Lessons Learned

Over the past 20 years or so, I have gone through many attempts at weight loss, with different programs. Rather than focus on the negatives of each failure, I thought I would reflect on what I learned from each one.

Slim Fast, circa 1990 - replacing a meal or two with a shake, even when they were really tasty, was not something I could do for an extended period of time. Any program that relies on meal substitution does not teach me sustainable good eating habits.

Weight Watchers, circa 1995 - the Fat and Fiber program actually worked really well for me, however, there was too much manual effort to keep track of my food consumption (this was my first food journal but it was all on paper). I also learned that not all fat is bad and that too little fat makes me really sluggish.

South Beach, circa 2005 - The fact that most of my favorite foods were off limits really made me feel like I was being punished. This was another program where it did not really teach me good eating habits and was just temporary. On the good side, I learned to pay attention to good carbs and to avoid processed sugar, which is something I continue to do.

I Can Make You Thin, circa 2008 - this program promotes the idea of eating when you're hungry and stopping when you're full (along with other aspects to help avoid emotional eating and to appreciate yourself). I learned to really pay attention to my body and to eat smaller portions. There is no real food guide to this program so I pretty much could eat whatever I wanted (which was sometimes a problem). However, I continue to eat smaller portions, eat several times a day and get full quickly.

myfitnesspal, June 2010 - use what I learned from the other program, be consistent with the easy-to-use food journal, and most importantly, get lots of encouragement from others is the best lesson of all!