Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Total Confusion

Photo: Morningbounce


Here are the "messages" I've been getting from the blogs I read regularly:

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!
Diets don't work. The science is there to prove it.
Track every single calorie you ingest.
Food is not poison.
Fasting will kickstart weight loss.
Up your calorie intake if you've hit a plateau.
Low carb is the way to go.

Then there are the latest scary stories in the media, to whit: we really need a good 60 minutes of fairly strenuous exercise PER DAY to stay healthy. Well, maybe if I didn't have arthritis I'd try, but I guess since I do and I can't, I'm doomed.

What's a body to do?

Do you feel this confused?

10 comments:

  1. maybe this is why i read very few blogs.

    the only thing i've done is to continue to use a small plate (which I normally did anyway) and put the amount food on there i would think would fill me up realistically. this has ended up being about 1/2 of what i would normally eat. i've kept 10 pounds off. i don't feel denied of anything. i'm not hungry since i'm not starving myself. i'm still eating what i would normally eat except no more soda during the week.

    and when i look at the scale every morning i tell myself this is my new NORMAL weight and for some reason it's easier to keep myself there.

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  2. Hi Wendy. I think the real message here is that everyone is different. There is no one way of eating or of losing weight or of staying healthy.

    I read blogs of people from many different food cultures. People in different countries and cultures eat in different ways, think different ways of eating are "normal". This is before we take individual circumstances and physiology into consideration. My body worked differently when I was younger and will be different again when I am older. Mental illness has had a profound effect on my eating. Time, finances, physical disability, are just a few of the factors people may be juggling.

    There are so many factors involved that it would actually be really strange if the same thing worked for everybody.

    The only difficult thing is finding the the way that works for you where you are right now in your life.

    Bearfriend xx

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  3. Cindy, Your response has made my day!

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  4. I've come to the conclusion that everybody is different and I need to find what works for me and do it! :)

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  5. What's a body to do, indeed. I'm at an impasse. Thanks for your comments on my blog, duly considered! I have bought a copy of Paul Mckenna's book and am looking forward to reading it.

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  6. I read other people's blogs, but I know what works for me!

    Just an idea- half the time, some of the "best" bloggers don't really know what works for them, either!

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  7. I agree with Anne H. Sometimes some of us dont know what really works. I am on a journey just like the rest of you. I do find for myself when I focus on what I am Suppose to do and my focus becomes so much about exercise and food, it sends me on the roller coaster. If I continue to try to balance ALL the areas of my life, it seems to work much better.

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  8. I know what I believe, and what I believe is that nobody truly understands this stuff. Really, I think it's all about calorie balance, and people just really like to complicate things, think they're special, or they know a secret, or have found the "true" way. Interesting that I hate pasta, thus consider it diet food, whereas most consider it fattening? I wouldn't overeat the stuff without a gun to my head. So who's right?

    Weight loss seems simple compared to climate change science, which is what I'm trying to get a grip on these days.

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  9. For fifty years I have been trying to lose weight and finally this past year or so, I have come to some sort of philosophy to follow.....quality instead of quantity. I pretty much eat what I want....just less of it...and a better quality of food. Everyone is different and I think the key is to know your body and your mind..and find what works for you. It's so individual, this weight loss thing. What works for one doesn't necessarily work for another....health issues, metabolism, mindset and lifestyle all play a factor. Having said all that, however, I still have times when the control factor is missing....like since Christmas!!

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