Through my extensive research and study through the years of different diets and health plans (and by extensive research and study I mean reaching the point in my life where I'm unable to squeeze my big ass into my clothes, becoming desperate and being willing to try pretty much ANYTHING to lose weight...and failing time and time again), I finally have started to realize that there is no such thing as the an easy, one size fits all (pun intended), perfect plan.
There is so much more to becoming healthier and losing weight than following a cookie cutter approach to changing your life. Any popular plan can give you the knowledge and tools to make healthier and more informed choices. Some of these plans will even tell you what to eat, when to eat it and give you guidelines as to how much physical activity you should be striving for each day. Sounds great, right? Almost...except for one important key element. None of these plans take into account an individual's level of commitment.
Full disclosure: While I'm good at coordinating plans for my job and in my social life, I suck at it personally. I can tell you where I'll be at any given hour six months from now. If you ask me what I'm having for dinner tonight, I may look at you like you have two heads. Now conversely, if I ask my best girl friend what she's making for dinner tonight, she has a complete menu set and ready to go. I'm pretty sure she could tell you what will be on the table a week from next Tuesday if you inquired. Now that's skill.
In this instance, a plan that includes daily menus and requirements might be good for me. Many have seen success on these plans, some of which require that you purchase their prepackaged, preportioned meals. For those who become overwhelmed with the idea of making the "right" choices, this certainly would take care of that issue.
On the other the hand, I'm 35 years old. At some point, you would hope, I should arm myself with the knowledge and skills it takes to make these decisions myself. I don't think it's realistic for anyone to live off of microwaved meals forever.
"But Robby, most of these plans were designed for a short term of losing weight, not forever."
Another full disclosure: At this stage of my life, it is concievable that my relationship with fitness and food will never be a short term affair. Though I'm hoping to make it less emtotionally and physically consuming and stressful, I'm fairly certain it will remain complicated until I'm eating sugar free cookies in the sky. That's my reality. I know that short of a brain transplant, no plan can fix that. That's on me to own and recognize. So clearly, I'm in this for the long haul.
What I have loved (even in my darkest periods) about Weight Watchers is that it is designed to be long term if needed. They teach you how to make these informed choices on your own. But you have to listen and you have to apply them. I've been pretty open about the success their program has helped me achieve. I've also been candid about how it doesn't do the work for you if you're not giving it you're all.
But as much as I love Weight Watchers and the fabulous people I've met along the way, I do confess that my issue with the plan is the actual food planning, which I mentioned earlier. Not only am I not a great planner in that regard, I'm by no stretch of the imagination a cook. Eating has never been the problem, obviously. Preparing actual nutricious food has been . Admittedly, I've always been about grabbing and going. And through the convenience of fast food restaurants and the like, I've been able to do that. I've also successfully blown up like a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Float as a consequence. As over the top as I can be, that's not a look anyone wants to be serving.
That said, I am a firm believer that anything worth doing can be tailored to your own particular strength and weaknesses. For me, while I'm incredibly bad at planning meals, I am good with established routines. So I've made actually making a shopping list part of a routine. I end my work week by reviewing next week's calendar. While I am doing this, I plan my meals around my schedule. And in my planning, since cooking is no friend of mine AND I have had an interest in exploring other plans that include menus and food, I've started stocking up on two particular brands of prepackaged and preportioned meals, Lean Cuisine and Smart Ones, both of which fall within my daily requirements, are easy and quick to prepare, and are filling. And with so many different choices, I'm never bored with them and they actually taste like food, not bland punishments.
So this is what is working for me. It has taken a minute to fully and honestly assess my situation, but once I began to, I have been able to start working on the things that have been problematic (planning my meals and stocking my kitchen with user friendly products), turn my attention to other areas that need attention (Why hello, Mr. Treadmill!) and actually enjoy the fruits of my labor (I'm physically feeling better, emotionally I'm not as stressed and have shed 16.2 pounds in five weeks!).
This Month's Reality Check: No food or fitness plan will ever cater to 100% of your needs. But if you work with it and are honest about your strengths and weaknesses, you can tailor anything to suit you and help you accomplish your goals!
