Food = Fuel
I got to thinking, after reading Losing The Cow, that this food thing should not be that hard. Bottom line, fewer calories + more movement = weight loss. There are a few things to add to the equation, such as what kind calories one needs. Some process protein better than carbs. Some need carbs because they are hypoglycemic. There is a plethora of books and free information to help you figure out how your body processes food.
OK, so I can get my mind wrapped around that concept. I can even understand why too few calories can cause you to not lose weight. This is where my logical mind is overcome by my emotional mind. See, I've been eating on plan EXACTLY for 3 days. I'm not finding myself physically hungry -- in fact, I'm having a hard time keeping up with all my meals I'm supposed to be eating, and I'm actually not having the last optional meal. I haven't added olive oil, butter or salt to any of my cooking. I've actually eaten fish for 2 nights in a row, and have enough fish thru Sunday. I've come up with a pretty great dressing substitute (worked wonderful on asparagus last night). I've seen about a 2 1/2 pound loss since Monday morning. In a nutshell, I should be sated.
What gets me is thinking to myself, "Boy, does a hamburger sound good now." Hamburgers aren't on my plan. I'm not that hungry. So why is my cotton-picking mind thinking about hamburgers? How the heck did emotions get entwined with the physiology of fueling your body?
We think food helps our stress level, when all we do is stress out after we've eaten about how fat we've become. Food is supposed to comfort us, when actually we are getting more uncomfortable in our bodies. Food does not make us happy, it can actually make us sad. We eat when we're lonely, thinking that food is our only friend, yet it's the food that's keeping us locked inside.
Food's only job is to give fuel to our body so we can live. It's not there to comfort, relieve stress, make us happy or alleviate our loneliness. Food will not make us loved.
This is what I have to focus on -- food as fuel, not as a security blanket.
Having said that, I did talk to my doctor, and she does want an MRI done. She does think it sounds like a tear, and if I don't get it repaired (i.e., surgery) it's only going to get worse. I'm not sure what the recovery will be, and how that will affect my exercise (kinda hard to get an effective walking routine in place with one working leg, and I don't think limping burns as many calories).
But I have a new way of thinking about this physical set back. Instead of thinking, "Well, if I can't exercise, my weight loss program will be getting nowhere, so why eat on plan?" It's now, "If I have to have surgery, and go through a long period of physical therapy, it's more important than ever to watch what I am putting in my body to ensure I am processing the food as efficiently as possible with little or no activity."
See, positive changes all around.
OK, so I can get my mind wrapped around that concept. I can even understand why too few calories can cause you to not lose weight. This is where my logical mind is overcome by my emotional mind. See, I've been eating on plan EXACTLY for 3 days. I'm not finding myself physically hungry -- in fact, I'm having a hard time keeping up with all my meals I'm supposed to be eating, and I'm actually not having the last optional meal. I haven't added olive oil, butter or salt to any of my cooking. I've actually eaten fish for 2 nights in a row, and have enough fish thru Sunday. I've come up with a pretty great dressing substitute (worked wonderful on asparagus last night). I've seen about a 2 1/2 pound loss since Monday morning. In a nutshell, I should be sated.
What gets me is thinking to myself, "Boy, does a hamburger sound good now." Hamburgers aren't on my plan. I'm not that hungry. So why is my cotton-picking mind thinking about hamburgers? How the heck did emotions get entwined with the physiology of fueling your body?
We think food helps our stress level, when all we do is stress out after we've eaten about how fat we've become. Food is supposed to comfort us, when actually we are getting more uncomfortable in our bodies. Food does not make us happy, it can actually make us sad. We eat when we're lonely, thinking that food is our only friend, yet it's the food that's keeping us locked inside.
Food's only job is to give fuel to our body so we can live. It's not there to comfort, relieve stress, make us happy or alleviate our loneliness. Food will not make us loved.
This is what I have to focus on -- food as fuel, not as a security blanket.
Having said that, I did talk to my doctor, and she does want an MRI done. She does think it sounds like a tear, and if I don't get it repaired (i.e., surgery) it's only going to get worse. I'm not sure what the recovery will be, and how that will affect my exercise (kinda hard to get an effective walking routine in place with one working leg, and I don't think limping burns as many calories).
But I have a new way of thinking about this physical set back. Instead of thinking, "Well, if I can't exercise, my weight loss program will be getting nowhere, so why eat on plan?" It's now, "If I have to have surgery, and go through a long period of physical therapy, it's more important than ever to watch what I am putting in my body to ensure I am processing the food as efficiently as possible with little or no activity."
See, positive changes all around.
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