I hope the plagiarism or copyright police won't get me if I share some of the insights from this book with you.
Up until now my primary focus has been on weight loss. I know I am not alone when I say I feel validated by the downward creep of the scales. And I don't know how to feel or react when I gain for no good reason.
The problem with weight loss as my goal is:
~ my motivation to eat less disappears along with the weight
~ it's easy to ignore the nutritional value of food as long as as it's low calorie
~ I sometimes feel guilty about eating anything because all food contains calories
~ I avoid facing the reality of my addiction to food by using avoidance rather than facing up to it
~ I never achieve my weight loss goal because it's never enough and I fear I can't stay there
If being in control of my addictive eating is my goal then:
~ I can go to bed at the end of the day proud of achieving a day of controlled eating without waiting to be validated by what the scales say the next morning
~ I can choose to eat anything [including bread] without fearing that I will lose control. Sensible nutritious food doesn't have to "trigger" anything
~ I can make choices that have immediate consequences -- I can choose to give in to my addiction or to work through it every time I have a craving. I can embrace cravings as an opportunity to explore my thought processes and therefore lessen my fear of them
~ I can lessen the anxiety I have around food and maybe forget about it between dinner and bedtime
~ I can fuel my body with healthy, nutritious food that will make me feel light and energised
~ I can develop great eating habits and preferences that will become second nature to me
~ I can lessen my feelings of deprivation by realising that I can always have "bad" food as long as I consciously acknowledge that consequences of eating it [in terms of how it will affect my health not my weight]
~ I can cease being paralyzed by the fear of making a mistake that will send me spiralling out of control. I can make mistakes that will help me progress and learn along the way
~ I can alleviate the constant pressure I have on myself to always be perfect
~ I can experience hunger [physical and emotional] without having to satisfy the feeling (and without dying!) I don't have to worry about getting too hungry and then having an out of control eating episode as a result. Being hungry won't make me binge -- I choose to binge.
~ I can still decide to eat the wrong food or overeat if that is what I want. I will remember that I always have a choice. I can work on controlling what I do rather than feeling controlled by my mind or my body. I can overcome "autopilot"
I choose being in control of my addictive eating as my goal -- see above :)
Most of the time my posts are to help, inspire or entertain people who read them. This one is just for me. This one is a true journal entry -- thinking about and writing all this down has been entirely to articulate my thoughts into words. I think it has helped me.
I'll try and think of something either profound or witty to post tomorrow so you won't be bored to tears with my internal monologue.
Happy Easter or whatever you are celebrating this long weekend. Me -- I am worshipping either sloth or sweat -- probably a combination of both. Enjoy your time off ...
Day 5 -- Clean
Great post Katie! I believe this entry will still fall under the "inspire" section.
ReplyDeleteWhen I started eating a balanced food plan - like the food pyramid - then I stopped calculating and tracking my food - and that was a full year ago.
ReplyDeleteAnd except for two days just BEFORE TTOM - I am never hungry. And I am totally aware that during those two days - no amount would be enough - and that is just pure hormones.
I eat meals - I eat balanced - veggies, protein, dairy, fruit, starch.
I do weigh and measure still - to see what a serving IS - but I don't worry about how much everything adds up to - not at all - and it just sort of works out. This works for me. And what you wrote - reminded me of how I now live.