Things are plugging along just fine. I'm living life, eating well, & exercising. Everything about what I'm doing is sustainable long term. That's kind of the point. I don't want to be obsessing over how much I'm eating, what I weigh, or if my macros are balanced. I had a few bad moments over some zucchini bread, but otherwise things have been good. The zucchini bread situation is good to talk about, because it is an important example of several areas that I'm working on shoring up, so I can maintain long term success.
What I recognized:
1: Don't make treats on days when you haven't gotten enough sleep
2: Be aware of the psychological impact certain foods have
3: Understand that just because I crave something, doesn't mean I have to eat it
It wasn't just that the zucchini bread "wasn't allowed" that kept me from eating it. I KNEW if I had a little, it would promote an unhealthy psychological response that would continue into a binge. It wasn't the bread and butter I wanted, it was the emotional/visceral pleasure that comes with carb/sugar/fat overload.
It's similar to the gut reaction I had after quitting smoking. There are still times when I crave a cigarette. I quit almost 6 years ago. I don't keep cigarettes on hand for "when the craving hits". I ride it out because I have no desire to ever be a smoker again.
I have no desire to get fat again either. In this particular situation, on that day, that zucchini bread would not have been an intelligent choice. I would've eaten a whole loaf, and consumed at least a half a stick of butter. Then I would've rummaged through the cupboards looking for more to eat to fulfill the sugar/carb/fat cravings. Don't get me wrong, I intend to eat zucchini bread at some point in my life again, but I need to be supremely aware of how I am feeling before I eat things. Analysis should become a habit and part of the process, instead of the crave/eat mindlessly cycle. I have come a long way through the years and look forward to the time when the cravings and desire for that "hit" come less often. I know from the experience of quitting smoking... it does get better. I also know that I have to retrain myself in a different way of living (which I've been actively doing for several years). Each time I've had a setback, I've learned. Becoming aware of myself and how I react to certain triggers is majorly important!
Anyway, here are my eats for the last few days...
Day 14 was more challenging because last minute, hubby and I decided to go see "Man of Steel". By the time we got home I was ravenous, hence the missing picture, I was in such a hurry to eat I forgot lol.
Another "out of the norm" day. I was visiting with my family. My sister pretty much rocks though :) She reads my blog and was nice enough to make a lunch I could eat. (Yeah, I know you didn't just do it for me, but I still appreciate it!)
Father's Day. I ate more sweet potato AND more steak. I wasn't hungry anymore, but I ate anyway. (Nope, I'm not perfect. That bad habit still needs work).
Hope you had a great weekend! Here's to a killer week ahead!!!
3 comments:
Wow Tiffany you really have a great way of 'slapping me' when I need it. This post was fantastic! I suffer from this type of eating response almost every couple of days. I am knuckling down, this post really helped :-)
I just stumbled on your blog and I have been doing the same thing the last week with taking pictures of my food to stay accountable
Your #1 tip is something that I need to remind myself! I actually took a no-baking pledge for the summer just to limit access to desserts. We're eating fruit instead if we need something sweet and maybe some dark chocolate. We'll see how it goes.
Congratulations on your successes! Have a great week.
This is a really good post Tiffany. That psychological response to food is such a strong factor that needs to be controlled or prevented before it blows out of proportion. Thank you for the reminder :)
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