Dear Jac,

I’m struggling to lose weight and I’ve tried everything aside from surgery. I’ve tried the cabbage soup diet, the no-carb diet, even some of the ‘pill’ diets, but alas nothing works.

Is there anything you can suggest that won’t cost me a fortune?

Thanks,

Sue

Hello Sue!

Ah, this is a great question. I also struggle with my weight. I lost 25 pounds for my wedding by going on the Bernstein diet. Let me tell you about this diet, it costs a fortune, the doctors and nurses were quite rude (to me anyways) and I basically had to starve myself. So sure, the diet worked, but I was a vegetarian before the diet and once I was off I craved a burger like nobody’s business.

I now eat red meat on occasion and have gained all the weight back. It was a waste of money, yes, but I looked fantastic for my wedding so I guess that’s what counts.

I’ve seen other people go on the lettuce and ice cube diet. That’s exactly how it sounds. Ridiculous. I’ve seen one guy eat a soda cracker and pass on the second one because he’d had his fill for the day.

If it were up to me, weight would not be important. I don’t even care about the weight I’ve gained back. I’m not disappointed in the least. I eat what I want, when I want and I’m happy. Life is too short to waste all the good food. So live life, be merry, and eat what you want.

But this is probably not what you want to hear. So let me tell you what has worked for me in the past.

1. Substitute healthy foods for non-healthy foods. Convince yourself that you are eating chocolate when you are really eating celery.


2. Eat smaller portions and more frequently. Instead of eating 3 big meals, try to have 6 smaller ones. Or keep your 3 big meals as big and healthy, but make sure you have a snack in between the meals. Eggs (egg whites-only if you want to be really healthy), raw vegetables, and baked (not chocolate covered) almonds are good snacking foods. You really should be consuming food every couple hours. Keep it nice and light. Starvation doesn’t work.


3. Drink lots of water. You’re supposed to drink something like 8 cups per day. If you drink a cup of water with your snack and two cups with your meal, this is an easy feat.


4. If you are one of those people that eat food before you go to bed, that needs to stop. Set yourself a time, and don’t eat anything past that time. Say 8pm as an example. If you’re hungry past that time, drink water. If that doesn’t work, have Jell-O. Check the ingredients on the box, Jell-O is actually flavoured water so you can trick yourself into thinking you’re eating when you aren’t. Celery and cucumbers work that way too.


5. Most importantly, the cardinal rule: everything in moderation. Allow yourself that chocolate bar every once in a while. You need to reward yourself for good behaviour.

Exercise is good too. But I hate exercise. Try getting up and walking around for a while. Get yourself outside for at least 30 minutes a day. Maybe you’ll start running after a while, but I never did. Maybe you’ll increase your 30 minutes to 1 hour. I did that a few times.

I also think it’s best not to say the ‘diet’ word. You never need to say “I’m on a diet” you can say “I’m eating healthy today” instead. Don’t worry about the next few days, just today. I had a friend who quit smoking that way. She didn’t say “I’m quitting smoking” she said “I am not having a cigarette today.” She did this every day until she could finally find it safe to say “I’ve quit.”

There is no carry-over rule. If you tell yourself you get one treat or ‘cheat’ per week you stick to it. If you were good this week, that doesn’t mean you get two next week. Just like the opposite is true. If you have two treats this week, because of a slip up, that doesn’t mean you punish yourself next week. The minute you start punishing yourself, the more frequent the slip ups will be and there goes your “weight loss” plan. Just be confident. Stay positive.

You’ll start to feel better for sure. And that’s what counts. Don’t check the scales, don’t get out the measuring tape. These things are numbers and numbers are irrelevant.

The healthier you eat, and the more active you are, the better you will feel. Feeling good is what is important, the number on the scale is meaningless.

• Disclaimer: Jac Star is not a trained or qualified psychiatrist, although she does read a lot of books. The advice given here should not be substituted for professional counseling. Mainly because it’s free. And professional advice usually isn’t. If you have a question you’d like Jac to answer, please email her with the topic “Dear Jac” and she will try her best to offer you her worldly advice. Hopefully.

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