Friday, February 24, 2012

Did You Survive Fat Tuesday?

Ugh, the past week hasn't been too great. First I was sick, then my monthly enemy friend showed up. I decided that I'm not going to weigh on shark week (I love calling it that!), for a few reasons. First of all, I don't exercise much during that time because I sometimes get realllly bad cramps, the type that hurt even when I'm just sitting! Plus, my eating gets all out of wack and I get all bloated and crappy. I decided to skip that week of weighing so that if the number goes up or I don't lose, I won't get too discouraged. That's not saying that I have a "freebie" week though. I've still been trying to exercise and control what I eat. Although, I lost control a few times this week. *sigh*

Something strange happened earlier this week. I hadn't exercised in about 4 days because of being sick and having cramps. I was feeling almost lost without working out. I actually WANTED to workout and I got up and did it! and have done it every day since. I think exercising is turning into a habit for me. I feel so much better on the days that I work out in the mornings. It gives me more energy during the day and I just feel better about myself. Yeah! .. I have done the workout video a few times that I won in a giveaway, but I don't like it too much. It's just not exciting. I used to do Turbo Jam and a Biggest Loser video when I lost weight before. I loved Turbo Jam! It was difficult at first but after awhile I was able to do the entire workout and it felt so good!



How many of you would be offended by this? *raises hand*. At first glance, I would be offended by it.. but how many overweight people are too ashamed to admit that it's true? Unless you have some sort of metabolism or thyroid problem or a medical reason that you are overweight, you eat too much! I admit it. I love food! It relaxes me and it's almost like a "high". I'm not one of those people that you see on TV who eats like 5 bowls of cereal every morning along with 10 eggs and 10 slices of bacon. I don't eat like THAT.. but I used to eat until I was stuffed to the gil. I would eat so much that I couldn't breathe. This is the hardest thing for me to overcome. I can add exercise into my life, no problem. Controlling what and how much I eat is a big problem. My brain is programmed to eat everything on my plate, even if I'm stuffed. Even if it means that I feel sick afterwards. How many of you are addicted to food?? Admit it, here and now!

What can we do to overcome this addiction? It's worse than drug addiction or alcohol addiction in my opinion. We have to be around food every day and everywhere we go. We can't just quit eating cold turkey and never look at another piece of pizza again. We HAVE to deal with it. We have to stop our thoughts before we let them take control of our mouths. I think this is when we should remind ourselves of WHAT we are doing this for! Remind ourselves of our health, of our kids, of the fun things we want to do when we are smaller. That stuff is so much more important than pigging out. We have to figure out how to re-train our brain. Any ideas??

2 comments:

  1. I completely agree. Food addiction is the hardest thing to break. I am actually a Compulsive Overeater, and one of the sayings we have at Overeaters Anonymous is: "When you are addicted to drugs you put the tiger in the cage to recover; when you are addicted to food you put the tiger in the cage, but take it out three times a day for a walk."

    That saying always stuck with me. I have learned that the best plan is to watch portion sizes, and I don't deny myself the things I love to eat. If I want pizza, I will have pizza. But I also know that I can have one piece of pizza and my food intake for the rest of the day needs to reflect this food choice. By denying yourself, it makes you want to cheat.

    You have to be smarter than the food, if that makes any sense. I have also learned how to tell if I am really hungry or if it is boredom or being upset that is making me want to eat.

    It definitely takes time, but it can be done.

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  2. Thanks, Mary Ellen! I'm sure it can be done, but I think it will always be a battle in my life.

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