I keep thinking that I want to write about Rascal, but I am not yet ready to do it. I will, before too much time gets away from me, sit down and write a tribute to him. His crate is still up in our dining room. I find myself swept away with grief in the most random moments. The weather has helped because I can be outside. I took Scout for a walk around the block last night and it felt bizarre to just have one dog with me.
I am continuing to have amazing success with my new way of doing things. I thought I would address a couple of questions that people have asked me.
Q: "Are you hungry?"
A: The short answer is no. The longer answer is that I do have days where I am more hungry than others. I write my protocol out for the week on Saturday. I even plan my evenings--some nights I have tea, on a couple of nights I have one serving of dark chocolate. I have been taking regular walks, sometimes up to 5 miles. On those days, I find I will eat almost my entire salad at lunch. Other days, when I'm less active, I get about halfway into it and lose interest.
I have changed the manner in which I eat. I still mostly eat in front of the TV (not the best, but it is what it is for now), but I eat much, much more slowly. I set my fork down between bites. I have a 32 ounce water bottle and I will drink one full water bottle, set my dinner down, go refill it, come back and keep eating. I typically go through two full bottles of water during a meal. If I have finished my plate of food, I sit for a minute or two before I get up for seconds. I typically find that waiting even a few minutes enables my brain to receive the signal that I'm full.
Q: "Is this sustainable?"
A: Yes, *because I am not hungry all the time.* I am eating foods that are incredibly nutrient dense--chickpeas, avocado, eggs, chicken, cheese, tomatoes, etc. There are no "filler" foods or starchy side dishes. The food I am choosing to eat is food that my body can use efficiently. I don't grab a protein bar and then stare at the clock until mealtime. I have trained my body that there are specific times during the day when I eat. If it's not the right time, I drink water or coffee (I have that written on my protocol) and start prepping my salad or meal for the evening.
It's also sustainable because I am making a plan. This helps me be prepared. I'm not arriving at 3 PM worried about what's for dinner. I've already decided what's for dinner, I have all the ingredients, the meat is thawed (or thawing), etc. I am not having to put extra brain power into it. As a byproduct, I have freed up a ton of time and energy! I am able to roll with the punches.
Q: "Do you count calories?"
A: Nope, not even a little bit. I am not worried about caloric intake because again, I am eating foods that are very dense nutritionally. I am only eating until I am full and I am only eating during the hours I've prescribed myself. For me, focusing on the calories would be counterproductive. I don't have time to calculate how many calories are in my salad or in my portions for dinner. I don't sweat it, though, because I know I'm not eating past the point where I *start* to feel full.
Q: "Are you allowed to eat _____?"
A: Listen. I am a grown adult. I am allowed to eat anything within reason. It's not about whether I am being given permission. Kristin made some suggestions for me and I chose to follow them. I evaluate what I eat with the question--'does this food serve me well?' If the answer is no, then it doesn't go into my body. I don't think it does me any good to think of food as being forbidden. Mentally, the minute I think of something as forbidden, it becomes a mental obsession for me. I can't think about anything else. I have the dark chocolate because I can eat one serving and it doesn't trigger anything in my mind that wants me to eat more. There may come a time, though, when eating a single serving of dark chocolate may not serve me. I have decided that if I've written it into my protocol and I'm having a rough day, I will skip it. My goal is not to use food as a buffer. Food is fuel for my body, it should not be used to celebrate, drown my sorrows, etc.
Look, I know the way I'm doing things is not for everyone. I keep thinking of Oprah in the Weight Watchers commercial saying, "I love bread." I recently read in a NY Times article that before Oprah became their spokesperson, the company had been in a bit of a tailspin. They had not seen their typical trend, which is that after the first of the year there is a sharp increase in enrollment. I have done Weight Watchers before and had success on the scale, but I don't think I was making the best choices for myself.
For me, I had to start healing my gut first. I don't think I would be able to dismiss a tray full of sweets if my gut was a mess. There's a lot of emerging science about the brain/gut health connection. It seems to be working for me. The combination of new eating habits and my Plexus products has me down about 25 pounds in a month.
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