Games Dieters Play

by Moira on May 31, 2013

money-scaleEarlier this month, I ventured into the arena of “social dieting” with DietBet.  The setup is that you join a game, with an ante (ours was $25.00)  Everyone in the game has the same goal: 4% of the original starting weight within 28 days.  Based on past weight loss experiences, this is a fairly aggressive goal for, but I was game.

What happened is that I saw myself revert to all these old “games” that have not been part of my repertoire for years, games that perpetuate the deprivation/binge cycle: games dieters play.

The Last Supper  – played the day (or days) before starting a diet (deprivation part of the cycle).

In anticipation of the deprivation to come, the player loads up on all the favorite “forbidden” foods: the last binge.  In a game like DietBet, it has the added advantage that the behavior usually results in a local maximum on the scale: pounds that are not really fat pounds and come off quickly in the first few days of deprivation.  When the goal is to  lose 4% of your starting weight, there’s a clear advantage to this game.  Remember all those huge weight losses in the first week of Biggest Loser?  Likely the result of Last Suppers Extraordinaire.  I mean, wouldn’t you, if you were facing months of Bob Harper or Jillian Michaels  in your face?

The Number on the Scale is the Only Thing That Counts  – played throughout the deprivation part of cycle.

The signs that you’re playing this game is an over-obsession with the scale, weighing much more frequently than your usual pattern, and starting to change your behavior in unhealthy ways  (excessive exercise or calorie reduction) to influence that number.  While I didn’t seriously consider it,  the thought of intentionally dehydrating to “make weight” did cross my mind.  How healthy is that?  I also considered a multi-day cleanse.  The idea of the cleanse in itself is not a bad thing. But again, experience tells me these are more successful experiences when they come from an inspiration rather than desperation.  And when I stalled out on the weight loss with a few days before the deadline, inspiration is not where my head was at.

I’ve Blown It Now So I Might as Well Go Whole Hog – played at the end of the deprivation, beginning of binge

It was on day 25, the long holiday weekend, when I noticed these thoughts start to creep in.  It’s a bit disconcerting to notice that they arrived on the scene so readily, like they had been queued up all along waiting anxiously for the chance to jump in, like trekkies waiting for the premiere of the Star Trek movie.  I managed to maintain a semblance of sanity, thanks to my conscious eating practices.

The After Bingeplayed during the binge part of the cycle.

I had started fantasizing about some of the foods I hadn’t had since The Last Supper. If I had given in and fully played  Go Whole Hog, there is a higher probability that it would have slid right into The After Binge.  Funny thing is that now, two days after the end of the game, the desire for those foods has dissipated.  I have a new Friday night habit of naked salmon burgers from Whole Foods and some veggies that is more appealing.

I didn’t win my bet.  I’m okay with that.  I did bring more consciousness to my food choices over the last four weeks, and I broke through a plateau I had been on for several weeks.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }

Longchamp Rose Red August 31, 2015 at 12:01 pm

I take delight in reading what you had to express, You have an remarkable knowledge on the subject informationa nd I look forward to examing more of what you have to say. I will pay attention and bookmark your post and come back to your internet site when an update is posted.
Longchamp Rose Red http://www.konepajahalli.fi/?pid=2488

Longchamps Cabin September 4, 2015 at 11:50 am

Hello, I saw a three of your attention-grabbing posted posts and needed to ask in the event you would be interested in reciprocal pages? Crew have weblog about alexis texas ass! Anyway, in my language, there usually are not much good supply like this.
Longchamps Cabin http://www.ukrinform.ua/asop_copy/vphboM24s.html

Prix Sac Voyage Longchamp September 8, 2015 at 11:16 am

Dead written articles , appreciate it for entropy.
Prix Sac Voyage Longchamp http://www.nakedkeywest.com/nake.php?pid=3975

Site Sac A Main Longchamp September 8, 2015 at 11:32 am

I’d ought to seek advice from you here. Which is not something I do! I really like reading an post that could make people feel. Also, many thanks permitting me to comment!
Site Sac A Main Longchamp http://www.estimation-immobiliere.fr/immobilier4431/

Fabrication De Longchamp September 8, 2015 at 11:47 am

When I view your RSS feed it just gives me a page of weird text, may be the problem on my reader? TY for putting this up, it was very helpful and explained tons.
Fabrication De Longchamp http://www.estimation-immobiliere.fr/immobilier2012/

http://www.loubatieres.fr September 14, 2015 at 1:37 pm

Great post I have been reading all your posts and they are really great keep up the good work.

http://www.zskbely.cz/ September 28, 2015 at 12:38 pm

Took me time to read all the comments, but I definitely enjoyed the write-up. It proved to be Quite helpful to me and Im positive to all the commenters here Its always good when you can not only be informed, but also entertained Im positive you had fun writing this article.

http://accueil.cz/admin/ September 28, 2015 at 1:53 pm

I’m impressed, I need to say. really seldom do I stumble upon a blog thats both educational and entertaining, and let me tell you, youve hit the nail on the head. Your post is crucial; the matter is something that not a lot of of us are speaking intelligently regarding. i’m very happy that I stumbled across this in my explore for one thing relating to it.

http://thingsaboutawoman.com/index.html October 27, 2015 at 12:32 pm

Hello there, You’ve performed a great job. I’ll certainly digg it and in my opinion recommend to my friends. I am certain they’ll be benefited from this web site.

Leave a Comment

{ 1 trackback }