So, a friend of mine recommended that I read this book. I just finished it the other day and did a trial run of some of the theories while I read it. The friend who suggested it to me did so when we were having a discussion about Weight Watchers. She said she follows the "intuitive eating" plan after many attempts at Weight Watchers, because she feels like counting points makes her obsess about food too much. I definitely could see her point. I too had grown tired of tracking points and thinking all the time about what food would be next and how many points it would cost me. I had gotten into a bad habit of treating Weight Watchers like a diet, and not like a lifestyle change. Here are some habits that I've gotten into over the years that are clearly a MISUSE of the program:
-Assuming that because I'm doing Weight Watchers, that I'm deprived. The truth is, the food is never going away. I'll always have an opportunity to eat pizza, ice cream, chocolate and whatever else tickles my fancy. My problem is that I have created this "got to have it now, no matter what the cost" mentality. This leads to feeling restricted and ultimately, to guilt-inducing binges. What the book made clear to me is that food is going nowhere. It will ALWAYS be available, so there is no reason to participate in "last supper eating", which only results in extreme guilt, and in some people, purging.
-Purging. I've done it. I'm not elaborating on the hows or the whys or the how oftens. I think MANY chronic dieters have purged in some form or another, and if not, then they probably are the type of person who restricts food to the point of extremes. This is also NOT what Weight Watchers intends you to do when you overdo it. They strive to teach you to realize that to have an off day is human, and not to kick yourself, but instead to learn from it. Unfortunately, over the years, instead of learning from it and growing, I've fallen into the vicious cycle of binge/purge/guilt/binge because of the guilt/throw in the towel altogether/feel hopeless/repeat.
-Abuse of Weekly Points Allowance. For I don't know how long now, I've gobbled up my WPA just about the minute after I've weighed in. Either I'd go indulge on some crazy-fattening meal, or have a candy binge, or what have you, but then they'd be gone less than 24 hours into my new week and I had no "insurance" on days when I was hungry for extra points. Sure there were activity points as well, but I'm talking going WAY over points, every day- out of pure resentment. Obviously this is not the way the program was intended to work. I know better than this!
-Not putting myself first. Assuming, without even trying, that Weight Watchers cannot be done when out with friends, therefore just giving up. This is dumb thinking and I know it's not true. I've been successful too many times to believe this for one minute.
So, I've done a little soul searching, and I've decided to give Weight Watchers Online another go. This time I want to focus more on intuitive eating and spend less time plotting and planning every little morsel that goes into my mouth. My old routine was to sit down every Saturday after weighing in and plan out the next 7 days worth of food. Not only was I finding that things were coming up that changed my plans, but also, I might not be hungry for what I planned on eating when it's all of a sudden 4 or 5 days later. Duh! I'm going to work on listening to what my body is craving each day, and try to generally live a life of 90% nutritious food/10% "play food". This is one of the guidelines of intuitive eating.
What inspired all this, you ask? I got my measurements taken at the gym the other day, about two months after starting with my trainer. I haven't really lost any inches and my weight is the same. I was so disappointed. I work out REALLY hard, and I'm just cancelling out all of that hard work when I don't pay attention to what I eat. My trainer also trains my fiance, and he said she just seemed so personally sad and upset that I hadn't made more progress. She told Dave that I work harder in the gym than any of her female clients. When he told me she said this, I just wanted to cry. Because I DO work hard. And I'm letting my lack of sleep and emotions and stress any any other excuse be a reason to feel sorry for myself and try to drown it in butter, chocolate and carbs. It's time to put on my big girl panties, get up and GO! I know I can do this!
Prime example that I can work this into my life again: I got invited to IHOP by some coworkers yesterday morning after work. I was so nervous that I'd eat too much and ruin my plans to get back on track. I'd KILL for an omelette and some yummy buttermilk pancakes, but let's face it- that's about a day's worth of points. Instead, I took a minute on my break at work to peruse the IHOP website. They have a whole new "for me" menu that uses eggbeaters instead of regular eggs, and smaller portions. I had a delicious veggie omelette with a side of fruit for about 8 points. I was full from all that protein for hours. In fact, when I woke up that afternoon, I was still full. I was able to get up at 3:30, have a pre-gym Balance bar and was good to go until about 9:00pm. I got in a good sweaty workout and some Valentine's Day errands and was good to go! I'm so proud of myself.
Right now I'm sitting on the couch just hoping that the roads are good enough for me to get out of the house today. We got 4-6 inches of snow last night here on the coast! It's ridiculous and people are idiots on the roads an we have no real means of clearing the roads other than warm temperatures and a little salt to throw out. The grocery store was out of bread last night! People are losing their minds over a tiny bit of snow! It's really comical, but I don't want to be stuck inside today, nor do I want to drive in town with a slew of idiots. Wish me luck!
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