Thanks to the President's Day holiday, this last weekend was a "long" one for me and my family. I had looked forward to the extra day off for weeks, and by the time Friday came, I was so ready for it to start. I had planned to do a lot or relaxing, get caught up on some of my "TO DO" list (and gently encourage the Hubs to do the same).
On Saturday relaxing translated into sitting on my couch and watching TV - Food Network to be exact.
I love Food Network - I mean LOVE it! Chopped - Yes Please! Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives - Adore! Cupcake Wars - How I Love You!
I ate my traditional breakfast (regular oatmeal cooked in milk with a tablespoon of peanut butter and a tablespoon of honey - thank you runsforcookies for introducing me to the joy of oatmeal for breakfast), a little later than normal - because, well, it was a long weekend and I was ABSOLUTELY sleeping in. ANYWAY, about noon I started to get REALLY hungry. I was surprised because I ate at 10:00 and shouldn't be feeling hungry until 1:30ish. Nonetheless it was non and I was dying to eat.
I went ahead and ate because, well, I'm trying to listen to body cues. I had a great lunch - very filling sandwich, fruit, some Pop Chips (I could write a whole post about how much I love Pop Chips). I was FULL and I was SATISFIED. So, when two hours later I was in the same boat - feeling like I wanted to eat - dying to eat - I was beyond surprised - I would go so far as to say shocked.
Then it hit me.
I wasn't hungry at all. I had spent the morning watching Food Network and I was CRAVING all of the food that they were flashing across the screen: cheese skirted hamburgers, fresh made dumplings, gourmet pizza. I might as well have been an alcoholic sitting in a bar having drink after drink waved under my nose - tempting me - torturing me to partake.
I want to say I did the right thing and turned the TV off to allow my overloaded senses to relax.
I didn't.
I continued to torture myself for another few hours before finally saying ENOUGH and turning the channel.
Saturday was the hardest day for me since the first few days of this diet (I don't like that word - but let's face it...I'm on a diet!). I ended up weathering the self induced storm, but only barely.
What did I learn? Well, watching Food Network for hours at a time is hazardous to my health (literally) AND changing my bad habits is hard enough without placing myself in temptations path - and that is a reality I have to face, accept and plan for.
That is what making permanent change is all about.
I did the exact same thing yesterday. Watched a Diners, Drive-ins and Dives marathon. Didn't give into the urge to purge, instead I was able to pry myself up off the couch and take an hour and a half walk with my family! Good for you for recognizing what was really going on. Being in sync with your body is going to make this journey all the more successful for you. Hope you have a great week:)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE The Food Network!!! Thankfully, we no longer have cable so I don't have to worry about tempting myself there, but last night I was looking for an asian salad recipe (the sweet/tangy kind that usually has ramen noodles in it) that I've had at numerous parties in several different variations and am CRAVING BADLY! I was looking at pictures of the salads to figure out which looked most like what I've had before...and I had to stop...I was getting so "hungry"...you know why I put that is quotes...I wasn't really hungry but it sure felt like it!
ReplyDeleteI also wanted to mention, I'm sure you probably know this already, but sometimes when we're thirsty our body mimics hunger...so next time you 'think' your hungry...drink a glass of water and wait 10-15 minutes to see if your still feeling hungry. lol I need to take my own advice...I use to be really good at doing this when I lost 40 lbs. two years ago...but I haven't done it this time around yet. Funny when the advice you GIVE to someone else is the advice you NEED for yourself. lol