Lately, I've ben losing more than winning.
Food torments me. One day I'm fine..doing great..and the next I can't take it. I'm addicted to food. And I don't know what to do about it. Today Is a bad day.
A very bad day.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Food For Thought
In all of the success stories I've read about or seen on TV, I seem to hear variations of the same things said a lot. The central idea that I've heard numerous times is this: "I completely changed the way I thought about food." This never really clicked with me, and I sort of dismissed it without much consideration, thinking "well, obviously." But recently I've been spending a lot of time contemplating what this really means. In the past, eating provided many things for me, when it really shouldn't have been used for anything other than giving me a healthy body and mind.
I started to think about the different reasons I ate, and what drove me to eat unhealthy things. The first reason I know everyone can relate to...Eating because we are simply bored. Instead of eating just because, I now try to think of something productive to do. Maybe instead of eating, go for a walk. Or a bike ride. Or read, study, play an instrument, go hang out with friends. There's always something better to do.
Secondly, I really notice now that I ate horribly whenever I was feeling stressed out or sad. In reality though, eating a burger and ice cream is going to make you feel worse in the long-run. I know this is only day 3, but I feel better than I've felt in a long time. If you want to feel happier, poisoning your body isn't going to help you accomplish this, only hinder it. Another thing I've realized is the more you eat unhealthy foods, the more unappealing healthy ones become. Food really is like a drug, and you do crave it like crazy until you can make that adjustment. I'm getting there, but I know I'll still have cravings for another week or so at least.
Lastly, my friends eat a lot of fast food. Especially during the summer, when your never home and having fun, and on the go...It's a lot easier to just eat what everyone else is eating. For some people, too, I know that their families keep a lot of junk food in the house and that makes eating right a lot harder. It's really a matter of planning ahead, and finding alternatives. For me, bringing food with me or making sure I eat before I go out helps a lot, as does thinking about what I will eat the following day at night.
A few days ago, a very strong message came from all this reflection: Every time I want to eat something that is bad for me, all I need to do is stop and think about how what I’m about to eat will affect me. What is going to help my body, or make it stronger? What is going to hurt me, or make me feel sluggish, tired, bloated, and uncomfortable? Is this a food that is going to nourish me or harm me? Am I going to feel good about this later or feel guilty, regretful, and weak for giving in? I try to think about how good it will feel to be at a healthy weight, and how proud of myself I will feel when I’m finally there. Most importantly I ask myself, ‘is it really worth it to endure all of this only to have a few moments of pleasure?’ Probably not. ;)
I started to think about the different reasons I ate, and what drove me to eat unhealthy things. The first reason I know everyone can relate to...Eating because we are simply bored. Instead of eating just because, I now try to think of something productive to do. Maybe instead of eating, go for a walk. Or a bike ride. Or read, study, play an instrument, go hang out with friends. There's always something better to do.
Secondly, I really notice now that I ate horribly whenever I was feeling stressed out or sad. In reality though, eating a burger and ice cream is going to make you feel worse in the long-run. I know this is only day 3, but I feel better than I've felt in a long time. If you want to feel happier, poisoning your body isn't going to help you accomplish this, only hinder it. Another thing I've realized is the more you eat unhealthy foods, the more unappealing healthy ones become. Food really is like a drug, and you do crave it like crazy until you can make that adjustment. I'm getting there, but I know I'll still have cravings for another week or so at least.
Lastly, my friends eat a lot of fast food. Especially during the summer, when your never home and having fun, and on the go...It's a lot easier to just eat what everyone else is eating. For some people, too, I know that their families keep a lot of junk food in the house and that makes eating right a lot harder. It's really a matter of planning ahead, and finding alternatives. For me, bringing food with me or making sure I eat before I go out helps a lot, as does thinking about what I will eat the following day at night.
A few days ago, a very strong message came from all this reflection: Every time I want to eat something that is bad for me, all I need to do is stop and think about how what I’m about to eat will affect me. What is going to help my body, or make it stronger? What is going to hurt me, or make me feel sluggish, tired, bloated, and uncomfortable? Is this a food that is going to nourish me or harm me? Am I going to feel good about this later or feel guilty, regretful, and weak for giving in? I try to think about how good it will feel to be at a healthy weight, and how proud of myself I will feel when I’m finally there. Most importantly I ask myself, ‘is it really worth it to endure all of this only to have a few moments of pleasure?’ Probably not. ;)
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Why, hello world!
IT ENDS NOW! Today is the day everything is going to change. Although I have said this before (countless times) I feel determined as hell, and I'm going into this with a whole new attitude. So, I suppose this marks the beginning of my journey. I don't know if anyone will EVER read this, in fact I wouldn't be at all surprised if no one ever did. I've never owned a blog, so I really don't see how I would acquire readers; however, even if this is just for me, I still think it seems like a fairly therapeutic thing to do. There's something empowering about writing down your thoughts, don't you think?
I know what you're thinking. I'm 19, how hard can it really be, right? I wish that were true! I don't necessarily consider myself "obese," but people all have different opinions about that I suppose. My friends tell me "You carry your weight so well though" or "It's just because you have muscle", but frankly I'm tired of people making excuses for me. I am overweight, plain and simple. It's never been easy for me to lose weight, all through high school I was always just a little bigger than all of my friends, and let me tell you it does get to you after a while. Especially when you’re on a competitive soccer team and still somehow can't lose that chub. After I broke my foot a couple years back I was forced to quit soccer, and after that I guess I got so discouraged I started to give up. Long story short, I gained a little over 30 pounds in the last 2 years. And here I am now!
I've tried just about every diet in the book it seems like, but only two have really worked. The flat belly diet actually worked quite well, I lost about ten pounds. Unfortunately, the food was so expensive I couldn't keep with it. The second diet is Medifast, which worked incredibly (lost 14 pounds!) but I love cooking far too much to eat dehydrated soup, powdered eggs, shakes, meal bars, and other dehydrated cardboard-like foods on a continual basis. My mom and I are always looking for new programs, and recently my mom started doing the HGC diet. It's been about 2 and a half months and already she's lost over 20 pounds! This is the first thing that has really worked for her, and so I've decided I'm going to give it a shot.
So, HGC...What is it? Basically, it's a combination of a supplement, two nutritional meal replacement shakes daily, and meals composed of lean protein, vegetables, and fruit. These supplements are completely safe (I'm somewhat of a natural person; I wouldn't be taking it if it were one of those crazy diet pills you see on info-mercials). I think that I can really be successful with this diet because it’s so vague, protein-veggies-fruit. Not hard to find on the go, or at a restaurant, and if you plan ahead you can make meals in like ten minutes. Perfect for my full-time college student part-time working life!
In addition to all this lovely stuff I have written above, I will be...
a. Drinking half my weight (in oz.) of water per day. This is 95 oz for me, which will be a challenge in itself…I swear I never realize I’m dehydrated until I go out to eat and chug like 50 glasses of water.
b. Walking at least 20 minutes daily.
I know, I know... challenge b doesn't sound very challenging, eh? Well. For someone who literally has not exercised consistently for the last couple years, starting small is what you got to do!
Did I mention I'm also not allowed to consume alcohol on this diet? That's, kind of a drag...No partying for this kid. But, it'll be worth it this summer when I'm looking sexy, right?
:) Here we go...
I know what you're thinking. I'm 19, how hard can it really be, right? I wish that were true! I don't necessarily consider myself "obese," but people all have different opinions about that I suppose. My friends tell me "You carry your weight so well though" or "It's just because you have muscle", but frankly I'm tired of people making excuses for me. I am overweight, plain and simple. It's never been easy for me to lose weight, all through high school I was always just a little bigger than all of my friends, and let me tell you it does get to you after a while. Especially when you’re on a competitive soccer team and still somehow can't lose that chub. After I broke my foot a couple years back I was forced to quit soccer, and after that I guess I got so discouraged I started to give up. Long story short, I gained a little over 30 pounds in the last 2 years. And here I am now!
I've tried just about every diet in the book it seems like, but only two have really worked. The flat belly diet actually worked quite well, I lost about ten pounds. Unfortunately, the food was so expensive I couldn't keep with it. The second diet is Medifast, which worked incredibly (lost 14 pounds!) but I love cooking far too much to eat dehydrated soup, powdered eggs, shakes, meal bars, and other dehydrated cardboard-like foods on a continual basis. My mom and I are always looking for new programs, and recently my mom started doing the HGC diet. It's been about 2 and a half months and already she's lost over 20 pounds! This is the first thing that has really worked for her, and so I've decided I'm going to give it a shot.
So, HGC...What is it? Basically, it's a combination of a supplement, two nutritional meal replacement shakes daily, and meals composed of lean protein, vegetables, and fruit. These supplements are completely safe (I'm somewhat of a natural person; I wouldn't be taking it if it were one of those crazy diet pills you see on info-mercials). I think that I can really be successful with this diet because it’s so vague, protein-veggies-fruit. Not hard to find on the go, or at a restaurant, and if you plan ahead you can make meals in like ten minutes. Perfect for my full-time college student part-time working life!
In addition to all this lovely stuff I have written above, I will be...
a. Drinking half my weight (in oz.) of water per day. This is 95 oz for me, which will be a challenge in itself…I swear I never realize I’m dehydrated until I go out to eat and chug like 50 glasses of water.
b. Walking at least 20 minutes daily.
I know, I know... challenge b doesn't sound very challenging, eh? Well. For someone who literally has not exercised consistently for the last couple years, starting small is what you got to do!
Did I mention I'm also not allowed to consume alcohol on this diet? That's, kind of a drag...No partying for this kid. But, it'll be worth it this summer when I'm looking sexy, right?
:) Here we go...
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