My physical therapist was here this week and she mentioned that she had gained 10 pounds during the COVID-19 crisis. I did a quick calculation: “Goodness! I gained 20!” I’m not sure why I was so surprised–I know exactly how I did it. I have always been an emotional eater, and I am perennially happy and at home in the kitchen. That turned out to be a toxic combination when trying to maintain my weight during a pandemic. I dedicated lots of extra hours to cooking and baking and expended my nervous energy through nibbling. Gaining 20 pounds was easy.
In any planning process, it’s good to assess where you are at the beginning of the plan. I can easily identify several strong assets.
· I have the habit of getting regular exercise in the form of walking and strength training.
· My eating habits are surprisingly good: Now that I’m not scared to death, I eat moderate amounts.
· My love of the kitchen has become a real advantage as I whip up nutritious meals that are heavy on produce and light in fat and carbs.
· I can say “no” to sweets and goodies. I have them on occasion so that I never feel deprived.
· I get on the scale and record my weight each week. And I write the number down, no matter what it says.
In Stop Losing and Win (which we hope to publish this summer), Karen and I provide just one chapter on dieting. Through research and experience, we learned that dieting is a pernicious process that has severe consequences for the mind and body. We recommend to our readers that they diet for no more than six months, going back to maintenance in order to fully recover from diet deprivation. I will consider our own advice in my planning. I have not even decided whether to diet again or not, knowing how fraught that process can be. Check-in with me next week when we will grapple with the big question: “To diet or not to diet?
Stop Losing and Win 