A Shift in Thinking
Yesterday I took a walk around the pond again. This time I went with my Mom. We saw the Blue Heron, which had been gone all winter. It was a nice day for a walk--temperatures in the 50's with the sun shining.
Thankfully, somehow my attitude seems to have shifted regarding my eating habits. On Monday and Tuesday, I did not overeat at all. This is the first time in months that I've refrained from eating too much for a full day. Wednesday, I ended up overeating, but Thursday I was back on track.
What caused this shift that had eluded me for a long time? Not sure, but it seemed to have started Monday morning, while I was smoking a cigarette. It occurred to me, "If I want to be healthy, be thin, I need to think like a thin person would. It is all in the mind. That is the only difference--the way we think, our attitude."
To be able to avoid overeating, and to be able to lose weight, I feel I need to accept my hunger as a natural sensation that I can be on friendly terms with. Otherwise, every time I feel the slightest hunger, I start eating. And once I start, it is hard to stop. I read on an overeater's website about the dilemma that overeaters find themselves in. Not to say that food addiction is any harder to stop than drugs or alcohol, but it is a unique situation, in that when one is addicted to drugs or alcohol, one can lock up the tiger (avoid drugs altogether), but "you can't stop eating food. So instead of caging up the tiger forever, it's a little like taking the tiger for a walk three times a day."
So later that day, somehow I found myself feeling differently towards my hunger. I made peace with it. I would rather be hungry than full of unnecessary food and dealing with the psychological burden that comes with it. I didn't allow myself to eat anything when I became hungry (except for the three meals, of course), because I knew it would lead me to eating too much.
But the next day, I found I was able to eat a small amount of food when hungry, without eating too much. It helps if I have a healthy snack, like fruit or yogurt. If I start in on the pretzels (carbs), it's all over.
So by some grace, I have started winning some battles against food. The war is not over yet--I still have psychological cravings--but I've begun to overcome. And I feel good about it. Somehow, the hunger in the pit of my stomach makes me feel a little more alive. Weird, huh?
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5 comments:
Good for you. Yes, it is so hard with food because we can't live without it.
I agree with you, attitude is everything, but so hard to change sometimes.
Have a great weekend!!
Lena
It is so hard at times since one does have to eat it is not like drugs or such that one does not have to have. I am not sure if this would help you but it sure helps me not to overeat and not to have to deal with hunger much and that is instead of eating 3 meals try eating like 6 mini meals eat something like every 3 hours...i know when i do that and often times i do not it really helps me to not overeat. i know i have heard from many people who do this and it helps no matter if one is thin or not. thanks for stopping by my blog. i hope that you have a good weekend.
I sympathize with your situation. I over-eat a lot too because of my damn meds mostly. Plus, I eat crap food because it's all that I can afford.
Keep up the great work.
Good for you, Mike! I'm proud of you. It really all is in the mind. I wish I could realize that more. It's a journey though and a battle. Keep it up!
Lena, if only attitude was easier to change. It is difficult to pin down, but so much of our actions stem from it.
Mosiacmind, thanks for the suggestion. I have found that eating small, healthy snacks every 2 or 3 hours helps me keep my hunger under control. But it is also difficult, because every time I eat, I’m tempted to continue eating too much.
James, thanks. I think a lot of people have that same problem with the meds. Side effects can be very frustrating.
Thanks, Kelly. It sure is a journey, with ups and downs. I’m just going to have to do the best I can.
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