Why do we sabotage our diets? Why do we eat things we know will make us sick? We know when we’re eating it that we will feel guilty when we’re done. Or we know that it will make us physically ill. Why do we do it?
It goes back to my Anonymous Addiction blog a bit… It triggers the pleasure center of the brain. It makes you feel good in that moment. There is a consequence later. I’m sure heroin addicts don’t like that they’re addicted, that they can’t get out of bed without a fix. The immediate feeling is euphoric but there is a crash later. They know that. You know that you’re lactose intolerant but you drink a milkshake anyway. You know any little bit of salt gives you a splitting headache, but you eat a large fry anyway. Why?!
You have to be strong enough to say no, to acknowledge what the consequence is BEFORE you make your decision. I don’t know if it takes a lot of discipline or not, probably… my mind works differently than other peoples. It’s not as difficult for me to say no to food as it is for other people. I like food, don’t get me wrong. The temptation to eat poorly does come upon me and in that moment I have to make a conscious decision: am I going to pay a consequence later (physical/emotional)? Any time I eat poorly it is ALWAYS a conscious decision for me. I don’t black out, eat a pack of Oreos and then when I come to think, “I just consumed 2,000 calories in cookies…” or not think that at all and live in a state of denial. “I don’t know how I ate the pack of Oreos. I couldn’t stop eating them.” Bullsh!t. Be aware when you eat and be aware of WHAT you eat!
THREE Oreos has 140 calories… plus the glass (8 oz.) of milk (2%) has 130ish calories. No one eats THREE Oreos. You eat a ROW of Oreos… so let’s do some math… if there are 20 Oreos in a row… each Oreo is 47 calories… that’s 940 calories, plus the milk, that’s 1,070 calories! Women should consume 1,600-1,800 calories a day and men around 2,000… You just gobbled up 2/3 of your calories by blacking out and letting the food take over. Here’s another one… macaroni and cheese. A prepared serving is 400-700 calories… a serving is a THIRD of a box… a box fills a bowl but it is not a serving! So you eat a bowl of mac and cheese… 1,200-2,100 calories… in ONE SITTING!!!
The only way to lose weight is consume fewer calories than you use. It’s that easy. If you’re eating mac and cheese for dinner and Oreos to top it off, that’s 3,200 calories! This doesn’t include the burger and fries and Diet Coke (laughable offense) you had for lunch and whatever you had for breakfast. When the only exercise you do is walk from your house to your car and then you get a rock star parking spot at work, you’re not using that many calories. NOT EVEN CLOSE. This was me. I’m not kidding. That’s why I’m saying all this… I WAS THIS PERSON!!! I’m not making fun of anyone. I was here! When I started counting my calories it really hit me. I became aware of how many calories were entering my body. I started reading nutritional labels. How many calories? What’s a serving? How much fiber? How much protein? These are the main things I look at… some people get caught up in the fat content. I’m sorry, but fat makes food taste good. Fat also directly contributes to calories so the lower the calories, the lower the fat… sometimes. Common sense. Read the labels!!
Now, this being said, I do have my days where I will eat anything and everything that’s bad that I possibly can, no matter what. Sometimes I’ll do it for a week. It’s still a conscious decision I make. Even when I’m emotional I remain aware. I wrote a blog, When’s a good time to cheat? Bad title, good point. It didn’t get a lot of hits because people didn’t realize it’s about your cheat days, not cheating on someone (idiots, don’t judge a book by its cover)! The point is it’s IMPORTANT to have a cheat meal. I don’t believe in depriving yourself. It causes bingeing (go read it. I’m not going to rehash it all here). You need discipline to cheat though. It’s not an excuse to get off your wagon, let the wagon roll down the hill without you, and then say, “I don’t know how I gained 10 pounds.” Stay on the wagon. Keep control. Ask for help if you know you can’t do it but want to do it. When you ask for help, take the help when it’s there.
This all ultimately comes down to wanting to be healthier. You have to want the good health more than the feeling the bad food gives you. You have to know that what you eat fuels you. So if you eat fatty foods, you will be fat. If you eat healthy foods, you will be healthy. If you eat beef you will be a cow… not really. So many times people ask me how I lost my weight. I give them this answer, “stop drinking alcohol, drink more water, fewer sugar and carbs…” I need to start answering it with, “I became more aware of what I put in my body.” This covers all of that and then some. Be. More. Aware. Don’t sabotage yourself by getting extra sour cream and cheese and guac on your Chipotle. It’s enough that you have it on there in the first place, don’t make it worse.
How do you want to be healthy? This is difficult. I have a note to write about this but I don’t know how to answer it. For me it was about my future. I used to literally dream about running. That was my minds way of telling me that’s what I want. Last night I had a dream about running and it feels as good as a dream about flying. I know in my gut I’m meant to run. I can’t explain it. Bestie is a runner. She’s great motivation. Going to a marathon is great inspiration. Going to the gym and being on a treadmill between two runners is great motivation. The Handsome One ran a half marathon at a fluffy 272 pounds. This is my motivation. I knew when I saw the scale hit 309 pounds that was it. I didn’t want to be fat anymore. That was my wakeup call, three years ago. Everyone has their own pace and their own goal. I didn’t have a goal at first. I just knew I didn’t want to be fat anymore. That was the goal. As time goes on, I evolve. I want to eat better. I want to be healthier. I still don’t want to be fat. I want to run. I want to run a half marathon. I want to be alive for my children. I want to inspire people. I will.
Blaire's Journey 