating far too late for someone trying to lose weight.
The longer gap you can put between eating and bedtime the better it will be for you.
She had three snacks today...calling something ‘After Dinner’ may make it sound alright but it still is what it is – a snack.
Taking ownership of our choices is a key part in developing a healthy lifestyle and long term success.
There is no real discussion on why she ended up eating a sausage roll rather than having the fruit pack that she had prepared and brought along with her. She also sops her conscious with the fuzzy pat on the back that she didn’t have the coke as well but stayed on the water.
It is what we eat that is our concern – not what we ended up not eating!

There were not great choices made today (except maybe lunch).
She records her regrets about not making better choices but reading between the lines you can see that she was running on a different agenda.
Her head talk was saying to her that she had a big work day and that being healthy can take a back seat to all that.
The poor hard worker ‘needed’ her usual food to get through the day...specially the coffee to medicate the migraine/headache.
All this can be put on hold until tomorrow...but as we know - tomorrow never comes!

We will deal with her attitude concerning Jodie and exercise next time.

Kim

[JP1]

I was starting to enjoy that thread

[Blitz]

More soon...I promise.

Kim