Day 4 Food For Thought: Discovering "Weak" ends

So this first weekend is over and I rediscovered something I learned years ago. There are things we can do to be more healthful, but there are times that is not always easy. Although I had some wins over the weekend, I remembered why weight loss reduction plan is difficult in a practical sense. Sometimes there are fried oreos and lots of good folk to fellowship with while eating them. I am still at the place where I can cut back, but I guess I'm afraid I will miss something. Why? I don't know. I only ate 1 and a half fried oreos when I could have easily eaten lots. I enjoyed it, but I wasn't hungry. I ate it for the experience. Ha Ha! That sounds really funny to say, but it is the truth. For some reason I've allowed food to be a trigger for good memories. It's not that I ate one, it is that I still had a little bit of “I'll be missing something if I don't eat one” in my heart. This is why baby steps are so important. Just keep walking, just keep walking, walking, walking...

One thing for me is to notice the “weak” areas during my day, week, month, etc. I hate to classify things as weakness, so let me reiterate what I mean. I am not making this about right or wrong. I will not put myself under a law. For example, if I had made up this expectation that I could not have a fried oreo or I would be committing a sin, then it would have only strengthened the desire to eat one. I would be dealing with a much heavier weight (condemnation) than the calories of the oreo could produce. So I ate it. I experienced it. But I did not overdo it. I allowed myself to meet me where I am without pressuring myself to DO or BE better, and I am honest with myself with full acceptance of me and without any guilt. I know I am still here in this place, but I will continue to be pleased with who and where I am now. I know my Father, and he will carry me to the next step.

The weak areas I am referring to are the times that illicit choices and behaviors that do not take me where I want to go. I'm not trying to say these are “bad” times. Weekends are a struggle area for me because we are hardly at home. I have logistical issues related to food. We also spend a lot of time with people. I will eat what they eat and do the best I can with myself. I can recognize those areas, and therefore I can balance those times with extra healthfulness during times I have a little more say so. So I'll do the best I can on weekends and I'll choose more healthful stuff weekdays when I am at home. I also have noticed that I start wanting to snack around 3:00 or 4:00 during the day. (I can notice times like this for my boys as well.) I don't have to put myself under a pressure to only eat lunch and wait to supper. If my body is consistently wanting to snack everyday at that time, then I can plan to eat a little something. There is nothing wrong with meeting ourselves where we are. I can have wisdom and be disciplined about it. If I know supper is at 6:00, I will choose something healthful like a piece of fruit or some fresh veggies or something else light and low calories. I don't want to be full when it is supper time because you know what? I will still eat supper. I don't want to ever again physically feel stuffed like I have felt after overeating in the past. ---Like fifty pounds of manure in a five pound bag. (as Wayne likes to say.) I will pay attention to my emotions when I want to snack and it is not meal time. Do I desire to eat because my body is telling me it needs a little something something? Or do I desire to eat because of some emotional reason? Or do I just want chocolate chip cookies at 10:00 at night because I need to go to sleep? Truth is, if I feed my body when my mind in is hungry, I will not be meeting my needs.

Wins for Today:
I ate salad for a meal.
Um...yeah that's about it. Oh well, “weak”end is over.

Nutritional Nugget:
The exchange list is something that we use to help diabetics plan out meals. When you know your needs, you can use this chart to determine your food distribution. It's a helpful tool. If you have any questions or need any help let me know. (See "Day 1" post.)