Tag: Guilt

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Weight Loss Exercise

Starvation, suffering, and sacrifice

I keep watching Biggest Loser and get warped into their way of thinking that change has to happen before your eyes and right away. Fortunately none of us are on a TV show to have to lose it right away or get set home instead.

Two days ago I wrote about what we need to eat, yesterday was what to avoid but really as far as eating goes I would never want to choose to live with eating only fruit and veggies and meat. Really we have to figure out how to eat other stuff but not always and in a metered way. That is why I wanted to talk about sacrifice and suffering. But first lets hit on starvation.

Starvation is Not Dieting

I don’t think that any of us want to starve and if you are eating a few times a day, eating small meals that are full of nutrients then we will not starve. Years ago when I was struggling with money my wife asked me what was the worst thing that I was worried about. I told her it was food. I have a very close relationship with food, probably all of us do and she promised that we would not starve, sacrifice anything but food and shelter and everything will work out.

Anyway we have no reason to starve and that is where the suffering and sacrifice come from. If I tell you that you are not allowed to ever have a chocolate chip cookie ever again then you will think of nothing but chocolate chip cookies. So this is not a this or that or a never eat kind of concept but I really do feel that if you want something, be it a cookie or ice cream then you should be able to have a little bit and not have to live in guilt. But on the other hand, I never see a reason to eat a whole tub of ice cream either, there is just no point in that.

How to Eat, Think  and not Suffer

Starvation, suffering, and sacrifice

Ice cream is not food

What I am really saying that if all our gains or losses are in eating (not true exercise has a lot to do with it as well) then you want to fuel your body with water rich foods. After that make sure that you do that subtle mind change. Food is fuel and candy is just the junk that tastes good. Cheat with just small amounts of food so that you do not crave badly and overdo things. Remember you goal is to eat very healthy and the crappy food you eat, while not good, will not help you in any way.

Tomorrow I want to write more about emotional eating. Even though I touched on emotional eating here there is a lot more to talk about with that.

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General Weight Loss Tips

Waiting for Hunger W1D2: Filling Without Food

Yesterday was a great success. I have to thank all of you for taking the time to leave feedback, not just with me, but with everyone else in the comment area. That was so nice and encouraging to watch.

There were times yesterday when I would eat small meals in anticipation for hunger. Which would push hunger back even more. I’m fine with this. I don’t want to get caught up in the mind swirls of “what is hunger” , “am I truly hungry?”, “is starving hungry?” because it could go on for hours and days. And at the heart of it, I know what overeating looks like, and that is what I’m aiming to avoid.

For example, I made a delicious dinner of chickpea coconut curry with rice. I wasn’t hungry when I made it so I took a bite, because it just looked good. A couple of hours later, I still wasn’t overly hungry, but I pulled out a tiny bowl that holds about a cup of food and I enjoyed a little bit. And that was that. As I look over yesterday I see one trend: several small meals scattered throughout the day. I was never stuffed and never starving.

I counted my calories out of curiosity and vowed to myself that I would not feel guilt over whatever the number came out to be. After exercise, I net about 1,300 calories. That is extremely good for me. I also baked, twice, and did not overeat. I feel like I’m playing with fire, but vowed that I would be honest with whatever happened. I made two loaves of pumpkin chocolate bread, ate one thin slice and put the rest way for later. I also made a batch of French Madeleines. Ate one, put the rest away for tea time today. I. Put. Them. Away. And they aren’t haunting me. I really believe removing guilt, removes the power of food. As does eating for the wrong reasons.

Today, I want to work on a list of things to do to keep my hands busy when I’m taking a break from work, but don’t want to watch TV. Art journaling is at the top of the list. I’ve been longing to paint and create collages lately. I think this will be a good thing for me artistically. It will also keep me from eating from emotions.

And finally, I think I will keep this post open throughout the day for updates and picture posts. Please feel free to use the comments area of this post if you need support, want to chat, or just want to say hello throughout the day.

I woke up super early today to get a lot of work done. Right now, I’m more thirsty than hungry. Drinking lots of water. Maybe an iced coffee soon and then breakfast. Avoiding the scale until this weekend, I’m in the water retention portion of the month and I’d just rather wait it out.

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General Weight Loss Tips

Waiting For Hunger Week1D1: Smaller Plates

Welcome to day one, week one of the Waiting for Hunger Challenge! I’ve compiled a list of participants in hopes that we can encourage each other in the coming days and weeks as we form new habits. It’s not too late to join us; feel free to leave a comment in this post if you’d like to be added to the list.

Waiting for Hunger Participants

BCGirlie

Happy Girl 

Kayla 

Erika

Lindsay

Kelsey

Jackie

Rennie

Ella

Yaya

Jen

I’ll be using the comments section as a chat area too for communication throughout the day. Today’s theme is using smaller plates and bowls. I’ve heard this tip numerous times, and it wasn’t until this morning that I decided to actually see how it would work.

I woke up around 7am pretty hungry. Because I’m in a cold cereal phase right now I grabbed one of my smallest bowls off the shelf. I know that cereal doesn’t do much for my hunger and I’ve had issues in the past with overeating it, but I’m ready to try again. It’s what I wanted. Small bowl of Mother’s Choice Honey O’s with whole organic milk.

About three hours later I could feel hunger pangs again. I got a few chores and work done and decided that I would make one of my favorite big breakfasts for me and Josh. Doing this would require a few habit changes 1) getting over the guilt of feeling hungry again 2) using a smaller plate 3) eating slowly and enjoying my food 4) being okay with leftovers and 5) instead of dividing the food in half I presented everything buffet style and filled my little appetizer plate without layering. By doing this, I was eating a fourth of what I normally would. In the future I hope to get used to preparing smaller amounts of food and being comfortable with having less on hand. For now, I’m okay with putting it in the refrigerator for later.

Another tip was cutting things like bread into smaller pieces. Normally I would have two large slices of bread, four slices of bacon, two eggs and a cup of fried potatoes. No wonder I have food issues.  Today, using the small plate method, I at 1/2 slice of bread, 2 slices of bacon, 1 egg, and about 1/4-1/2 c. potatoes. That’s a significant difference and I’m full, but not uncomfortably so.

I’m realizing and truly trying to understand that I don’t need so much food. I ordered a salad last night and couldn’t believe how enormous it was. It was enough for 2-3 meals.

 

 

 

 

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