I’m done

No, really. I’m done.

For about 40 years I’ve been dieting and I’m still fat. So I’m done.

I’m meeting with a nutrition coach. and this came about in an unconventional way I’ll explain shortly, but in chatting with her yesterday it hit me like a ton of bricks. With every food choice she presented to me, I shot back with a diet or way of eating (WOE to us professional dieters) I’d already tried.

“What about peppers in your stir fry? Red peppers, green, orange, yellow peppers?” she said.

“Oh no. I can’t. I don’t do nightshades.” I replied.

“Hmm. Let’s add some quinoa.”

“Can’t. I don’t eat grains.”

“OK. How do you feel about yogurt for breakfast?”

“Well – I’m not eating dairy, and also I’m doing intermittent fasting, so no breakfast.”

 ARE YOU LISTENING TO YOURSELF, VIKKI?

Yes, you definitely have tried every damn diet on the planet, but no, you can’t be following all of them at the same time, and you need to stop using them as excuses when it’s convenient for you!

Stop

It’s time to stop. Take the proverbial step back, and look at this from a higher perspective.

I truly have been dieting for 40 years, and I’m no better off now than I was when I was 20 – except I’m 100lb heavier.

I grew up being told I was fat, stupid, and lazy when in fact I was none of those things. I now know what happens when your subconscience repeatedly hears a message. It becomes your truth. I look back at photos of myself as a teenager and young adult and wish I was as “fat” now as I was then!

I’ve also had back issues since I was in my early twenties, but nothing like the problems I’m facing today. And you know how it is with back issues. Everybody has the cure, everybody has something you should try, and at the base of everybody’s reasoning is the evergreen “if you could just lose some weight …”

My own mother’s favorite line was “You’re such a pretty girl, if you could just lose some weight.”

I’m at the point where I just preface all my conversations about my back issues with “I know that it would help if I lost some weight, but …”

So, here I am.

I’ll be 60 this year and until yesterday, I was still buying into the hype that the next “diet” isn’t a diet, it’s a lifestyle, and it’s going to be the one. The one that works. The one that fixes me.

I literally have tried them all. Pills, powders, plans, protein shakes, prohibiting this, that, or the other. I’ve done supplements and suppressants, injections and infusions. Medically prescribed, over the counter, and under the counter. Legitimate, and absolutely ridiculous (hello, cabbage soup diet!)

Why is it different now? Why am I saying “I’m done”?

Vikki: v.2021

Let’s circle back to about February of this year. A good friend had posted on social media that one of her clients was looking for some help with her business, and I jumped in with an offer to help. The business was a local health and nutrition coaching company. I was familiar with the business name and was Facebook friends with the owner as we had been part of some of the same networking groups over the years.

I hadn’t paid much attention to this company though. Having been burned by other health and nutrition coaching companies in the past, I tended to steer clear of anyone promising better health through nutrition. I have no trouble admitting that sometimes my stubbornness is my worst trait.

Sidenote: have you ever been to a chiropractor’s office and been talked into buying high-priced food supplements on a subscription plan? No? Just me then?

But as I met with Coach Deb and learned more about her business, her past, her ethics, her personality, where she gets her information, and the reason she loves her work, the more interested I became in her program. And let’s be very clear – she wasn’t trying to sell to me or recruit me. This was purely a business meeting – me doing work for her. I started getting more than a little bit interested and suggested that I could get a better understanding of the program if I was to do it.

You have no idea how excited I was when Deb agreed that it would be a good idea for me to get the view from inside the program!

The final beginning

My initial meeting with Deb involved an overview of what was to come. She explained we would initially meet weekly, do an InBody scan and go over those results (weight, body composition, muscle-fat analysis, inflammation, etc.) and those results would be compared at each meeting.

I would complete a daily food journal, which we would discuss, looking at how my food choices influenced the scan results.

The food journal also has spaces for affirmations, daily successes and challenges, movement and mindset, that kind of thing. All very important in this journey!

Initial testing

Genetic testing and food sensitivity testing are included in the program. I had previously had both of those done independently but had never had the results interpreted in relation to any kind of nutrition plan, so it will be interesting to see firstly if the food sensitivity results have changed, and secondly how they influence what I should – and should not – be eating.

My first week

What do I have to look forward to?

I was delighted that our initial conversation did not start with “you need to go through your cupboards and throw out everything that’s not compliant.” (We’ve all been there, right? It is an expensive and unnecessary exercise.)

We didn’t even talk about compliance!

We did discuss eating real food, which. is pretty much the norm for me. I’ve got food planning down to a fine art – I just need the motivation and mindset shift to stick to it.

And a plan for when something happens to throw me off my schedule. An unscheduled meeting; forgot to get an ingredient out of the freezer; didn’t get to the store; drive-through menu looks good; favorite pizza restaurants launches a new flavor; etc. You know how it is!

This program is a gradual shift into a plan that is tailor-made for me, based on my genetic testing and food sensitivity testing. I have my genetic testing results but don’t yet have my sensitivity test results, so I’m using my previous results until the updated ones are available.

We started with a breakfast makeover. Deb determined that a bigger breakfast would see me further through the day and I would not be as reliant on “eating lunch at lunchtime”. That’s another mindset trap I had fallen into. Eating because it was a mealtime, not because I was hungry.

The picture at the top of this post is my first breakfast on this program. A BLA. It would be a BLT, but I don’t eat tomatoes, so we swapped the T for A – which is avocado. It’s a beautiful ciabatta roll from Costco (I keep them in the freezer), baked at 375 degrees for 4 minutes. The roll is filled with 2 slices of bacon, a handful of organic spring mix, and half an avocado, sliced. Real food. Filling. Eaten mindfully. Savoring every taste-filled bite.

And then there’s the green tea frappuccino!

I do love the convenience of driving through that famous overpriced coffee store and picking up a frozen treat, and my frozen treat of choice is a green tea frappuccino no whip.

I learned a long time ago that I could buy matcha powder and make my own for a fraction of the price, and with a fraction of the calories.

I just needed to get my mind out of the convenience mindset. In reality, it probably takes less time for me to blend this up than it does for me to wait in line for my order at SBs.

This is such a simple recipe (and it contains affiliate links!) In a blender, blend:

• 8 ice cubes
• 3/4 cup almond milk (or milk of your choice)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 tsp matcha powder (I use Ito En brand. This is a HUGE bag. I bought this size from Costco a long time ago and it has lasted me years. 12oz will last forEVER!)
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 4 drops liquid stevia (I like Sweet Drops)

You can also add collagen powder, or any other add-ins you usually add to juices or teas – I put this Winged Chilled Out Relaxation Mix in my last one, and it was really good!

I learned from a SB barista that they use melon syrup in their green tea fraps, contributing to the high calorie count, so you could use a sugar-free syrup instead of the liquid stevia if you like (pineapple looks good!) I haven’t tried it, so I can’t vouch for it!

Tune in next week

So, that’s my first week. I’ll post an update next week. I’d love to answer questions if you have any.