Will This Satisfy Me?
I’ve made a delightful discovery. It seems that I actually changed my eating habits during my journey from 192 to 127 pounds. The fact that I regained all but 7 of the pounds I got rid of doesn’t change this fact. This has become apparent to me as I’ve continued to follow the recommendation Lord Chubalot made in response to my June 27 post. As I wrote in my last post, I’m no longer limiting the healthful choices I make because of the fear that I’ll blow through my daily points’ allocation. Yesterday morning the scale said 166.5; today 168 (normal fluctuation). I seem to be getting rid of the pounds by eating in the way that has become routine for me on “on track” days.
When I initially got rid of the 65+, I focused on my behavior rather than on the pounds I lost each day, week, or month. My attitude was that if I followed the (Weight Watchers) program, the weight would take care of itself. The attitude that seems appropriate for now is that, if I avoid bingeing, the weight will take care of itself. Of course this includes the caveat of healthful eating as described in my last post. Since my eating habits have become healthful, except when I’m binging, this is not a major caveat for me.
The humongous issue for me is bingeing. I want to focus on the role of satisfaction in this. If I am satisfied by what I eat, I’m less likely to get into binge mode than if I’m unsatisfied. With prior planning, I can enjoy a rich chocolate dessert at Citizen Cake without spurring a binge. If I yield to the seduction of a Twinkie, I’m done for. With Burning Man less than 2 months away, I’ve been thinking a lot about this in the past few days. Connie will probably be bringing a large birthday cake for our Thursday potluck. Since this is more Twinkie than Citizen Cake and will also be served in a potluck situation, it’s binge monkey food. A question that encapsulates a binge strategy is this: Will this satisfy me? An apple tart served at Fleur de Lys, yes! One chocolate chip cookie served anywhere, no! A measured serving of Breyers’ ice cream late in the evening, yes! A single scoop of Baskin Robbins rocky road ice cream eaten in the car, no! A double scoop, no! A triple scoop, maybe, but I’ll be in binge mode and ready to eat the world a little later on.
Will this satisfy me? The binge monkey is listening.
When I initially got rid of the 65+, I focused on my behavior rather than on the pounds I lost each day, week, or month. My attitude was that if I followed the (Weight Watchers) program, the weight would take care of itself. The attitude that seems appropriate for now is that, if I avoid bingeing, the weight will take care of itself. Of course this includes the caveat of healthful eating as described in my last post. Since my eating habits have become healthful, except when I’m binging, this is not a major caveat for me.
The humongous issue for me is bingeing. I want to focus on the role of satisfaction in this. If I am satisfied by what I eat, I’m less likely to get into binge mode than if I’m unsatisfied. With prior planning, I can enjoy a rich chocolate dessert at Citizen Cake without spurring a binge. If I yield to the seduction of a Twinkie, I’m done for. With Burning Man less than 2 months away, I’ve been thinking a lot about this in the past few days. Connie will probably be bringing a large birthday cake for our Thursday potluck. Since this is more Twinkie than Citizen Cake and will also be served in a potluck situation, it’s binge monkey food. A question that encapsulates a binge strategy is this: Will this satisfy me? An apple tart served at Fleur de Lys, yes! One chocolate chip cookie served anywhere, no! A measured serving of Breyers’ ice cream late in the evening, yes! A single scoop of Baskin Robbins rocky road ice cream eaten in the car, no! A double scoop, no! A triple scoop, maybe, but I’ll be in binge mode and ready to eat the world a little later on.
Will this satisfy me? The binge monkey is listening.
posted by ArleneWKW at 12:00 PM
6 Comments:
I have to agree 100% about the binges. If I can avoid that frantic eating after a good day of dieting, I would not be overweight. Controlling that binge monkey is what I have not done well, I am glad that you are making progress.
Trouble is binges are so difficult to avoid.
Not sure I understand how Bob is trying to help here, sorry Bob. But I do understand binges, as I am finding myself a victim of that binge monkey more frequently than I hoped. I think your on track Arlene. Ice cream is never sweeter then when it is eaten in the car, by keeping it a single scope you can enjoy and not fall prey to that monkey.
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Despite the fact that my blog is called "Losing a Hundredweight" and each week I post my weight, what I've always maintained is that the weight-loss is a secondary thing to being healthy.
My whole approach has been to eat healthily so that my body is healthier and my mind is healthier. I cannot consider myself to be fit and well if I'm bingeing and having sugar rushes and drops.
By focussing on eating healthily and staying away from the trigger foods where ever possible then the weight loss has been a side effect.
Personally, I think that the weight-watchers approach of calorie counting and points stinks to high heaven and I wouldn't go near it. To my mind it lulls you into a false sense of security when you think that I can have my day's points by eating 3 mars bars and a bowl of ice cream instead of having plenty of healthy food instead.
It focuses on the idea that food is just fuel, and that is only half the picture. Food is also about getting the right balance of vitamins and minerals to make your body and mind actually work efficiently.
However, some people swear by WW and if it works for them then fine. But it would never work for me and I would never recommend it.
Eat healthily and learn what causes your over eating - physical triggers such as sugar or salt, emotional triggers, addictions and habits. Understand WHY you overeat and you can begin to tackle it long-term.
I think your approach to monitoring your binges rather than your points is an excellent one, Arlene and likely to yield far greater results.
Thanks Spider. I'm not in progress land right now. Errrrg, sticking with this is so damn hard.
Amen WRB. And recovering from them is also major difficult.
TTM: Why do I keep forgetting that. I actually enjoy food more when I'm in control than when I'm pigging out.
Bob ???: What did you say here that I missed? Just curious.
I think WW has it's pluses and minuses. I actually was able to maintain the attitude you espouse when I got rid of the 65+ pounds. I've got to sincerely wrap my mind around it again. Why do I have to keep relearning the lessons I thought I'd previously mastered? Errrg.
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