Food is not where it should be for me, yet. I am still overeating and eating for the wrong reasons. But - by golly - I have gotten up and done my treadmill thing every single day. As far as food goes, I do pretty well until about 3:00 o'clock and then it becomes a huge challenge. I am working on solutions to getting through the late afternoon and evening, but I am proud of the progress I have made. When I worked at the school, it wasn't bad until I got home because during the day there was structure. Now my days vary and I am still trying to get used to being home. I am learning to be more flexible and adaptable but transitions are hard for me and, even though it's been over a year, I am still in transition.
Today's Focus from the 100 Days of Weight Loss is Two Purposes of Food
We are encouraged to eat for only 2 reasons: fuel and to appreciate flavors.
At first that seemed a little strange because we are usually told when dieting that food should be viewed only as fuel. Appreciating flavors is a different concept and I had to think about it a while. I can remember the last time I overate, there was a point where I wasn't really enjoying it anymore - wasn't appreciating the flavors - I was just eating to empty the bag, as it were. Goodness knows the world will stop turning on its axis if I leave 2 cookies in the cookie can. Gotta finish those cookies - all or nothing. You see how it goes? Those of us who overeat often, most often, eat to fill an emotional void. And even though I know intellectually that there isn't a food in the world to fill an emotional void, our needy inner child denies it and keeps us searching for the thing that will make the "pain" stop. When I used to smoke, it was easy to light up a cigarette and have a cup of coffee. When I quit smoking, food took its place - that's when my weight problems really got out of control.
Today I told myself I would eat at 9:00, 12:00, 3:00, and 6:00. When noon rolled around, I was definitely hungry. I had to postpone eating because there was something else I had to attend to. For me, hunger isn't just a growling in the stomach. I often get the "clammy shakes" that accompany low blood sugar. By 3 o'clock my resolve was crumbling and by 6:00 it was out the window.
The other day I related the state of the house with the state of my diet. I have been working on decluttering the house. (I have been a fan of Flylady for many years.) There are areas of the house that look really good. This week we were working on the kitchen and I chose cleaning the refrigerator as my project. I got most of it cleaned out and when I open the door to get something, I feel a thrill of joy at seeing how nice it looks. That's me from 9-3 in the diet realm. Then there are areas of the house that are going to be very tough to tackle. But do I leave the refrigerator a mess because I have a dungeon downstairs that needs work? No, I do what I can and slowly but surely I get better at what I'm doing. The same with diet. There have been 2 or 3 times in my life when I lost a significant amount of weight. Oddly enough, I was not "on a diet" any of those times. The weight came off a pound here and a pound there. I wasn't really obsessing about losing weight and it came off. A declutter of the house here and there, a declutter of the body here and there - and before you know it, you're where you want to be.
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Today's lesson from The Beck Diet Solution is about getting a diet coach.
This one really won't work for me. I once had an OA sponsor. My doctor and I had worked out an eating plan which I was following and doing very well on. But gradually my sponsor kept suggesting more and more changes and I began to panic. We parted ways. I appreciate the support she gave me, but I think she overstepped when she tried to supplant her ideas for those that my doctor and I had agreed on. For the time being I am going to rely on the support I have found here, but will keep an open mind about the diet coach thing. In the future, when I am feeling more secure in my food plan, I may post my menu here. For now, I am proud of the fact that I have posted every single day of this challenge. Knowing that there are people reading my thoughts keeps me coming here to post.
Its true! You have been doing soo good posting! Sometimes a week or more would go by and i wouldn't hear from you.
ReplyDeleteI sure like your comment about a little here and a little there and before you know it you've made a change. That does work in so many areas of our lives. And i KNOW this, i just often forget this. I'm very prone to an all or nothing attitude. Your doing GREAT woman!
What may be the problem is the mix of food you are eating at lunch . Not so much the calorie count , but the kind of carbs or the ratio of fat carbs and proteins you have at that meal.While they say complex carbs will keep you full longer, it is not always the case. Some people do better with a higher ratio of fat than carbs. Perhaps switching around your lunch menu might help things for you. Or perhaps saving something small from your lunch ( like a piece of fruit) to eat at 2 could help. Some people do much better with 3 snacks a day, to help keep their blood sugars consistent. And then again, simply being able to get a quick post lunch 10 minute cat nap could be the answer !
ReplyDeleteYou have the right attitude- celebrating the progress and changes you have made, and not stressing about things that are still "wiggy". Experiment and you will find what works best for your body. It's okay to create your own "designer" plan, as each of our bodies are unique designer creations when you get down to it ( in more ways than physical). One step at a time, and before you know it , you have walked a mile.
As to the diet coach- while experts can be helpful in suggesting things we might try, they are not living in our skin, going about the work of metabolizing food, expending energy and dealing with our own various imbalances. They can pretty much invalidate a person's internal wisdom. Let's face it- none of us are born with a manual, so how can there be any diet experts, coaches or so forth ? While they may start out with the intention of helping, they are very human and soon the desire to help is replaces with the drive to be right to affirm their skills at any cost. Informal support and becoming in tune with yourself is the best coach around.
You are doing terrific !