The past couple of weeks have been filled with an all too familiar longing... yep; the obsessive thoughts about returning to Weight Watchers. I am at a new all time high, which brings me to feeling an all time low... I have been trying to tell myself, "Self, you know how to be healthy - why waste your money to step on the scale and face frustration and humiliation?" But each new day, and new week comes - and I continue to choose habits that not only have me staying stuck; but have me plummeting to a new level of misery! What's even more frustrating, is trying to get this business off the ground - all the while "failing" at the weight-loss side of health. It is one piece of health, but it is so out of balance in my life right now, that it is affecting most - if not all of the other pieces.
Perhaps it will be useful for me to outline that things that work - as well as those that don't - when it comes to this part of my life. Maybe that process will help clarify things...
Things that aren't working, and haven't worked in the past;
- Watching TV during the day (or having the TV on in the background all of the time)
- Eating on the couch,(in front of the TV) not at the table. I've had this horrible habit about as long as I've binged... the two are closely connected.
- Inactive Life
- Drastic Dieting that leaves me feeling hungry and/or deprived.
- Surrounding myself with others who feel miserable about their bodies, and use addictions(smoking, drinking, food, etc) to avoid their pain.
- Negative thinking - for example; "Something must be wrong with me, I will never be able to lose this much weight, I am cursed, I don't deserve to be happy, it's too late, the world would be better without me..."
- Surrounding myself with people who think they know my answers.
Things that have worked in the past;
- Writing down what I eat every day - staying within an allotted amount of calories.
- Drinking a LOT of water
- Avoiding foods that I can't have a portion of and be satisfied.
- Planning, planning, planning. Planning my meals for the day(the night before), planning ahead for special occasions by eating a little less or exercising a bit more. Scheduling my exercise in for the week, etc.
- Stepping on the scale once a week. This is a tricky one -- allowing the scale to keep me on track, and to give me information is one thing. I remember when staying the same just motivated me to work harder. There were times when I obsessively weighed myself multiple times per day, and there are times like now where I avoid the scale like the plague, and am shocked when I go to the doctor. Neither ends of that spectrum work for me...
- Eating a salad every day.
- Cutting off my eating at a certain time in the evening.
- Avoiding sugar and white flour when I can.
- Positive Self-Talk and Thinking; I CAN do this, I AM strong and healthy, I deserve to be happy, Looking at what I do right every day, keeping a gratitude journal, and setting SMALL goals rather than worry about how far I still want to go...
- Being aware of every opportunity to move more - as compared to feeling like I have to get a "Work-out". For example; parking far away from my destination, cleaning A LOT, dancing in my living room, walking to stores and coffee shops when possible, walking the dog more, gardening, etc.
- Surrounding myself with healthy people.
- Asking people, very specifically, and ahead of time for what I need.
This really helped me, I'm happy to see that I have more of what works listed than what doesn't - and now for my game plan... Happy Sunday!
