After the first couple of weeks, I’ve had some success with moving more and keeping track of what I eat, and I’m down about five pounds. I am not patting myself on the back too much, but I’m patting myself on the back a little.
I am afraid of giving myself too much credit and causing a relapse into thinking I can slack off for a few days that becomes a permanent slack-off. I am ahead of my goals, right? I have been guilty of believing a couple pounds lost gives me permission to put my heels up and kick back for a little bit, even though it’s just false on a factual level. Then the couple of pounds comes right back and I am starting at square one again.
I haven’t arrived anywhere, and I’m not sure there is any “where” to arrive in the long run. I have a number in mind, but when I get there I won’t stay there without sustained effort.
Over the last two weeks, and the approximate two weeks it took to mentally prepare myself for the commitment, I have been extremely aware of everything I have taken in, mulled over my choices, and did quite a bit of talking myself down from situations where I would rather fall back on old habits, like napping, drinking coffee after noon, skipping an evening walk, or having more pizza than my calorie budget allows.
I found myself envying the soda my son got with a meal, and still bought ice cream treats while grocery shopping. My thought on the ice cream, and we have eaten a lot of takeout ice cream, is that by getting a portion that was pre-measured and way less calories (and expense) than going to a fast-food place to get it, I was making an improvement. And it is.
The calories are generally about half or less, and I don’t have to have it every day, even though it’s there. We’ve eaten less takeout food overall and I’m drinking a lot more water. We’ve gotten outdoors to walk and get sunshine when we’ve had it, even for just a few minutes.
The progress I’ve had are some more restful nights and less aches in my feet and legs when I get up in the morning. Maybe it’s the smaller portions or eating less greasy food, but I’ve also noticed not having as much heartburn.
I’ve avoided snacking at work, except for a couple of times when I had some mixed nuts to tide me over till lunch. I know the salt content wasn’t good, but I have been able to resist the donut holes that keep appearing.
On the flip side, it’s hard to be patient, and there will come a time when I will have to increase my activity and reduce my calories further to keep progressing. That will be at least another couple of weeks, I expect.
Habits, it’s said, take at least a month to really take hold, and statistically that’s also as long as it takes to give up on a New Year’s resolution. On one evening, I was just plain angry, restless, and irritable. I was tempted to find a snack, but sat down grudgingly and folded laundry instead. I felt better having one less chore ahead of me, so instead of eating mindlessly I should clean mindlessly, while riding out a temporary bad mood.
There will be bumps in the road. And ruts, potholes, hills, and breakdowns; but that’s life.
