Eat It
When starting any weight loss journey, the temptation to eat everything and anything remains. You need to start controlling those urges and cut out gorging but that’s easier said than done!
Three Days In
Still Want To Eat It!
Three days into this journey, I’m starting to feel a slight improvement. Only slight, which apparently according to Boffins in white coats is the way it should be. I’m fine with that, having reprogrammed my brain to think a different way when it comes to food. One of my first small steps is to stop gorging and start thinking exactly what is going in my mouth.
Calorie counting via My Net Diary is good for me on several levels. The most prominent being that I look at a foodstuff and know exactly what’s inside. Everything in moderation. Working on sugar and carb content is something I’ll tackle later. I was pleased to discover my grandson, aged almost seven, is being taught about food and its value. I’m unsure about the exact teachings though. I think it’s vital to be educated on food from an early age.
In my day, I was told to eat the meat as it was the most expensive part of the meal. I was also told to clear my plate. A problematic way of upbringing that many people of my generation still hold today. There is nothing wrong in theory with clearing your plate, but it depends on how big the plate is and the contents!
Small Plate
Brings Better Success
The switch to smaller plates, counting calories (not always exactly but I always have a good estimate of consumption) and eating slower is working. My next challenge is can or will I keep it up. Three days is not nearly enough but at least I’ve started. Doesn’t matter whether you dress this as a lifestyle change or diet (the official bodies seem to despise the word diet these days, I think because we associate diets with failure), the common goal here is weight loss and health improvement, both physical and mental.
I’ve not gorged for three days. Gorging was one of the reasons I put on so much weight. Whether it be biscuits at work or slumped in front of the TV in the evening. I’d programmed myself to gorge. To the extent, I was suffering from bulimia. Not a nice place to be. It’s a horrible feeling stuffing your face before heading to the toilet. I won’t go into too much detail, but you I’m sure get the idea!
Long Term Project
Work Hard
I’ve known for some time; that I clearly couldn’t carry on this way. In a past life, I lost 36 Kilos (6 Stone) through sheer hard work. I am determined to do this again. This time, I’m adamant not to fall back into terrible habits. Something feels very different. Maybe I am older and wiser. Maybe I realise I am not immortal, and ageing is creeping up.
For years, I got away without mass weight gain because I worked as a post/mailman and was walking 20-25,000 steps a day. But, as I got older, the weight did start creeping back. And I found bad habits creeping back too. The domino effect kicks in and you find yourself helpless, desperate and in a state of mass panic but there is nothing you can do to stop the slide. You know it’s wrong, but you keep on doing it.
Change Of Job
From Street To Office
Last November I changed jobs and am mostly office-based. The weight started piling on almost immediately. I was less active but eating at the same levels as before. Most of the weight I gained was before I stopped smoking in March. Post-smoking is the classic weight gainer as many substitute nicotine for sugar. Even more ironic, I gained weight when I stopped drinking at the turn of the year. This is a mark of how out of control my eating became.
That was where I was at till Monday. The change must come from within. Already, I think of the gorging, and it makes my stomach churn. Now, I’m looking at calories and I shudder at the sheer amount that was going into my body. I’d estimate I was consuming 4-5,000 a day, even more, when slumped on the couch necking back beer. In all honesty, carry on like that and I’d be unlikely to see 60.
You Can Change!
You Don’t Have To Eat It!
If you’re a gorger, my advice would be to seek help immediately. I regret not getting medical assistance for bulimia as clearly, I was suffering. Even as recently as last Sunday before I made the change. Your brain must remain strong and standing. This is not easy. But, when you get a sense of focus, suddenly things get a little easier. The one thing gorging didn’t do was give me any fulfilment or happiness at all. In fact – and this is very common – all it does is rack one’s inner self with feelings of guilt. Gorging was a way of sweeping things under the carpet. My way of escape. I know I’m not alone.
When you stop and look back, like I’m doing now, you do realise how damaging for health it can be. Even more annoying, you know how destructive it is, but you carry on regardless. My tip sheet helps me a lot.
