Turn from the Dark Side!

This has to be the hardest week for me since the Great Weight Off had started. I only exercised twice this week, and one of those times was a 5k walk in Amboy I did with my family. The temptation to overeat and not exercise this week was so strong. I keep telling myself to turn from the dark side and that the “force” to eat healthy was down deep inside. Now I know this is not Star Wars, it is Food Wars (I get a little dramatic at times). The good thing about this week is that I did not gain weight which I thought I would.

I feel like we all deal with the temptation to eat too much or to eat unhealthy on a daily basis. What do I do when I am tempted to cheat? I eat some and then throw the rest in the trash. I am not a dumpster diver so the food is not appealing to me anymore. My son came home this week from college on Spring Break, and this week I have not practiced what I have preached.  My eating habits need to improve next week. I really enjoy my son being home, but I cannot live the college life like he does. By that I mean he eats whenever and whatever. We have stayed up playing games, talking, and watching TV every night. I have been so tired getting up to go to work every day. It is hard to live this way; I do not know how these young kids do this? Not getting enough sleep ruins my efforts to eat right and exercise.

 My son enjoys his chips with a lot of salt and even though I knew the chips would be calling my name, I bought him a big bag anyways. I saw them out on the table and started eating chip by chip until I realized what I was doing. Once I saw this destructive behavior I threw the whole sack of chips in the trash. I was glad he did not see me throw his chips away, but I just had to! He has not missed them yet! When we went out to eat I was starting to pour myself an unsweetened ice tea, but I turned and looked at the pop machine and poured a pop instead. Pop is really like a drug to me in that I feel that I cannot control the urge to drink pop. I walked back to the table, and my son pointed out that I should not be drinking pop. I slowly got up and poured my pop out and got an unsweetened tea.  

When I am tempted to cheat it helps to have spies watching over me. This sounds crazy but it helps keep me in line when I want to over eat or eat something I shouldn’t. Experts say to take a walk when you are tempted to overeat, but what happens when you are tempted late at night? Who walks at that time? When I start getting tempted, I call one of my sisters who in turn help give me motivation to carry on.  It is encouraging to receive support from family and/or friends. If you find yourself needing encouragement, call a friend, throw that bad food in the trash, and think today is a new day. Pat yourself on the back because you are learning to work through that temptation not to cheat.

Julie