Greysheet diet, anyone?

interboro2

Sun, Dec 23 2012, 6:14 pm

Has anyone been on this diet? I found the greysheet diet food plan online last week and decided to give it a try. b'h I'm very happy with the results and hope to continue. (I'm on day 6 and lost 6 1/2 lbs already)

I would like to hear from others who have followed the plan, what were your menus? I'm getting bored of the same old steamed vegetables for lunch and dinner. any other ideas? also is soup allowed?

I know this diet is part of OA. Is this whole program only for compulsive overeaters? I dont' have an eating distorter (or at least I think so) but I just have to loose 30-40 lbs.

Runner18

Mon, Dec 24 2012, 9:47 am

OA is not just for compulsive overeaters, but for anyone who has a troubled relationship with food. OA has people who are anorexic, bulimic, overweight, or people who just always yo-yo and can't seem to get a handle on it.

Greysheet diet was one of the original OA diets when the program first started. OA now has more diversity in their food plans, as the focus on the program is not on the food but rather on the cycles that keep people having to lose weight. It's not just about the pounds but the whole food and weight obsession in general.

That's awesome that the greysheet diet is working for you!!!! Keep up the good work!!!

Runner18

Mon, Dec 24 2012, 10:39 am

Hatemywig wrote:

I have heard, from a few sources, that the fellowships (12 step programs) including OA have not endorsed Greysheet as they have found them to be very extreme.

I'm not sure this is correct. In fact, OA does not officially endorse ANY food plan as it is not a diet program. Since the 1980's OA has abolished all official food plans.

As someone who is part of OA, attends OA meetings, and has a sponsor, I can tell you that there is no official OA food plan and it is something that each person works out for themselves, ideally with their sponsor if they have one. There is no objective definition of "abstinence"; for some it means not bingeing, for others it means not purging, for others it means not eating certain foods, for others it means weighing and measuring their food and calling it before they eat it, for others it means only eating at set times, etc.

There are still OA members who use Greysheet and swear by it, and there are OA members who have done it in the past when they needed to lose a lot of weight but have switched food plans once they got to a point of maintence.

The bottom line is that whether you are in OA or not and trying to lose weight, you want to a find a balanced food plan that isn't rigid, but yet has necessary boundaries around foods that have caused you trouble in the past. Also, it's important to have a food plan that isn't just about what you're gonna eat on the diet, but if its sustainable long-term. Some people get really bored on Greysheet and develop huge cravings and end up not just going off of it, but totally derailing. In OA, those who are able to do Greysheet (there are segments of OA that super strict than regular OA) usually can't do it without the support of the OA fellowship and sponsor. As someone who does not do Greysheet but weighs and measures when I can and has a sponsor, I can tell you that OA is the only way I am able to not only eat right, but not think about food.

Runner18

Mon, Dec 24 2012, 6:40 pm

The idea of a sponsor is that dealing with a troubled relationship food is difficult to handle on your own. The OA program, as with all 12-step program, operates on the premise that if you work the 12 steps you will find freedom from your mental obsession, physical addiction, as well as negative character traits that keep you going in circles.

In other words, my freedom from food obsession is not because of what I eat or don't eat, but because I work a program that strengthens me emotionally and spiritually. Ideally I should be able to get that just from being a frum Jew, but what can I say, the help I get from 12 step program is not something I can find in the frum community. For example, there is a concept of "Anonymity" which means that basically we have the highest level of confidentiality in terms of who we know is in program. If I am out with my husband and bump into someone I know from an OA meeting, I don't tell him I know the person from program. There's no gossiping about other people from meetings. Unfortunately that doesn't exist in the frum world, and I know from friends in e"y that they don't feel comfortable fully sharing at meetings because they don't trust that it will stay confidential or won't bite them in the behind later (I.e. shidduchim for their kids, etc)

So where does a sponsor come in? A sponsor guides me through working the 12 steps. She is an objective, safe person in my life in whom I can confide my deepest fears and challenges going on. She is someone who has abstained from compulsive eating for many years and can offer advice and guidance on navigating difficult situations. The reality is that while my husband is my best friend in the world, I can't tell him everything on my mind at all times. My sponsor is not my therapist- she is not there to tell me what to do or solve my problems, but rather she is someone I check in with on how I'm doing with my food and handling life's challenges, since I tend to eat over stress.

My sponsor lives on the other side of the country. I've never met her in person. She is an evangelical Christian and is one of the 'frummest' people I've ever met. One time I was venting about the patience it takes to work through food/weight issues and she said, 'Well just remember that the Jews had to wander in the desert for 40 years until they got to the Promised Land...sometimes it takes wandering around until we get to the light at the end of the tunnel, and even then there are more challenges'.

Any other questions? (no sarcasm, I'm totally serious)

Runner18

Mon, Dec 24 2012, 8:19 pm

I attend OA meetings in person and also call into meetings. I've done an online meeting here and there. I have sponsor, am part of several OA email loops, have many OA friends I speak to regularly.

I find it to be miraculous what OA has done for my life. I can go through Shabbos without overeating. I can be at a wedding and not notice the food. I can prepare foods for others without eating half of it. Not to mention that it makes me such a better wife because I can be present on a whole new level.

PM me if you wanna talk more-- we can e-mail if you'd like

Runner18

Mon, Dec 24 2012, 8:24 pm

interboro2 wrote:

Aha I get it. Thanks for the explanation.

Do you think I could be successful on this diet w/o a sponsor? I have a normal relationship with food I'm not obsessed with it or tend to overeat. My weakness is starch and that made me gain all this weight. Now that I cut it completely out of my diet, the pounds are just falling off.

I don't know your situation well enough to tell you whether I think you can be successful on this diet without a sponsor.

I will say though that if you didn't obsess over food, you wouldn't be bored by Greysheet.