I've been telling myself for two years now that it's okay that I'm not losing weight anymore because of this reason and that, and that eventually I will get back to the process of losing the final 40 pounds or so. The scale doesn't run my life, and at least I am more or less maintaining the 90-pound weight loss.
But as I've been mulling over the past three years of my Core journey, it occurred to me that the primary reason the weight loss stopped was because I haven't been paying attention to my body's signals. Not the way I need to, at least.
It was easy to lose weight when I weighed 280 pounds. All I had to do was quit eating junk food and start exercising, and the weight came off pretty consistently. I could overeat Core foods on a regular basis and still lose weight.
That stopped when I got down to about 220 pounds. I thought it was the gall bladder surgery. Then I realized it was portion control (yes, I had figured this out two years ago), and started working on that. And I lost some more weight, and then stopped again. And then just quit worrying about it, since there were so many other distractions in my life.
I used to be able to say no to the junk food in the staff lounge too, without a lot of agony. These days I can't say no to anything and I'm bingeing on a regular basis and I wonder what has changed. Yes, I'm addicted to sugar and white flour again, and detoxing is a difficult process. But it recently occurred to me that the reason I had more self-control back then was because I always had the reward of the weekly weigh-in to look forward to. Now that my weight is stuck, I have nothing to look forward to and having the treats at least makes me feel better temporarily.
Where am I going with this? Well, I don't have any answers yet. I do think my friend Ellen has a valid point (she is doing a plan called Radiant Recovery). She says that if our bodies are properly balanced nutritionally, we don't have the cravings and the emotional eating issues. The challenge is to find out what foods to eat—and when—to keep our bodies in balance.
I'm not going to abandon Core—I am on Core for the rest of my life—but maybe it would be better to have protein (maybe a boiled egg) with my oatmeal/fruit breakfast and to combine the carbs with a small amount of protein throughout the day. It's definitely worth trying.
Because yesterday I made a great lunch with a chicken and plum recipe with veggies, and I was still hungry afterwards, so I made popcorn. I think it would have been better to have a potato with it.
The main thing is to be more cognizant of what is going on with my body and be determined to sense the body's signals that it is satisfied. . . and have the willpower to put the food down as soon as I sense them.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I think your friend Ellen is on to something big :)
Radiant Recovery has enabled me to find my way out of the bingeing and sugar cravings (and depression, mood swings etc) that used to blight my life.
Today I am bright eyed and bushy tailed, full of hope for the future, confident with high self-esteem. I haven't eaten sugar in a year or binged for longer than that. All from changing what and when I eat.
Everyone is talking about Radiant Recovery right now. Why don't you give it a look and see what you think.
With best wishes for your journey from someone who has been there and come out the other side!
I totally agree with Selena. Since discovering Dr. Kathleen DesMaisons book (Potatoes Not Prozac) 6 months ago, my life has miraculously turned around. I will NEVER go back to dieting or nutritional plans. I urge you to read the book (most libraries have them, but she has a newly revised 10 year edition that is even better than the first I'd advise reading if possible) because if you are sugar sensitive, you will know it by page 10 (maybe sooner!) and will find yourself on every page. It is so nice to have a name for what this is and a solution. My body feels better than it has in years and it is working for me. There are so many signs of SS, but for me, the promise is healing permanently so I don't have to keep doing the same thing over and over and feeling like a failure because I have no "willpower" or because I'm an "emotional eater." None of these are correct...it's not my fault. My inherited body chemistry is the issue and RR is the cure. Lots of info. is on www.radiantrecovery.com. I hope you will check it out!
Post a Comment