Rob’s recent post regarding his resolutions and habits was the kick in the pants I needed to move forward on changing my eating habits.
I’ve complained a few times in the last few months about the amount of weight I’ve gained since my surgery. It took a few months for my metabolism to slow from the lack of running I was doing, and that combined with the amount of (fatty) foods I was eating has caused the inevitable: weight gain. I thought training for my first 50-mile race would melt the pounds, but needing to take care of my knees means not running the 50-miler and keeping my mileage low (okay, a little too low, but I’m working on that…).
I really liked what Rob wrote about focusing on the positive things. Instead of focusing on what he was cutting out of his diet, he focused on what he wanted to add. I try to live my entire life that way – instead of focusing on the negative, I attempt to focus on the positive – what I want, what I can do, what I can move toward. So, I’m going to start focusing on what I want to add to my diet, instead of stressing about just how much I’m eating as I stuff my mouth with more delectable fried food. The other key to this is that habits take time to form. I want to set mini-goals – what I can do each day, week, month, etc. I absolutely know this is possible to accomplish; I lost 70 pounds during 2005! I absolutely know I can do this. It’s just a matter of actually *doing* it.
A few other parts include the low-key desires to: add back some strength training – either yoga or at-home strengthening exercises; drink more water; get more focused/mindful (since the separation and subsequent divorce, my mind has been much more scattered than ever before; I’ve lost my focus); and of course, run more. But I want to remember: baby steps.
First up: I need to figure out what I want to eat. Starting today, I am keeping a food log again to help me track just what it is I’m eating. This way I can see just how unhealthy I’m eating, and what I should focus on adding (and when – do I need to eat protein at 2 pm to help with the afternoon slump? Change the amount of caffeine I’m drinking each day? Etc.). The other thing I’m sort of rolling around in my head is the emotional eating aspect of this. My whole life I’ve been an emotional eater. So I also want to start being mindful of the feelings I have when I know I’m not hungry but I want to eat or I find myself reaching for a specific food (French fries, cheese, etc.). If I can find the stimulus (other than hunger), then maybe I can find a different (healthier) coping mechanism to feel better. Another part – going back to the healthier substitutions for foods I love.
Baby steps. It’s possible. I can do this. Baby steps.
Sounds like your mind's moved into the proper position. Now to just get the body to tag along for the ride.
Good attitude Angie! You'll get there. My current goal is to cut out food that contain corn syrup. I have never gone back to fried foods (except french fries) so that has helped. Cheese though, yum! The other thing I do is only eat the really good stuff that I like - R.Robin fries, yes, McD fries, no. Dove chocolate, yes, Hershey's chocolate, no. It helps!
The first and important step is admitting that you have a problem with emotional eating. The next step to fix and prevent it. Hurray for wanting to do both.
You CAN do it.. you are a strong woman who just hit a bump in the road... and now you just need to recover. I have faith in you!
It sounds like you know how to improve your habits, now is the hard part, actually doing those things. Good luck.
Yay, Angie!!! Baby steps, girl, you CAN do it!