The Rainbow Plan
(Continued from Part 1)
Because we live in obesogenic environments, it's entirely on us to make healthy food choices. Our government & corporations have thrown us to the wolves in favor of big profits. I've created the following plan to help anyone seeking to lose weight and keep it off. This plan is based on subtracting the most common causes of obesity & adding behaviors that will help you gain control of not only your weight but your overall nutritional health. Follow it and you're guaranteed to lose weight and keep it off forever.*
The only rule is that you do not skip ahead & make sure to spend the appropriate amount of time on each step. That's the core factor that sets this plan apart from every other fad diet--its gradual pace. You'll need to keep track of your progress on a calendar, notebook or online document like Microsoft Word (or whatever app the kids are using these days). Remember: You have an entire lifetime to tweak & customize each step to your liking, but these changes also need to stick for a lifetime. So take your time with each one.
If at any time you backslide on an earlier step (say, slipping up on Step 1's rule when you're on Step 4), take some time to reflect on what went wrong & how you can avoid it in the future but don't start all the way over. The goal is to be comfortable with the mastery of each step before moving on, knowing that realistically you'll have some missteps along the way. Slow & steady wins the race. And so does being 100% honest with yourself. Don't let a relapse turn into an excuse to return to addiction & self-destruction.
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Step 1 is to cut out all sweetened drinks as they are completely devoid of nutrients & full of empty calories that don't fill you up. Juice, sweet tea, soda, energy drinks, alcoholic mixed drinks containing sugar, any coffee other than "black," etc must go. That includes artificially sweetened "diet" drinks which have been linked to increased hunger & weight gain too. If you aren't sure whether a drink contains added sugar, check the label. Replace them with any non-sweet drink of your choice. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.
Once you've done this for a minimum of 1 month & feel confident that you have mastered it, you can move on to the next step. Any setbacks put you back at Day 1, and you must feel confident in your ability to maintain your progress before moving on to Step 2. It will be tempting to skip ahead but it's absolutely vital that you do not lest this just become another failed attempt at rapid weight loss/dieting. If you already avoid sweet drinks in all forms, start at Step 2, but most people drink at least some sweet drinks (particularly those who are overweight/obese) so think about it long and hard before skipping ahead.
Step 2 is eating breakfast every day. It can be anything except fast food or a super sugary cereal. But literally anything else will do: a banana, a couple strips of bacon + whole wheat toast, even a slice of leftover pizza (as long as it's not from a restaurant--even a frozen Tony's or Red Barron will suffice). Breakfast is so important you shouldn't stress over the content--just force something down whether you're hungry or not. Breakfast should actually be the biggest meal of the day so don't feel bad if you go a *bit* overboard on portion size, just try to avoid sugary junk like pancakes, French toast & other sweet stuff. If your mornings are rushed, prepare something the night before.
If you're already a breakfast-eater, focus on improving the nutritional content & choosing things that are high in lean protein like an egg white omelette & Greek yogurt, or a high-fiber cereal like All Bran which can be mixed in with another lightly sweetened cereal like Crispix with vanilla almond milk if you don't like the taste. These options will give you energy & keep you feeling full until lunch, preventing the urge to binge around noon & suffer that 2 o'clock energy slump. Reducing sugar content is always a good way to make your meal healthier too.
But if you're NOT already a breakfast eater, focus only on the first paragraph in this step. Just force something down to break the fast from the previous night--Carnation Instant Breakfast, a piece of string cheese & some Triscuits, peanut butter & apple slices. Eating breakfast is not natural for many people so it's a hard habit to incorporate, therefore you should just do your best to make it an everyday practice without worrying too much about the "healthy" bit. As long as you're not eating a McDonald's Grand Slam, consider it a win.
Once you've mastered Step 2 for at least 1 month plus giving up all sweet drinks with no slip-ups, you're ready for...
Step 3: Reducing fast food consumption to no more than 1 time per week. Not "one day/several times" but one time. This is a big one, especially for people who are addicted to eating out. It will require lots of planning ahead, particularly in terms of grocery shopping & meal prep. But the results will be so worth it.
Even if you eat nothing but TV dinners & Chips Ahoy, you can't do worse than eating fast food/takeout every day. People justify eating out by claiming to have busy schedules & no time to cook, but this is no more logical than a celebrity justifying their cocaine use by claiming to have a demanding schedule. Giving up fast food will not only save you calories, it will save you massive amounts of money very quickly.
One tip for making smart grocery choices is shopping when you're not hungry, which is easier than ever with online options like Walmart.com & Amazon. You can just put things in your cart through the week as you think of them & turn in your order to be picked up at a set time/day, or even have it delivered. Again, don't overthink your grocery purchases--just grab whatever looks palatable to you in the beginning. Things you'll actually eat. You can work on the "healthy" bit later.
The point of this step is to reduce your fast food consumption to no more than 1 time per week. That's your only goal right now. And because it's such a big one, give yourself a minimum of 2 months to adjust before moving on to the next step. (If you already eat out no more than once a week, good for you. You can skip to Step 4, but if you eat out on average even 2 times per week, do NOT skip it). Plan your one time of dining out carefully & if you have even one slip up, start over at Day 1 of Step 3. Do not lose heart as slip-ups are totally normal and expected. This is a huge lifestyle change here. Take as long as you need.
Step 4: Eliminating all fast food, restaurant meals & takeout from your diet. This might be the hardest step in the program, but look at everything you've achieved so far! In order to pull this off you'll have to totally commit to grocery shopping & meal planning, but again, just focus on buying things that are affordable that you'll actually eat. Do not overthink it or try to "go healthy". One step at a time. This step is about eliminating takeout which is HUGE. And because it's so huge, give yourself a minimum of 3 months to master it before moving to the next step.
Bringing your lunch & 2 small snacks to work or school will help you stay on track & avoid the typical office fare of donuts, cupcakes & pizza parties. Eating 3 meals & 2 snacks per day is a good way to keep your blood sugar even throughout the day & prevent binge eating. And don't forget your thermos containing whatever yummy (unsweetened) drink you're now swigging. If you "need" caffeine, you can get it cheaply in the form of tablets like No Doz or plain black coffee--no sugar required.
(If a friend or loved one invites you to a sit-down restaurant for a special occasion during this time & you can't get out of it, go ahead. Just tell them you're giving up dining out & eat something before you go so you're not tempted). Remember, you must treat junk food and large portion sizes like the addiction they are & it's important to let loved ones know you're not indulging anymore. If they don't respect that, they're violating a boundary.
As with the other steps, if you already don't eat out at all, skip to Step 5. But only if you don't eat out at all & are in the habit of buying groceries every week.
Step 5: Now that you're comfortable with grocery shopping, start focusing on making healthier choices at the grocery store. There's no "pass/fail" with this part--just do your best to make good choices when presented with a choice. Again, implement these changes gradually at a pace you can sustain. Follow the links in this section to find examples of foods from each category listed here.
Whenever possible, choose complex carbs instead of refined carbohydrates & sugar. Opt for unsaturated fats vs. trans & saturated fat, and choose lean protein sources if given the choice. And don't forget about fiber! Make it your mission to learn about nutrition & macronutrients during this time, and write down the things you learn for future reference.
To complement all these healthy food choices, add in a quality multi-vitamin that meets your particular needs (i.e. - over 50, for women, for men, etc) that has a USP, ConsumerLab or NSF approval seal on the label. While it sounds counterintuitive, many overweight/obese people are actually deficient in certain vitamins & minerals which can cause increased food cravings and feelings of hunger. Give yourself a minimum of 2 months for this Step or more if you need it.
Step 6: Calculate your TDEE, or total daily energy expenditure. In order to truly lose weight, you have to know how many calories you should be eating each day. You've likely already experienced some degree of weight loss by cutting out sweet drinks & fast food and switching to more nutritious foods--this is due to the calories you've cut from your diet. All diets operate on this principle. Knowing your TDEE is the key to unlocking your true weight loss potential, so scoot your booty over to the TDEE calculator & get to crunching numbers. (It's not as hard as it sounds, and that's coming from someone with a math learning disability).
The most important part about this exercise is to set a realistic goal weight (somewhere within your ideal Body Mass Index, eventually) & be 100% honest about things like activity level & your current weight. To be on the safe side, rank your activity level one degree lower than you actually think it is: If you think you're moderately active, put "mildly active". If mildly active, put sedentary. People tend to overestimate the effect of exercise on calories burned so this is the best way to avoid falling into that trap. And always opt for "slow/steady weight loss" rather than "aggressive" or "rapid" (or whatever other rushed options they offer). It would be downright stupid to throw away all your progress now by engaging in some crash low-calorie diet. In the space where it says "Calorie Deficit," enter 15% under the "custom > in percentage" option.
In the RESULTS portion, ignore everything except "Daily Calories". That's the number you're looking for--the amount of calories you should eat each day to lose weight. We're not putting a set date on it. Write down your number & familiarize yourself with it. And remember: Slow and steady wins the race.
Step 7: Start keeping track of the calories you eat each day. If a food item doesn't list the number of calories on the label, don't eat it. You can use an app to track calories or good old pen and paper (my preferred method). Or you can keep a calculator tab open in your browser & add to it as you go through your day (another fave trick of mine). This may seem like a hassle at first but it'll become 2nd nature in no time. Aside from the weight loss aspect, being aware of the things you put in your body is a positive habit that encourages mindful eating & body awareness. Most people are shocked at just how many calories they consume in a day once they actually start paying attention to it.
If you exceed your daily limit of calories, which you most certainly will at times, no sweat. We all have days where we're hungrier or less hungry for whatever reason. PMS, stress, poor sleep, depression & a myriad of other factors can all contribute. The important thing is to not let a setback turn into an excuse to give up and relapse. You're on Step 7, for Pete's sake! The final step! You've given up sweet drinks, fast food, added in nutritious grocery items & vitamins to your diet & calculated how many calories you should be eating in a day. The only thing left now is to turn your focus toward your passions. Just make sure you've mastered Step 7 first.
The good thing about this step is, once you get a good feel for how many calories are in the foods you eat on a regular basis, you can *sort of* stop counting calories as closely... at least once you reach your goal weight. Just remember to weigh yourself weekly to make sure you're not gaining. And when you do step on the scale, do so first thing in the morning before eating/drinking anything, and naked. This will give you the most accurate reading. Give yourself a minimum of 3 months before even considering not counting calories. If your weight starts creeping back up at any point in the future, revert back to keeping a close eye on your calorie intake. This isn't about reaching a goal weight and then stopping, it's about adopting a lifestyle you can maintain forever.
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Reflections
That's it! Sound overwhelming & not at all doable? I promise it's not if you take one step at a time instead of reading the entire page at once. It's not meant to be binge-read like some kind of Netflix docuseries, silly. While it may sound like this plan will require your life to revolve around food & weight loss, the goal is to shift your focus away from food as a hobby or source of pleasure and onto things you're passionate about. It just takes some getting used to. It's worked for me in the long term & my life definitely doesn't require constant focus on food, calories or weight. But it certainly did in the beginning when I needed to make a drastic change & get my health in order. That was over 5 years ago & I'm still going strong.
While there are other factors like overuse of antibiotics or Adenovirus 36 that can potentially contribute to weight gain, 99% of it comes down to the food choices we make (i.e. eating too much of the wrong things). Exercise doesn't even enter into the picture, though it's vital for heart & lung health & can help tone your muscles. When in doubt, take your eating cues from the thin people in your life: put down the fork & knife.
*As with any dietary program, individual needs may vary. Talk to your doctor before implementing this plan if you suffer from a serious medical disorder like diabetes or phenylketonuria.
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