I'll get business out of the way first:
Regular Monday weigh in: 359, for no change. That restaurant food from Saturday GOT me! But, it's just water gain, cuz I have been tracking calories, and know I should've lost about 2 lbs. Lots and lots of sodium, and not enough fruit and veggies. So no big deal, since it's just temporary slosh weight.
I still feel wonderful about reaching my exercise goal, and the added bonus of the earned reward. Whenever I see the soft amber glow of the Salt Crystal Lamp, it reminds me of the good feelings that come when we set our minds, and accomplish a goal (and there are times I really need a physical, in-yer-face reminder). So actually it turned out to be a great symbol to me, a daily reminder to keep reaching for my dreams.
BUT... I still have sooo far to go when it comes to learning a "normal" relationship with food. Saturday was our Christmas dinner with family at a restaurant. I had allowed extra calories for the Christmas dinner (for two days of the year actually, Thanksgiving and Christmas). I didn't go over my calories at all. At home afterwards, I was feeling so happy thinking of all the past Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners that were excuses to stuff myself. This was the first time in... ever since I can REMEMBER... that I didn't feel like *I* was the bird that got stuffed! I was feeling so grateful for that good feeling, and the progress it represented.
BUT... I now realize I have been stuck in the mindset that tells me "you have x number of calories left, so it's okay to eat". So in the evening I nibbled my way til bedtime. Carefully... not in excess of my calorie budget.
BUT... I wasn't really hungry, at least not all of the time. So obviously, this will be on my "to do" list to learn. It's a learning process, I understand that, so I'm not beating myself up... too much.
I'm glad I read Dawne's post (here) talking about "That's What Skinny People Do", eating to "just before full", and not eating if not hungry. Otherwise, I might have just skipped along feeling all smug that I stayed within my calorie budget, not aware of more work to be done!
Learning... always more to learn. I'm excited about 2010. It's a fresh new year. I wonder what I will be saying later in the year? Hopefully... "oh lookie here, at this new thing I have learned!!" I appreciate walking this journey with so many others of like-mind... I learn so much from you.
Tomorrow, I plan to talk about SouthBeach Steve's Challenge (HERE) for the New Year, "The Perfect 10". Just what I need for an exciting fresh start!
From Dr Phil's book: "Every success or failure you will have flows from that self-determined personal truth."
My verse for today: "...when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth."
My quote for today: "No one lives long enough to learn everything they need to learn starting from scratch. To be successful, we absolutely, positively have to to find people who have already paid the price to learn the things that we need to learn to achieve our goals." --Brian Tracy
Enjoy the Journey,
Loretta
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11 comments:
I'm really going to try and focus on eating when I'm hungry this year. Very hard for me to do!
When you're ready, take that step. Let yourself get good and comfortable with the calorie budget.
I find that if I let myself get full at lunch, I eat less later. I use raw veggies to get that full feeling.
It is a process.
DAILYSEEKING: Me, too. I seem to go through cycles, where I do good, then get sidetracked, and lose focus when I am working on other stuff. We'll get there. :-)
MARY: Maybe I'm expecting too much, too fast! I'm still working to get that calorie budget down each week by 50 calories less each time, so am focusing on that. Maybe in a few weeks, when I settle in with an amount that I can live with for awhile, I can focus on the eating only when hungry thing.
Oh, you are soo right, a process. But I want it all NOW, LOL!!! Patience, patience.
Loretta
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Loretta! You stayed the SAME over Christmas!!! WooHoo, YOU!!! You are my hero! :D
As far as munching away in the evening because you had calories left--I found myself doing that with the WW points. I'd get to 7pm and have maybe 10 points left.
At the meetings they insist that if you don't eat all your points, you'll gain. Although I usually left 2 to 4 points, I made sure I ate up the rest!
The same things occurred to me as to you, but with the added issue of WHY I had those leftover points. I am not much of an eater thru the day--regular food is NOT what I overeat. I am a night-time SWEETS eater. So WW was unwittingly reinforcing the very habit of eating lean during the day and then chowing down at night that got me soooo fat!
Now, I'm working on Dawne's moderation and don't eat unless you're hungry plan. :) (Not that I have any idea when 'just before full' occurs, mind you! Stuffed, I got--short of that? shrug.)
At any rate, us fat kids can find a loophole anywhere, can't we? chuckle. But isn't it great that the Lord let us both know what we were doing? He is so good to us!
And, Loretta, you did NOT gain over Christmas! WooHoo, YOU!!! :D My meeting is Thursday and was cancelled, so I don't officially know what I did. I can tell you that I probably gained about 5 pounds. There was the ham... and then I ate sweets like a child with a full Easter basket. The basket is now decidedly empty!
It's all good. I ate the fat and drank the sweet--and am now back on the road again.
Onward and forward, girlfriend!
Deb
DEB: I see you know exactly what it's like. And I even forgot to ask myself WHY I was nibbling away when not hungry... the very heart of my program!!!
I'm like you, I tend to eat sparse during the day, and heavy at dinner. I used to feel guilty... everyone everywhere said not to do that... and they made sense. THEN, I read a post by (if I remember right???) Chris, at A Deliberate Life. She said the hardest time of day for her was at night, when tired and had the least resistance to overeating. So she would make it work FOR her by saving most of her calories for the evening. I guess it depends on the person, but this has been helping me some. I am still working out the bugs.
I'm like you in that I "know" stuffed. But just-before-full?? Yeah, right.
You are right, I can be thankful I didn't gain over the holidays. I stayed on my calorie budget, and SHOULD have lost, so I am a little miffed over that. But realistically, high sodium food exacts it's toll at the scale! And my scale is STILL acting hinky, even with new batteries. So today, I ordered a new digital scale!! It should be here in about 10 days. Can't wait! :-)
I hope your weigh in turns out better than you think.
Loretta
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Hmm. That's a good point about saving cals for evening on purpose. I have decided that if I am actually physically hungry after dinner, I will eat something. The trick, as noted above, is determining if hunger actually exists. chuckle. sigh. groan... :D Deb
Loretta, thanks for commenting on my blog today, and welcome to "The Perfect 10". Oh, and thanks for linking back to that post. As I read your post, I realized that a really big problem I have is being able to stop eating before or at full. Unfortunately, if there is still food on my plate, I feel like I should finish it. I am working on this, but it sure is hard to overcome.
I give myself calories and I eat them...irregardless of hunger. I do this because I have no on/off switch...it was destroyed in childhood.
I will always count, always allot.
I have decided that is fine with me. It beats morbid obesity.
I'll never forget where I was when I first read an e-mail from you. I could see in your words that you were ready for a major change. You're a champion Loretta, and you know what? As good as 2009 has been, 2010 will be even better---can you believe that? It's so true!
I've done exactly what you described. Still have calories left---not hungry, but eat anyway because I have the calories. I try not to ever dip below 1200 for the day---so sometimes I do it just to get over the 1200 mark, but other times I do it just to hit 1500. I understand what you're saying, I do.
Love your blog my friend. Love it.
I still have that e-mail by the way. I keep 'em all from everyone.
You're a winner Loretta, a real winner!
My best always
Sean
STEVE: Yes, as kids we were inducted into the Clean Plate Club. That training IS hard to overcome.
CHRIS: I kind of think that will be me, too. I actually appreciate it as a tool to help me. And like you said, it sure beats the alternative... morbid obesity!
SEAN: I have read your comment at least a half dozen times, and it still makes me tear up. Your encouragement means a lot to me. See that Big Brother Kitty in the photo on this post?? I was thinking of you when I picked it out. I am the little cat, following your blog. In fact, you have a whole LOT of kitties following your blog... ha ha ha
Thank you so much for your encouragement.
Loretta
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My father was in the 'clean plate club' and he and my mum used to argue over the dinner table with my mum shouting at him saying we didn't have to eat if we didn't want to!
Have you tried Paul McKenna's 'I can make you thin' CD? It's a hypnotherapy thing and I found it really helped as long as I kept listening to it! It was with this cd that I learned how to recognise when I was comfortably full.
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