Scale Sunday: Week 3

This week has been the best yet in terms of will power. Like I said before, if I can just keep in mind that it gets so much better, all the cravings are manageable. It helps to tell myself that I can have whatever it is that sounds so good to me, but I have to wait until _______ time (insert a splurge day, or earlier the next day, or another appropriate time). I find when I do that, often the craving has disappeared or my will power has returned in full force and I can hold off having a treat even longer. I've succeeded in completely eliminating the middle-of-the-night binges by telling myself I can have whatever treat it is I want for breakfast. By breakfast, I could care less.

I've also reworked my strategy about splurge days. If you followed along during the first leg of this year's healthful living journey, during which I lost 48 pounds, you were witness to what my weekends became. Toward the end they were nothing but a binge on everything that I had craved during the week, which left me scrambling all week long to recover from and make up for it. It does no good for your will power to completely disregard it for any length of time. This time the things I'm allowing myself on Sundays have been thoughtful indulgences, still reigned in by moderation. Monday morning and the scale has been thanking me.

This sandwich was last Sunday's indulgence, along with a couple handfuls of my favorite "chips": Fritos Honey BBQ twists. (There has been a bag and a half of them in the pantry for the last two weeks, you guys! They rarely last a couple days, normally!) The sandwich was built of honey walnut bread, oven-roasted turkey sprinkled with garlic pepper, cheese, and lettuce, with (unmeasured!) mayo and southwest mustard. It was the best thing I had tasted in a long time, and didn't trigger an ounce of guilt.

I had a test this week when friends and fellow homeschoolers came to visit mid-week. My dear friend works in a cupcake shop (how did I get so lucky?!) and brought two boxes of cupcakes to share. I also made tacos for lunch...another favorite of mine. In times past this would have been a major stumbling block for me, after which I would have had to give myself a "brush-yourself-off-and-get-back-on-the-wagon" speech. I allowed myself two tacos and one cupcake, something I had firmly decided beforehand. Setting my allowances mentally took away the tendency I have to overthink my food choices, and reason a way into having "just one more". If I am this ruthless with my children when I say no, for their own good, I should definitely be with myself as well. The old adage "practice what you preach" comes to mind here. The other box of cupcakes that we didn't touch has remained unscathed in the freezer until today. I will share, and I'll limit myself again, even though it is "splurge day".

I did a little quick math, and I determined that if I keep up with the trend of losing two pounds a week, I'll be in line to lose 24 pounds by Thanksgiving. Not quite at the goal I had set, but close. I have one pound to lose to get back to my lowest weight this year.