While I was going for a walk yesterday, I calculated out what fraction of the three months that is (about one-sixth). That's...not...very...much.
Up front I will tell you that last night I had a very small bite of dark chocolate (85% cocoa). I'm really thinking about changing a rule here. Maybe one small bite of dark chocolate per day should be allowed. Or: maybe it should be allowed if it's an "emergency" (when I feel really, really bad)?
Maybe I should take a poll and you can vote on whether I'm just rationalizing or if that sounds solid.
I quit eating junk food for three months as an end in and of itself, not to lose weight. So why am I lifting up my shirt and appraising my body in the mirror to see if I'm thinner yet? (I'm not, of course.) I think it's because I feel like I'm sacrificing so much by not tasting my favorite tastes, I'm continually searching for some kind of tangible compensation. Oh. That wasn't very hard to figure out.
I have to look a little harder for the more subtle rewards that can be harvested right now:
- Freedom from food-related guilt-attacks
- Freedom from anxiety and indecision at meal time (should I be good or naughty?)
- The secure knowledge that for now, I'm not increasing my risk of heart disease or cancer
- Being able to sleep at night instead of being wired and overstimulated
- Knowing that I'm taking in a LOT more beneficial nutrients than before, and I'm well-hydrated.
- Having something to blog about, getting some positive attention
Ugh, those things are stupid. Who cares. Those rewards are for people who can't remember what Coca-cola tastes like.
Oh, what?! Excuse me. I didn't see you there.
So...I was hoping I'd be more zen about this. Sorry, guys.
No, seriously though, those things are good, they're good. Real good.
It's also great to dream about how proud I will feel when I've gone 3 whole months without junk food. And I feel proud right now already, because I know I'm going to make it. I'll be like, NO WAY I'm that great. SHUT! UP!
Speaking of being more "zen," here is an article that caught my eye today on using meditation to help you overcome addiction. Of course, it's not like I need any more convincing that I should be meditating. "I should meditate more" is just another shame-inducing injunction to add onto the pile, right after "I shouldn't eat so much junk food." But wouldn't it be great though, to do great stuff? And be great? It would really be much better and help a lot. I like to converse about it. About how cool it would be to be perfect.
Seriously though, I really believe in meditation and perhaps I will one day start a new blog to hold myself publicly accountable for maintaining a practice of daily meditation. Not a bad idea.
I have learned that the gluten-free pizza crust mix from Aldi does not result in a delicious pizza, and it isn't really any easier than just making your own crust from scratch, which in my experience tastes at least slightly better. I'm unlikely to do that again soon. I used to do that in the before time of long long ago, but it's too labor-intensive for me now that I have a child. I did try to involve my child in the pizza-making process, but it did not enthrall or enrich her for more than a few seconds at a time, which was long enough for her to make it even more time-consuming and labor-intensive than it already was.
Please comment and feel free to weigh in on the question of whether or not I should allow myself a little dark chocolate. Please know that your comments are important to me and I will take all your advice into account and weigh it carefully before rejecting it as irrelevant to me.
Thanks for reading!
I bet you can guess what I'm going to say about dark chocolate......go for it! Very little sugar in the darker chocolates (good on you for going over 80% that can be tough for some people!) Treat yourself with a little chocolate on a regular basis, say Friday night, or weekend nights. Don't use it when you are weak and want a treat, at least during your three months....IMHO. You are doing great!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pat, my faithful commenter! "Don't use it when you are weak and want a treat"? I'll have some trouble determining when that is, exactly. :) 85% chocolate tastes great to me.
DeleteI have started working out YET AGAIN, and today I ate healthier, no junk. I usually eat pretty healthy, but have not made a special effort like today. My goal is to add muscle so I am eating veggies, fruits, nuts, rice, fish & chicken. I commend you for taking a baby step, I may be biting off more than I can chew by logging all my food and workouts. However, it is better than sitting on FB all day doing nothing. Started to realize that I was doing that because I felt lonely I guess. I have a list a mile long of to-do items as well, and I typed it out and am working on getting things actually done around my house that have been left unfinished.
ReplyDeleteA trainer said to me through MyFitnessPal today that nutrition is 80% of your results. I also read that on BodySpace, but I also read another article that said 65%. Way to go eating better!
Dark chocolate in my opinion is healthy! I only really get a big craving once a month. Old habits die hard, if you don't want to eat it every day which to me seems like a lot, but I do not eat it that often-maybe replace it with something like gum or eat a protein bar.
I used to make a lot of pizza from scratch, also have made a egg/cream cheese pizza crust and an eggplant one. Not crazy about those, and I plan to cut back on pizza if I can...need to try some pizza recipes from Muscle & Fitness, there has to be one that isn't so bad and tastes good:
http://www.muscleandfitness.com/search/site/pizza
Keep At It, Lady! ~Jen
I don't consider this a baby step! Although I have in the past tracked all my food and workouts (which is very effective for weight loss), I feel that when I did that, I missed out on a lot of nutrients because the times I did indulge, I still tried to keep my calories under the limit.
DeleteI lost 18 pounds in two months when I was using Sparkpeople. Even though I think my diet was reasonably nutritious and much better than I'd been doing before that, I believe the big reduction in calories shocked my body too much. My hair started falling out in huge clumps and it freaked me out. It wasn't necessary to lose that much weight that fast. I don't know why it determined my daily calorie limit needed to be so low (1200 - 1500).
I always felt my optimum diet and healthy weight loss would come if I could just stop eating so goddamn much fast food. But I never could do it for long. Not eating junk food for 3 months is like something I never would have even attempted to do because I thought it was absolutely impossible for me. In some ways of course it's more challenging to track your food and workouts because it's so time consuming, but for me, just skipping junk altogether for more than a week - let alone 3 months - this is my Mount Everest!
Good for you for getting back on the horse and improving health and fitness! I can relate to loneliness and too much time on FB. I've decided that "keeping in shape" is really just getting in shape again and again. It's natural for there to be ebbs and flows in the degree of your efforts and for weight fluctuations to take place. Over time I think it will be more and more even and consistent, but that's long-term.
Thanks for the comment, Jen!
I think you should allow yourself the chocolate every day. I don't consider organic dark chocolate to be junk food unless they sneak in soy lecithin. Also, I think it would be good training for you to learn to enjoy and be satisfied with a controlled small portion of your favorite indulgence. Try to take your time and really savor the flavor as you're eating it. I read a book a few years ago called French Women Don't Get Fat and this is one of their secrets to staying slim. You're doing great, Kristina. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteYes, Marge! Thank you! Yes, I TOTES agree that I should allow myself the chocolate every day. (Just one bite.) Unfortunately, this dark chocolate is from Aldi and it is not organic, and I fear it does contain soy lecithin. So what is the deal with soy lecithin anyway, is it really that bad? I have been avoiding it whenever convenient.
DeleteI try to avoid soy in any form (unless it is fermented) because it is a goitrogen. Goitrogens interfere with thyroid function and that's not a good thing. You can buy Green & Black's organic 85% chocolate at Wal-Mart for a reasonable price. It does not contain soy lecithin. I'm pretty sure that the lower percentage ones do have it. It gives the chocolate a creamier texture.
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