AS WHAT we had read last time from this corner, New Year’s resolutions notoriously have very short lifespans. If by some destiny we miraculously manage to fulfil half of what’s on our list, it already is a huge accomplishment.
Most of us who overwork weighing scales intend to control our poundage as the New Year begins. We embark on a diet plan with the hope and dream of dropping several unwanted kilos. And except for a select few who succeed in doing so, chances are we get heavier because we had embarked on an unrealistic weight reduction program. Truly, I struggle with this thing.
Experts say that we should get into a weight management plan that really works for us. Personally, no matter how suited that program would be for us, if we don’t have the conviction, determination and focus, three weeks is too long for the six-pack abs dream to die. Welcome back to the beloved beer tummy.
According to writer and registered dietician Sally Kuzemchak, diets fail because people have different ways of eating. There carnivores, vegetarians and all those in between. Of course, our lifestyles and genes play significant factors. Some people, especially those who are physically fit, have faster metabolism compared to others, thus they don’t struggle with excess baggage.
She said that diet programs that we plan to do could have eliminated all the favorites that we eat daily. We might find it easy dropping our preferred eats but could find the going hard quickly if we discard all of them at once. The best way to do it she said is to eliminate them one week at a time and observe if we notice some difference.
There are some diet plans that require us to track our food intake and she said that if it’s too tedious for us to do on a daily basis, then this program is simply not for us. Also to be considered are diet plans that we had tried and whether it showed results. If not, then dieting is not for us specially if we love to cook. You see, cooking is a way of life. If you don’t cook, you don’t eat. If you don’t eat, you die. Therefore, diet is die with a “T”.
The best plan, if we really do want to control our food intake, is to make a personalised approach. Let’s have a little of everything, like when we used to consume a bandehado of rice, let’s make it half a bandehado nalang, and one regular sized Coke instead of a Litro every meal. We can cut out on late night meals and thus gives us a more restful sleep instead of gas build-ups that could foul up the night air and irritate our spouses, if you know what I mean.
Kuzemchak added that in whatever we do, let us not treat it like punishment. “If you’re feeling deprived, isolated and irritable, the approach is just not for you. Because no ‘new you’ is worth that”.
Indeed. How can we achieve things successfully if there are negative feelings along the way?
But at this time of the year, the weather tends to be cold and as I write this piece, it is raining. The condition is beer-weather and tends to temp non-drinkers with comfort food. The Ati-Atihan and Dinagyang festivals are a very good reason to eat, drink and be merry. So people, good luck with the weight management plan. There is always a next year and it’s just 11 months away./PN
