Scale Sunday: Week 1

Our desktop computer is out for repair again, so I'm limiting myself to short posts to save time. We had 11 kids running around here one night who managed to switch everything on our monitor to black and white, and nothing Eli and I have tried has worked to switch it back. It makes blogging on it a challenge, and typing on a phone is really not ideal when you have carpal tunnel. My longer post I was preparing for Saturday will have to wait.

This week was a lot like most beginning weeks of a diet change for me. I procrastinated the first couple days, sorta kinda watching how much I ate but still taking a piece of lasagna, a couple breadsticks...no salad. I made the best baked mac and cheese I've ever had on Friday. I gained a pound. And that was the final motivator. 

At nights my will power went into a coma. 2 am found me once hovered over the freezer inhaling spoonfuls of butter pecan ice cream. A 12:45 am trip to the bathroom wreaked havoc on a bag of Doritos. Why is this junk in my house? Ah yes, because no one else here gives a hoot about eating healthy!

Hunger. When my will power prevailed I struggled with hunger. There are some diets that promise you can lose weight without feeling hungry. I'm pretty sure I'd have to exercise 15 of my 17 waking hours daily to lose weight and not feel hungry. Filling up on protein and fiber helps. I drink tons and tons of water, which does not help. I have been completely full of water and my stomach was still growling. I cannot reduce my carbs and limit calories without feeling hungry, at least during the beginning. So right now I'm in the "brainwashing" stage, telling myself that hunger feels good, it's a sign that good things are happening. I know it gets better, it gets easier, and that keeps me going. 

 

Habits. Scientific studies have determined that almost half of our everyday actions are unconscious habits. It has also determined that it takes an average of 66 days to form new habits, though different studies say the range can be as wide as 18-254 days, depending on the person and the circumstances. I've determined that: 1.) I must take longer than average to break old habits, or 2.) food, eating, and the comfort it gives (addiction) don't fall into a tidy little fact box. Really, what in life is ever neat and tidy? 

Exercise this week was yard work and a crazed sprint across the yard when the boy who was swinging Addie pushed too hard and flipped her upside down (thank goodness for safety belts in swings!!!) She was fine, just dizzy. Week two of school had me feeling cabin fever prematurely, and I needed to run outside for fear of going completely batty. I decided to push mow parts of the yard that have gone neglected the past month, and crawl around on my hands and knees pulling weeds (usually the weed wacker's job). The garden is nice and clean now and I regained the retrievable parts of my sanity. There's a beautiful enchantment about being outdoors that keeps all thoughts of food at bay. 

New challenge, same old battered scale.