Well, I knew a day of reckoning was coming. We are into week 7 of Biggest Loser and I haven't had a day that was a huge struggle...until Friday.
Last week was hectic - the stuff of each normal day, work required by 3 feet of snow, and two trips to a Pittsburgh hospital.
The first thing to suffer was my exercise schedule. ..although shoveling is certainly exercise! Within 3 days of my workout routine being altered, I felt like I wanted to eat anything in sight. Could be emotional, hormonal, or simply a reaction to the crazy way life has been the past two weeks.
Whatever it is, here's what it's NOT...an excuse. Nor is it the end of the world.
If I was "dieting" I might be very upset about the food choices I made yesterday. But this is not a diet. It is a change of lifestyle...and the only thing upset is my intestinal tract.
So I seek the lessons to be learned, the actions necessary to making this a permanent way of life. Actions that are flexible enough to adapt to disrupted schedules, unexpected events, and days when my food choices aren't the best.
Americans, in general, are rather addicted to poor eating. Sugar, high fructose corn syrup, bleached white flour are major culprits in this Americans battle of the bulge. And if you think you aren't addicted, try eating no refined sugar for a week.
Don't misunderstand...I have made no rash changes because I know they probably will not stick. I have a goal in mind and I am learning each day what will take me a step closer or a step away from that goal.
One of the lessons seems so simple: When an item is removed from any space, tangible or intangible, physical or emotional, something else will take its place. I can't simply stop grabbing for the chips. First I must decide why I am eating them, then make appropriate adjustments.
Maybe my blood sugar levels are dipping at a certain time of day. So I need to eat something- just not a Snickers bar. I might have to plan better, shop more wisely, spend some time cutting vegetables.
Maybe chips and dip are my standard snack fare...sit down to watch TV or read, and the chips are just part of that equation. That requires a change of habit, as well as adequate planning. It is likely that, initially, whatever I choose will not seem to be satisfactory. In my mind, I still want the CHIPS!!!! So I have to change my mind.
But that's what it's all about, right? Not just the Biggest Loser, but life in general. Try something, make adjustments, decide to change your mind about a situation...take a few steps...repeat.
Things get in the way. People have needs. Work demands vary. It snows 3 feet. You understand what I mean.
But change always happens. Some I initiate, some requires response from me.
And so I continue, shaking off a bad day, bad decision, lack of time to make a satisfactory effort.
It is a new week. There will be new challenges, change required. That's fine. No change means no chance for improvement.
Here's to a week of better health, first and foremost...and also fewer pounds!
What's your goal for the week?
see you tomorrow...Beth
2 comments:
It is obvious to me, Beth, that you have your new lifestyle (not diet) figured out. You have everything in the right perspective. Yes, we slip once in a while, but part of the new lifestyle is to learn to stand up and start swinging again.
There are a lot of things that can trigger an eating binge. For me, I can get too aggressive in restricting my calories as I try to reduce my weight. After a while I snap because my body really does need additional nutrition. The problem is that I tend to eat sugar without moderation when this happens. I know you are in a Biggest Loser competition and that you mentioned a goal of 5 pounds a week, which is VERY aggressive! Aggressive weight loss can make you tired and weak which can leave you vulnerable to making bad choices out of true necessity. Please be careful!
I also want to comment on your point about refined sugar. I am convinced this stuff is poison for me. If I eat sugar it sets up a continuous cycle of craving that is never satisfied. In the process it absolutely wrecks my workouts. You mentioned the figure of going without sugar "for a week". I am convinced that it takes 1 - 1.5 weeks of total sugar abstinence before I feel good again and my workouts are back to normal. I agree with you that sugar is bad news!
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