So I’m cruising along feeling pretty good about my new way of looking at food when I notice that I’ve been eating really a lot of sweets the past several days. And I wonder what’s up with that?
But that has always been my reaction to stress and I’ve been stressed lately with two houses up for rent and people calling about both and trying to line up Tony to show the one and get in touch with Tricia to see when we can show the other, etc. etc.
But today I realized that these are habits that it took me a long time to establish and I will need to really concentrate on changing the habits. It isn’t so much about dieting (which it isn’t at all) or about depriving myself of what I want (because I really don’t want the second, third, fourth, or fifth one). It is more about becoming aware of when I’m using food for something other than enjoyment or alleviating hunger. I’m not sure how I will become more aware. I think it will just come in time. I’m hoping so, anyway. Meanwhile, I’m trying not to beat myself up about it. And I’m certainly not responding as I have in the past by restricting myself more today in response to overeating yesterday. That would only add to the stress that is still here, and undoubtedly end in another binge today.
So today when I wanted chocolate, I walked over to the drug store and bought one of my favorite Russell Stover’s mints and sat on the deck in the sun and enjoyed it. It was great!
I’ve been following your series of writing on this. Right now, I need the discipline of tracking what I eat and sticking to a certain number of calories a day. I’m letting myself eat what I want, but not more than my limit of calories.
Maybe after a while of seeing what I should normally be eating I can do it on my own.
So what happens if you accidentally eat too much early in the day? Do you basically starve yourself the rest of the day? That is what they refer to as deprivation, and that is what can lead to ending up eating many more calories than you planned to.
I don’t actually think you need to lose weight, but you apparently do or you wouldn’t be going to all the trouble of tracking everything you eat. The thing is I don’t want you to end up like me, looking back from my 50’s at my weight in my 30’s and realizing I had wasted all those years trying to lose weight I really didn’t even need to lose. And in the meantime I’d picked up very bad attitudes and behaviors regarding food.
I’m sure you don’t think you are at all like I was, but just in case you are even a little like me, I’m just trying to say, “Don’t waste your time trying to limit your calories, carbs, fats, points, or whatever.” 9 1/2 times out of 10 it doesn’t actually result in weight loss over the long run. It results in frustration and feelings of failure. Instead, try paying close attention to whether you are hungry, what you feel like eating, and when you feel you’ve had enough. And pay attention to why you are eating, and try to find substitutes for eating when you are eating for other reasons than hunger.
I know it sounds simpler to just decide how many calories to eat and then eat that many, lose the weight, and be done with it. Right? But if it was that easy, why are we all still trying to lose those same stupid 10 pounds we’ve been trying to lose all year? Or, in my case all decade or two.
I understand your point, but it comes down to learning self-discipline one way or another. Whatever way we decide to eat, if we don’t learn to say “no” to ourselves when we don’t need the food, we gain weight. This is just what I’ve decided to do for now.
There is no “easy” solution. I don’t think one way is easier than another.
And I understand what you are saying. So I hope you are one of the 5% who can just be disciplined, lose whatever weight you want, then get on with life without having to be “being disciplined” your whole life.
I’m very disciplined in many areas. Food just doesn’t happen to be one of them, because food fills so many needs and plays so many roles in my life. Just when I get disciplined in one area of my eating, another area becomes a problem.
I guess I would equate it to being disciplined about having good posture. Of course, many people have good posture naturally, but some don’t. I remember my sister struggled with this. Having to be always thinking about good posture could consume your mind. It is a subconscious thing that we have to decide to think about rather than think about something else. For me eating is like that. I’m thinking about my job or my projects or something else when I eat. So even though I know I need to be disciplined at all times when I’m anywhere near food (which is just about everywhere but the bathroom), my mind is usually busy thinking about other things.