I was raised in a clean-your-plate culture with media touting 5’10” female models weighing 106 pounds. My tall slender grandmother called me out as “pudgy” whenever I gained 5 pounds or more. I started dieting around age 14 and have yo-yoed my 5’5” body between 118 – 170 pounds too many times to count.
At age 44 and 169 pounds, I hired a personal trainer to successfully lose 35 pounds and lean down to 16% body fat by eating less and moving more. I ate very clean, finding ways to eat deliciously with no white flour, no white sugar, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein and some dairy.
I was happy my body had settled at a comfortable weight. But I had a lot of anxiety and fear around food in trying to maintain that weight. I controlled the anxiety by carefully monitoring macros and logging food intake most days. Within two years, I gained just 3 pounds and panicked. Eating less and moving more didn’t take off the added weight, so I tried every other sensible diet: carb cycling, calorie cycling, calorie restriction + 2 cheat meals per week, intermittent fasting, smaller frequent meals and so on. I tried eating more as my trainer suggested. I threw science in the mix with body composition, VO2Max and RMR tests to predict how many daily calories I could consume to maintain my weight.
Exhausted, I came to Claudia for a formula I could program into my day to eliminate the burden of constantly monitoring and worrying about the effects of food. I expected she would help me calculate a calorie goal, develop a food plan and work with me to monitor changes. She instead taught me ONE-TWO PUNCH. More panic! I was so fearful to trust my hunger as a cue to eat. Part of my eating strategy was not to feel hunger to avoid “hangry“ comments from friends and family.
With patience and practice, I embraced OTP. It became a relief to know how to respond to hunger. The most difficult part was recognizing my own fullness cues. For me, I stop eating when it is no longer satisfying or pleasurable. I can leave food on my plate without guilt. I learned I ate when I wasn’t hungry, which I always thought was okay, because I was staying within a certain caloric limit.
Now I know I needed something besides food at those times. When I feel like turning to the cupboard and I’m not hungry, I take a 20-minute cat nap or drink a refreshing herbal tea or listen to a podcast. I fully enjoy many pleasures including food. I knew I mastered OTP when I returned from a week-long cruise and instead of gaining 5 pounds, I had lost weight. No more diets or daily calorie monitoring – I am finally at peace. I’ve maintained my weight now for years with OTP and concentrate more on my life than food.
This Could Be You…
-Suzanne
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