Thursday, July 1, 2010

Letting go of the "loser" mentality

Initially, I quit dieting because I was tired of restricting and bingeing. I was tired of looking the way I did.

Somewhere within the past month, something changed. More than anything else, I am tired of being obsessed with my weight and size. So, while I maintain this eating plan in order to avoid binges, and I exercise in order to gain strength and cardiovascular health (and to avoid failing future fitness tests!), it might appear to others that I am trying to lose weight.

I will lose weight. There is no way I can consume less calories and exercise and NOT lose some weight.

If it doesn't happen, though, I want to be able to be okay with that- not just accepting, but proud of myself at my size. I want to see myself as much more than what the numbers tell me I am. Getting away from the scale has been very, very helpful.

By the way, I am following Geneen Roth's recommended eating guidelines for a bit of structure in how I eat. Her guidelines are:

1. Eat when you are hungry.

2. Eat sitting down in a calm environment. (This does not include the car.)

3. Eat without distractions.

4. Eat only what your body wants.

5. Eat until you are satisfied.

6. Eat with the intention of being in the full view of others.

7. Eat with gusto, enjoyment, and pleasure.


Really, I do very well with most of these guidelines most of the time. Because my goal is progress, not perfection, it's okay for me to merely be "mostly good, most of the time". I do have a lot of troubles with eating without distraction. I seem to be uncomfortable with silence, and seem to feel wrong if I'm not multitasking when eating. Also, my husband watches TV when he eats, and he's not interested in turning it off. Any suggestions for how to help with those three problems?

1 comment:

  1. We have the tv on much of the time, too and it's not going off. I also like to eat at places other than the table, and some days eating in the car is inevitable. I like to read while eating as well. I'm kind of skipping that one, and concentrating on judging whether or not I am physically hungry and what my body wants to eat. My body likes zucchini.

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