It's not just a lack of willpower....

....  finally a book that has explained why I can sit and pick at a plate of food when I'm no longer hungry.  And why I can tell myself I will eat only one cookie and that one turns into the entire package.

It's not a sugar-addiction, but my love for sweets doesn't help.  It's a purposeful re-wiring of the brain by the food industry.  Some people are more susceptible to it than others.  I'm one of the more susceptible people.  D is not.  Lucky him.

Anyway, I learned all this in David Kessler's fascinating, enlightening and at times disheartening book: The End of Overeating.

There is hope.  Kessler doesn't provide a diet plan (thank goodness), but does strongly suggest establishing structure around food, eating and environment.  He also suggests establishing firm rules.

And in reading his suggestions, I realized that is what I've allowed to almost completely slip away from my eating - firm rules and structure.  No wonder it's been a struggle.

Weight Maintenance is Possible

One of my favorite blogs, Refuse to Regain, posted a entry this week calling for readers to post their thoughts about weight maintenance and is it truly possible.  What prompted the call for responses was an email from a reader asking if it was possible and listing many of the sources of her fear.  There have been several responses... a few echoing the fear but most saying yes, maintenance is possible.

And I'm living proof of that.  As is Sandrelle on Keeping The Pounds Off.  As is Sarah on The Weight it Is.  And as is Lynn on Lynn's Weigh.   And so many others - many members of MyFoodDiary.com.   

There are common threads in the posts saying maintenance is possible:

1.  Believe it is possible and that you can do it

2.  Don't expect to diet, lose weight, and return to your previous lifestyle if you want to maintain

3.  Accept that somedays it will take huge effort to do what needs to be done: exercise, plan and prepare food

4.  Have back-up plans for when life happens and your normal eating plan gets hosed

5.  Be willing to give up some activities for new ones that enhance your health

6.  Hold yourself accountable daily

7.  Surround yourself with other successful maintainers

8.  Limit your exposure to the naysayers

9.  Get support - but make sure it's real support

10. Take corrective action if you see yourself slipping into old habits

11.  Celebrate your successful maintenance!

I'm sure there are many other things maintainers do.  The bottom line is that to have healthy life, we all need to eat healthfully and move our bodies.  If we've lost weight, we need to do this a bit more diligently than those who have never had a weight problem.  Aren't we worth it?