Monday, July 24, 2006

Bad choices & new attitudes

Yesterday was tough for me. I'm a creature of habit and my Sunday routine was all messed up. I found myself lacking the control I generally feel towards food, and I battled it all day. We had a family gathering yesterday to celebrate a couple of birthdays. (Happy Birthday to my Mom and my Brother!) There was lc food there and I stuck with my eating plan, BUT my biggest weakness was also present - chocolate cake. Two of them in fact. While the German Chocolate didn't tempt me beyond control, the Chocolate Torte almost made me snap! I did cave a bit and have the last two bites of my husbands piece, which was a very small. These two little bites made me crave carby foods the rest of the day. Not a wise choice, especially when I'm already feeling weak.

Today it carried over. I made the conscious choice to have pizza for lunch. I chose the thinnest crust I could get and loaded it with toppings. It wouldn't have been so bad, but I also gave in to a breadstick and a couple of cinnamon sticks. Again.. not a wise choice. My stomach is rebelling and my IBS is attacking in full swing. So I have decided to eat a very light dinner tonight, assuming I get hungry again at all and my stomach calms down, and be careful from there.

Here is the difference between this time and last time I lost the weight. This choice would have sent me into a panic in the past. I would have felt like I'd blown the whole diet and belittle myself for days over it. My thoughts would have been "Why bother? I only work really hard just to mess up after a few days and then I have to start over again!" But this time my whole attitude is different. I no longer tell myself I can't have something I want. I just remind myself that it's in my best interest no to have it very often and that it's a CHOICE I'm making. I also remind myself that I'm not perfect and we don't live in a perfect world. I can't expect that every bite I put in my mouth will always be true to my way of eating. As long as I'm sticking with it 99% of the time, that 1% isn't going to hurt me. I'm hoping this is the difference that will make for long term success this time. And I really think it's working, because I don't feel like foods are off limits anymore. I just feel like I'm making a healthier choice now. No stressing over how many carbs I'm eating, or calories, or anything else. Just eating sensible low-carb foods and knowing when I've had enough. So far this approach as taken off 8 lbs in 3 weeks, so I guess it's not such a bad idea.

I have hit a stalemate on the scale the last 3 days. It seems to be stuck on exactly the same number. I'm sure that since the lbs aren't budging, the inches are. That's how things happened last time and I expect it to work pretty much the same way. Of course the pizza will probably help the scale move tomorrow morning.. in the wrong direction. But it's nice to know that a lb or two of fat doesn't develop over night and that the gain will be all water. I'll just have to chug more water tomorrow and keep myself on a straight path!

2 comments:

Michelle said...

You have such a great attitude - you're definitely on the path for success! Don't worry too much about the scale - go by how you feel and how your clothes fit. After being a WW for many years, I'm finall NOT weighing myself every week. I feel like that little metal box rules my life - like it has the power to either make or break my day, you know? So I weighed myself at the beginning of my extreme makeover, and will weigh myself at the end (just for curiosity's sake), then will weigh in just once a month or so. I mean I know when I've been bad and have indulged more than I should have, and I don't need the scale to tell me that :)

Good luck to you - if you're looking for a great book, look up the Locker Room Diaries by Leslie Goldman. It's really great! Take care!

Amy Dungan said...

Thanks Michelle! I used to do WW also. I think it was the weigh-in that kept me faithful to the diet. It was too embarrassing to get on the scale and hear I'd gained. LOL
I weigh every morning. I know there will be ups and downs so they don't bother me. I also know that my body follows a pattern when I lose weight and it's actually kinda fun to watch those patterns happening. But, I do know that the scale is not a good indicator of my success and not to rely on it.

Good point on knowing when you've been bad. It's not like the scale is the final say so and we are waiting for it to hand down judgement. :)