Takin' Care Of Business

Just a dab will do!

Very proud of myself right now. As you know, I ran water over that bag of Shredded Wheat and pitched it. Yesterday, I put a big glob of dishwashing liquid in the peanut butter jar, ran water over it, shook it up, then threw it out. Yes, I feel like a freak doing this, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do to get rid of temptations that lure you away from your healthy eating schedule. Next up are the Fiber One bars. For some reason, I don't want to get rid of those. I know I have to because they are like candy to me (same as the Optifast bars were) and feed a bad night-eating habit. Yet I'm in a holding pattern. I will try to ditch those this afternoon.

Speaking of night-eating, I was at the clinic yesterday for my maintenance class with Kathy and after that concluded I popped into Millie's office for a quick hello. We talked about how this night-eating is definitely "red flag" behavior, and can usher in an eating disorder. For example, I have had several times where I woke up in the middle of the night and came down and had Shredded Wheat. This is what I am talking about. It is not normal and I have to curb this behavior immediately before I slip into a hole and it is hard to get out. Some cognitive "rewiring" is needed here. So I'm going to work on this. I'll probably feel great discomfort at first, but I'm tough and will work my way through it.

As the days pass, I am also getting more focused on shedding that 5-6 lbs. to get me back down to 165 lbs. I know I have been talking about getting comfortable with a "new normal" of 168 - 172 lbs., but every day I am feeling more strongly about tightening back up again. I'm also looking ahead to that holiday season that runs from Halloween through New Year's Day. Most will plow on 10 lbs. during this time and I just can't afford having that happen. Now, if I'm down around 165 lbs., I may have a little wiggle room. But honestly, I just have to stay focused here on holding a healthy weight.

So I guess I want to relay that you have to be very much aware of the "weight creep" that for me, started up after I had been maintaining for about 5 months. There were some vacations thrown in there, and I really started over-indulging in nice restaurants. Tightening back up, I'm finding, is difficult but necessary to keep things from continuing to escalate. Also keep an eye out for night time grazing and eating, and if you are waking up in the middle of the night and eating, know that is a clear danger signal.

I was told over and over and over again that maintenance was going to be the most difficult part of my weight management lifestyle change journey. And folks, it's true. But stay focused, stay on top of things, and you'll be okay. Oh -- and also do your emotional/coping skills work i.e. breaking that terrible pattern of eating to process feelings of sadness, distress, anxiety, heck, good moods...studies show that addressing emotional eating works better than simple "I'll avoid this food" strategies. Those often fail.

Onward I go down this dusty road. Fortunately I've got walking buddies. I'm going to get this maintenance mastered. My head is in the right place and so is my heart. Come join our little group. We'd love to have you! Take care all.