Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Doing it all wrong

I've lost about 10 pounds over the past 6 months, by doing it the wrong way. Ok, I've read all the stuff. They all say pretty much the same thing: eat 5-6 small meals a day, spread the food out so you don't get hungry. Sounds sensible, yes.

And totally doesn't work for me. It just doesn't. I don't like doing it, for one thing.

Here's what works:

Initially, I was diagnosed with diabetes insipidus, a kidney disease that makes you pee gallons and gallons, causes dehydration because even if you don't drink gallons you will continue to pee them. I was always thirsty, always drinking (even during the night, I kept a 1/2 gallon jug by the bed, and would have to refill it around 2 am), always peeing. Anyway, that diagnoses resulted in the orders to change my diet. I was supposed to eat only things that every single diet plan in the WORLD told me not to eat. No whole grains, only processed ones like white rice, white bread. No leafy green vegetable (WHAT?), no fresh fruit (only canned, WHAT??) and limit my meat to 2 oz a day. Thing is, I HATE processed grains, white bread, canned fruit. So, rather than eating those things, I just quit eating.

It's quite the diet plan. Don't eat. After about 4 months of poptarts for breakfast (BLEH), white rice for lunch (BLEH!) and cabbage (the one veg I could have all I wanted of) for supper, my stomach kind of shrank and I simply wasn't eating as much.

Now that I have permission to return to Normal Food (Yay!) I don't eat as much. In fact, I'm eating roughly twice a day, rather than the recommended 5-6 times. Breakfast around 10 (I don't like to eat when I get up, preferring copious cups of coffee...shhh), supper at 6, and that's all. Maybe an apple 2-ish, but not usually. If I can wait until I am screamingly hungry, and eat until I'm not hungry (rather that until I'm full), I'll eat about 1/2 as much as I used to.

Now, as far as weight is concerned, currently I have no idea. The best I can say is that the size 20 jeans slide off without unbuttoning them. Which is fine. The size 18 dresses kinda hang loose, and the recently purchased size 16 tops fit great!