Health initiative

Last weekend I finally made it into the dietician, a task three months delayed for administrative reasons. The session was surprisingly predictable: she had my lab report, we discussed my typical diet/activity, I had a list of questions.

The upshot of the visit was that my intake is too high in fat and carbs, my calorie load is too high. We discussed the changes I needed to make and the first steps I was going to have to do. We addressed my complete unwillingness to count calories, because I’ve tried and it doesn’t work and I quit. We discussed my need to have continual support for a while. There wasn’t anything in this session that I didn’t already know.

I was relieved that I didn’t need to completely overhaul or do anything weird. She thinks that if I can realign my eating habits, that I will avoid pharmaceutical intervention. There might be a bonus of losing weight, which I would be particularly grateful to see since some clothes are becoming uncomfortable — again. However, these first few days are not easy.  Portion size is easier to control, but spacing the meals and snacks out is difficult with the work that I do.

I’ve also created a tracking sheet for portions in terms of category. I get six “portions” of lean protein (6 oz), nine actual portions of carbohydrates (sadly, my favorite category), 3 actual portions of non-starchy vegetables, and 33g fat. I’m supposed to be focusing on the fat for now. The interesting thing is that with this system, I behave like a kid handed $5 and was told not to spend it all in one place. I find it easy to spend on carbs, but when that category is filled, I have to find something else to eat.

I’ve only been doing this for a few days. It’s still a disruptive process. I also have questions I need to email her about. I don’t eat much cheese, but when I do, do I count it as protein or fat or both? Also, why is the “portion” for meat 1 oz? That makes little sense when I’m trying to figure out a label. And just speaking of frustration, it seems that most labels have a baking measurement (cups, tablespoons), but their weights are in grams. Technically, it’s fine because I have a certain facility with metric, but all of the instructions and documents are in ounces and it’s a pain to constantly convert. I can’t imagine the frustration of someone who didn’t spend significant time with metric.

That aside, I am also reading the Mindful Diet by Wolever and Reardon. It attempts to address eating from a holistic perspective. There’s a lot of discussion of psychology and culture. I bought this some months back and have read about half of it just to have a first run through. But it’s interesting refreshing viewpoint that reminds me of what I know about science. For example, if I stop eating something that I know to be bad for me, I eventually will stop wanting it. Psychologically it’s hard to believe. But on the science side, they helped me remember that all that is is a case of receptor recycling. If I don’t stimulate that surface receptor, then it will eventually get pulled into the cell. Somehow that’s comforting to know.

So I’m just on the beginning of this trip. I’m coming home hungry, so overeating will be a problem today. We’ll see what happens.