Anyone who knows me well knows I am a foodie. A foodaholic. Not to be confused with a chocaholic….or a carbaholic….or even an alcoholic.. ( had to throw that in for good measure J )….I love food….all kinds…hot or cold…sweet or starchy….veggies and fruits; meats and potatoes, cheeses and milk….and yes, my beloved desserts.
That being said, I have started another chapter in my weight loss journey. This time I am counting calories, and the main difference, aside from using a really cool app on my phone and my tablet to help me count; is that my son is doing it with me. He needs to shed a few pounds himself, so we are doing this together and we are starting our second week. So far, week one has gone well, especially for him. He gets lots of exercise between working out and playing basketball, so he has no trouble sticking to his calorie allotment. I, on the other hand, find it challenging. I am so used to eating large disproportional amounts of food, that I am fighting hunger, and the temptation to eat more than I am allowed. It’s a struggle. I have used the treadmill at our complex gym a couple of times over the last week, which has helped. I have went over my calorie limit by either a little or a lot 5 out of 7 days. Still, all in all, my intake is vastly reduced from what it was just two weeks ago, and for that I am happy.
One thing I have noticed though, is the difference in the taste of food. I am sure this is not some great revelation; I imagine dieters everywhere have discovered this at some point or other, but I realize that I am savoring my food more. Chewing longer. I am really tasting food instead of inhaling it, and it’s like taking your sunglasses off indoors and realizing there are so many more pretty colors than you had realized. I can’t remember if I have noticed this before in the other chapters of my weight loss journey, but I am noticing it now. Even things like Lean Cuisines and 100 calorie snacks taste wonderful when you are scrimping on the calories!
For me this journey is way more than cutting calories and increasing exercise. It’s way more than wanting to fit comfortably in my clothes, or walk around the block without huffing and puffing. It’s about wanting desperately to find some way to change my life’s eating habits to something I can live with long term because not only is it killing me slowly, it is doing the same to my son. He is suffering from his obesity just like I did when I was his age, and it’s my fault, and it’s up to me to change that for him. And changing that for him means I have to change it for me too. I am getting dangerously close to a diagnosis of diabetes ( I had been diagnosed with pre-diabetes two years ago). Up until a week ago I was having a terrible time with dry mouth, frequent potty breaks, and fatigue, and I knew then that my sugar level was reaching the danger zone. Just a week later, I can tell a huge difference in those symptoms; they are all but gone even. I was drinking 3-4 cans of Mountain Dew a day, and now I’m drinking one 12 oz soft drink once every other day or so. Big difference for me. The thing is, food has always been more than nourishment to me; it is my friend, it comforts me, it makes me feel happy even (albeit a pseudo euphoria, if you will)…so this challenge is not just physical, it’s emotional too.
I know me and I know I can’t go all cold turkey at once. Many people can. I personally don’t like deprivation, and so therefore cold turkey doesn’t work for me. With that, I have decided to allow myself one day a week to splurge. Notice I didn't say binge, I said splurge. One day, and I am back on the bandwagon for the next six days. Will it work, you say? Time will tell…
I haven’t told a lot of people I’m even trying to lose weight again (shhhh…..) because honestly I have failed so many times before, I figure at this point some people just might roll their eyes. Yeah, right, they’ll say. (or so I imagine). I want to just lose the pounds and then have someone come up to me, or my son, and say “wow, you look great! Have you lost weight? !” I especially want that for my kiddo...this is a big step for him.
Welcome to my(our) latest chapter in the ongoing saga of my (our) weight loss journey.
Ciao!
3 comments:
Good for you guys! Once you make it past the first two weeks, it gets easier and easier. Trust me..I know...
Go, go, go! You can do it! I'll be your personal cheerleader. :)
I always splurge on the weekends. It make the rest of the week much easier and it still works :)
You go!!
Are you using loseit.com? We could be friends!
Food doesn't heal the emotions...but Christ can heal whatever causes them!
When counting calories I'm very motivated to exercise purely so I can eat more that day. It seems to work for me!
@AnnaMay...Thanks! We need a cheerleader! Bub told me tonight that he wasn't as hungry as he used to be, and I told him that's because he used to eat out of boredom, not out of hunger. Maybe some good habits are kicking in! :-)
@Trever....yes! we LOVE the LoseIt App! It's the best thing that ever happening to calorie counting! So how does the friends thing work? Also, you are so right about the healing...may God grant it to me.
(And yes, the exercise thing so you can eat more is definitely motivating!) :-)
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