Showing posts with label emotional eating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label emotional eating. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Food is not a cure-all...

One important lesson I have learned, and am still learning in this journey is that there will be hiccups. Just because I have decided I want to be healthy and fit, does not always mean the emotional side of my brain will listen to the logical side of my brain. Sometimes, emotions will run high, and the desire to turn to food for comfort or turn to food to fill a need (other than hunger) will arise. I am currently in the midst of one of those times. It will be short-lived, and I will not falter, because even now as I am writing, I am gaining the confidence that I will not let this hiccup derail my progress.

This is going to sound childish, but I am trying to be non-specific. Essentially someone hurt my feelings within the last couple of days. Instead of confronting the issue immediately, I let it fester then I saw lots of little things that continued to hurt my feelings. Yesterday, at work, I was a little bored. Not because I don't have a ton to do, but because most of the work I need to do is office work. I enjoy working with children and I like a nice mix of office work and working with kids.

Essentially, here is the UGLY equation:
Festering Hurt Feelings + Boredom+ left over party sweets= potential for disaster.

On the way home from work, I convinced myself that I "needed" chocolate. When I got home, I indulged. At this point, I was still within my points-plus, so it was fine. By the end of the night, I had gone in to some of my weekly allowable; I did not binge on sugar (though, I very easily could have). 

What I should have done was go to planet fitness, but I wanted my three workout days to fall Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday since I am having oral surgery on Friday. In retrospect, I still should have just gone and gotten out of the house and away from temptation. I always feel better after workout, and I certainly don't want to waste points after I just worked my tush off!!!  

The point of this post is that this morning, I still had the desire for unhealthy eating. Enjoying some chocolate yesterday did not make my issues go away. My feelings are still hurt, and I am still battling some deep rooted insecurities. This fitness journey is not just about eating healthy and exercising, there is a mental and emotional side to eating as well. Until we confront and address those issues, the temptation to turn to food for comfort will always be there. 

The good news is that I am able to recognize the problem and not allow myself to go crazy. Even yesterday, I tracked every bite. Today, I am just going "cold turkey" and not allowing my-self any additional sugar. I am not "waiting for Monday" to restart. I never really stopped. I hit a bump, I recognize it, and I am readjusting. I am also still fully expecting a loss at my weigh-in because I have been well within my weekly allowable points and I did not even touch my exercise points.

I get daily inspirational quotes in my email and the picture above was yesterday's. It couldn't have come at a more needed time. I have the optimism and I have the hope. I am working on the confidence.

On a totally different note: there are a couple of people that I care deeply about that have taken the last couple of days to really start a new exercise and eating program. I am immensely proud of them and hope to continue to receive updates. Here's a shout out to you (if you read my blog!) Keep it up!! I am proud!!

Monday, February 25, 2013

I survived...and so did my weight loss


So, I made it through the toughest part of the year for me. The combination of mine and Hailey's birthdays are usually quite rough. Its usually about a two week period that I am just NOT myself.  I love to celebrate my own birthday, but its been hard since Hailey; those days are just so close together.

I approached these days with a plan:

1. Do not turn to food for grief
2. Maintain my excerice
3. Allow myself 2 pounds gain without being upset

Sounds like a great plan--here is what actually happened.

1. There were days that I did make unhealthy food choices, but I did not go "crazy" as I would have in the past. I did not just sit and eat chips and feel sorry for myself, but I did indulge in some unclean food that I have not allowed myself to have (because I don't trust myself to stop once I start).  I ate the meal, but counted the points. I went over on my points, and used my weekly allowable, plus some. But I was still conscious of what I ate instead of just blindly eating crap.

2. I did not maintain my excerice like I would have wanted too. Instead of hitting the gym, I did lot of play time with the kids, spent some time on my treadmill (not as much as I like), but mainly focused on positive energy with the family.

3.  Weight gain without being upset... So I tried to use the plan that our leader talked about over Holidays. Give yourself a limit and do not be mad if you gain within that limit. I decided two pounds would be it.

Week 1: Gain 4.6 (GASP) okay, I can be mad because I certaininly went over that two pound limit. I got myself a little more under control. Concentrated a little more on tracking...

Week 2:  Loss 4.4. Overall, I had a gain of 0.2, which is well within my two pound allowance.

So, I made it through my "dark" month with only a minimal gain, a few days of tears, and lots of successes. I am beyond blessed with great friends and a great family. I am so excited that spring is approaching and am looking forward to being "me" again.

So, long February!
Working my way to fit,
Kati