Did you see that the New York Times had a magazine cover article on weight loss and how difficult it is to lose weight (Sun Jan 1 2012)? It turns out there is a growing body of research showing that our bodies become more hungry and hold on tighter to every calorie after we’ve lost weight; and that some people simply have a harder time than others losing weight (spoiler alert, but no surprise: genetics is a big culprit.)
So, you probably didn’t need me, or an article in the New York Times to tell you that weight loss is difficult, and that maintaining weight loss is as or more difficult. I found it interesting, though, that the article didn’t back away from this difficulty: it didn’t try to supply any trite easy answers.
One very helpful point that they did make was how we are surrounded by—indeed, barraged by—food, images of food, talk of food, and that this forces us to think about food, even subconsciously, or to make an effort not to think about food. This, in turn, probably contributes to the difficulty of eating reasonably.
We think that PMS food cravings and PMS-induced binges and overeating are a major culprit in undermining women’s healthy diet plans. We also know that PMS symptoms can make you draw into your own shell, withdrawing from social interactions, feeling depressed or anxious or achy, and even a few days of feeling this way can interrupt a healthy diet and exercise routine, making it that much harder to get it going and to stay with it.
Still, we don’t dispute the Times’ conclusion that losing weight, especially in this culture, is one of the most difficult things anyone can undertake, especially because so many of the people who struggle with weight are dealing with sluggish metabolism or a genetic tendency to gain weight. PMS symptoms like food cravings and binges just compound the problem.
But we’d suggest that just because something is difficult doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try, in spite of the obstacles: after all, the reward and feeling of accomplishment is much greater when you overcome significant obstacles.
We would like to propose our PMS Balance Diet, including all its permutations: What not to eat for PMS; Hypoglycemia Diet for PMS; and our Food Allergy Diet for PMS as a logical place to start, no matter your situation. This is not a fad diet or a weight-loss diet—those don’t work, and you’ll just put the weight back on. This is a healthy way of eating that you can maintain for life, and you’ll do more than just lose weight. You’ll reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and all kinds of problems at the same time. Plus, you’ll feel better, usually within a couple of weeks. We have a seven-day healthy eating plan you can use to make it easier, and we give you exact and specific instructions on how to find out if you have food allergies.
We want to make it easier for you to be healthy, even when we’re talking about weight loss, which is anything but easy.
