Matt left me this comment yesterday:
"I eat pretty much every kind of food there is, I don't count points, calories, or anything else, and yet I have managed to chip away 20 lbs in 2010. The biggest thing I've done differently from years past is just eat reasonable portions and only eat when I'm actually hungry. That's about it. I try to get in the glasses of water and exercise when I can, but really I think the lack of mindless eating has made the biggest difference."
Thank you so much, Matt, that was exactly what I needed to hear. Although I work on it, I still feel so much pressure, to do this, that and the other thing. I see the great results others are getting and want to jump on that bandwagon. But I just can not do it. I don't have even 1.5 hours to exercise; wait, I do have the time but absolutely not the energy.
Subconsciously I felt like if I wasn't doing the WHOLE MEAL DEAL, i.e. exercise, low calorie dieting, then it wasn't worth doing. But every little bit helps, right!?
So I will continue to work on eating clean, wholesome meals. I will work on eating only when hungry.
Today went pretty well. I was super productive with the house; cleaned the bathroom, caught up the laundry (again! Second time this week! WOOT!!), ran the dishwasher twice, swept, dusted, took care of my kiddos and even baked banana bread. =)
I ate well, too. I had coffee, scrambled eggs and 1 turkey sausage for breakfast, a piece of banana bread for snack, 4 chicken nuggets and 1/2c. peaches for lunch, apples, grapes, another cup of coffee and another piece of banana bread for snack (I only ended up eating half of it, because I was full. Imagine that!) and for dinner I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and one serving (that would be 7) chips.
I feel good about it. I probably didn't need to have that second piece of banana bread, but I didn't eat mindlessly and I stopped when I was full. I actually was quite full after the apples, grapes and banana bread and thought I might not need to eat again, but once dinner time rolled around I was hungry so I made a sandwich.
I think the key was keeping busy. I hope these next few weeks, which will be busy with packing, cleaning, organizing and moving, will help get me in the habit of only eating when hungry. And eating moderate amounts. I tend to forget how little food I really need, calorie-wise.
I'll weight in tomorrow (I hope! I always seem to forget) for the last week of the Perfect 10 Challange and hopefully I'll see 166.
This weekend I'm going to a women's retreat. The funny thing is, when I think about it--or any type of gathering/vacation--what comes to mind first is the food. How fun it will be to have snacks. But then once I get there, it's totally NOT about the food. Yes, I enjoy it, but it's not my main focus. So weird. Anyway, I plan to eat with thankfulness all the good food that is set before me, but in moderation and not just because "I can".
Thanks for sticking with me, guys. I appreciate everyone who leaves comments (Dawne, Sunshine Mama, Matt) it really does motivate me.
Sunshine- My back is feeling better, thanks for thinking of me. When I have busy days like today, especially days that include laundry, it flares up. But if I keep moving it usually doesn't become unbearable. ;-)
Have a wonderful evening/night!
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Matt's advice is excellent. I think I actually do better when I quit being "all-consumed." I pretty much lost all of the first 45 pounds without counting calories at all. I just ate when I was hungry (and tried to pick mostly healthy foods) and added as much activity to my daily life as I could comfortably handle. I think when you're trying to balance it all with taking care of little ones, this is a less stressful approach than tracking everything you do. Of course now I'm all obsessed with tracking, lol.
ReplyDeleteI think you're doing great & definitely every little bit you do helps... it all adds up. :)
I love when people preach moderation!!! I believe in it 100%. I so often think I should be jumping on other band wagons too, but I always do better emotionally, spiritually and physically (as in scale going down) when I stick with moderation - eating less and moving more.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your retreat!!! I know the food can be overwhelming at those events, but I truly believe you have a handle on moderation. I hope you got down to that number today, and if you didn't, next time, or the next time after that!!!
I love what Matt said too!!! I used that mindset on vacation this past weekend with Mary Anne & Steven and it was so freeing and really nice to be allowed to have a chocolate or two, or a half glass of wine. No more of this OMG I have to eat it ALL because tomorrow I get NONE on my diet....that's what we need to avoid.
ReplyDeletePlus, don't you love the feeling of control when you do it that way? I do!! It's like wow, I don't have to be a slave to my own stupid taste buds after all! =)
I think the reason why the weekend turns out to not be about food after all is you KNOW it's going to be a good time with fellowship but you don't know exactly how or what. It always exceeds your expectations, you know? With food, it's just, well, food. Same as before so you know and look forward to it.
See you there ---- I can't wait!! =)