Let's Lose Weight Together

I love French fries, potato chips, pastries, coffee in my cream, enchiladas with green chili, tacos, and you get the point.  This food is truly addictive.  According to The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food, in The New York Times Magazine, food companies know just how to grab us where we’re most vulnerable—with crunchy goodness that taps into brain receptors through sugar, salt or fat.  All this makes our blood sugars spike and leads to our craving more.  And our consumption of these foods is  supported with staggering marketing efforts.

One scientist, who spent 30 years developing fast food, commented in the article, “I feel sorry for the public.”

So if you have been having trouble losing weight—or if, like me, you have been gaining it—stop feeling guilty. We’re working against some serious forces.  It can take a truckload of effort to fight our impulse to eat these taste-good, feel-bad treats.

But I am going to do it. Here is my plan.

I have been somewhat lax in my healthy eating habits lately.  I sort of fell off a cliff once I allowed myself unlimited access to French fries.  It was all uphill on the scale from there.  And downhill on my health.  I have gained ten pounds in two years and it is time to get back on the health train.  So, in an effort to keep me honest, I am going public with my diet.  I will publish what I eat each day, so I can motivate myself to do what is good for me.  If you want to join me, just add your notes to the comments section.  Or join me silently.

[Here’s how I did the first day.]

There’s a great deal of evidence that being overweight is a risk for triple-negative breast cancer.  And the only real way to lose weight is by modifying our diet and increasing our exercise.  No fads, no quick fixes, just modifying what we eat and how much we move. I will maintain my goal of four hours of exercise a week—I have been OK with that one—but I will strive to:

• Focus on a plant-based diet high in vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, and seeds.
• Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
• Reduce the amount of saturated and trans fats in my diet—these come from fried and processed food, plus meats, cheese, butter, and ice cream.  This will be difficult.

We’ll see how this goes.     I’ll do it for two weeks and see what progress I make.  

I hope you can join me.  I hope I can be a good model.