Wednesday 8 October 2008

What do you do?

So, after admitting to complete gluttony earlier today I told myself that I would not continue the same path for today. You see, typically if I over indulge...okay let's just call it what it is, if I'm gluttonous, (over indulge seems like such a fluffy word...a way to make it seem to myself that what I did really wasn't that bad) then I continue in that form for the rest of the day and tell myself I'll start again tomorrow. Today, I didn't do that. We can't continue in the path of starting again tomorrow. We must continue to walk on the right path whatever that path is for each of us (I'm talking food and exercise right now).
So you slip, you have some cake even though you're not planning on it or you have 5 cookies (or the dough ;-)), or you eat fried oreos, or you eat to much yummy Mexican goodness, or chocolate, or even too much roast and vegetables for dinner, the point is that as soon as we are aware of what we are doing, we stop. We change. For that moment in time we commit to not continuing down the path the rest of the day.

So, my question to all of you is what do you do? Are you like me and frequently tell yourself you start again in the morning? If you want to share with the group what you do then by all means please do. We are here to support each other. To lift each other up in prayer. To be each other's cheerleaders.

Alright, I'm off to Amazon to add a few books to my wish list, look up recipes for home made tomato soup (I have a plethora of tomatoes this year), finish my cuppa decaf chai and crawl into bed with my new chronological Bible.

6 comments:

Debs said...

I definitely have a tendancy to tell myself I'll start over tomorrow, or maybe even next week.
I've been working on jumping right back on again, and I think I'm getting there.

Anyone who's been looking at my food journals will see that I don't think I've actually stuck strictly to phase one any day I've been on it. And I'm not referring to the big fall off the wagon at the weekend - where yes, I did just keep on eating.

I mean the fact that I had a cup of hot chocolate last night, or the orange juice earlier in the day.

For me, doing phase one strictly strictly doesn't seem to work. Especially like now, when I'm doing it as a kick start, I told myself I'm not going to use it as an excuse to make someone else feel uncomfortable, which means drinking juice sometimes rather than saying 'no way, I'm not drinking that'.

I'm not sure I'm explaining this very well. It means that I go into every day fully expecting to stick to phase one properly - so I'm not setting myself up for failure. However, I'm also aware that for me, when I am doing phase one properly the weight can drop off at an alarming rate, so actually, stopping to drink a cup of hot chocolate isn't going to be too much of a problem.

I'm not drinking the hot chocolate out of gluttony, but out of community with others - it was cold and we all drank hot drinks. If I were at hot by myself I wouldn't have drunk it, and I wouldn't have missed it.

Debs said...

I'm defintely not trying to say I have it all sorted, cos I totally don't. When I fall, I fall BIGTIME!
I guess i'm saying i've worked a bit of flexibility into my plan, which stops me getting guilty over something small, which stops me then throwing in the towel and giving up.
Does that make sense?!

Anonymous said...

Debs, I'm with you. I'm not doing any particular diet or on any particular phase. I'm trying to use sound judgment. (I know your doing SB). I think all too often we tell ourselves we can't have a cup of hot chocolate because it isn't on plan and then because we had (whatever it may be) we decide we might as well give up for the day. A cookie isn't gluttonous. A cup of hot chocolate or orange juice isn't being a glutton (unless you maybe have 32 oz of hot chocolate :-D).
I think we have to be careful. We went for so long (gaining weight) without thinking about food but then, in ways dieting becomes our idol. We focus on it so much.
I don't know that any of this is making sense or if my words are really coming out right. I'm NOT saying that "dieting" is bad. I'm just saying that we have to be careful.
By the way, I'm normally a bigtime faller right along side of you.

Anonymous said...

I am totally like you Tami! If i am doing good, I am really really good. If I am bad...I make it worth it! And I always start again tomorrow!

Debbie said...

The past year has been VERY frustrating for me. When I started South Beach, inches were melting off but the scale didn't change too drastically. But after about an 18 lb loss I got stuck. And then I got annoyed and then just didn't care anymore, so obviously I gained about 10 lbs back.

Now, I'm not sticking strictly with a plan so much as watching what I consume. I don't eat loads of sweets, but I might have a piece of chocolate from time to time. I'm watching my portion size also. Yesterday I bought some fish and chips (for the first time since I've been here!). I had been craving it and finally decided to indulge. Well, halfway through I noticed I was completely full. In the past I might have ignored the sensation and continued on, 'cause after all I paid £4.10 for that thing! But instead, I threw it away.

At dinner, I made quesadillas and mexican rice with salsa and guacamole (Jez invited the tall, gorgeous Dave over who works in the other shelter, so of course I had to impress him!) I had two pieces of quesadilla -- TWO PIECES. In the past we would go to a restaurant and I'd easily finish off 6 if not 8. After we had cleared the dishes, finished dessert, and started the washing up, I realized I was the only person who wasn't moaning and groaning for being overly stuffed.

Anywho, I guess I'm trying to say that all the small choices we make in a day add up and impact the bigger picture. And at the moment I'm more focused on other things than how many calories I'm consuming, but I'm aware when enough is enough.

Hope that makes sense...

Brandi said...

Great post, Tami. Really goes along with the book a group of us are discussing called The Diet Alternative by Diane Hampton. Also Thin Within is another great book.

I know from experience how hard it can be to choose to not say the whole day is shot...but the freedom it brings to say "no, I will submit to God NOW." is so worth it!!