Rocca wrote:Thanks guys for the encouragement, but I'm afraid it's confession time.
The key to success is to keep it honest and keep accountable. The fact that you have come here and posted this is all for the good!
Rocca wrote:Yesterday was the first time I had an "I'm just going to eat this now and think about it later" moment since I started nearly six weeks ago. It was a lemon meringue tart thing and I don't even particularly like tart/cake things but I just wanted to binge to satisfy... I don't know what? And deliberately told myself not to think about it until afterwards. I'm worried this is a cause of me thinking (falsely) that I can control myself around "unhelpful" foods.
Understand how the mind plays out in situations like this. The way to combat this sort of lax thinking is continue to push the urgency of weight loss to the fore of your mind. With each volley of slack thinking return it with a ace return...whack! - "if I have this I won't reach goal"...whack! - "I've eaten enough tarts/cakes to last me a life time...I've eaten my share...it isn't mine to have now"...whack! - "I'm healthy now...the new me doesn't eat rubbish like this now". Temptations work because they fester. To deal with them effectively you have got to shut them down quickly.
It isn't a question of will power - it is a question of good practice.
Rocca wrote:Maybe it was too soon to introduce them into my diet. I'm back on track today with no cravings for junk food, so I don't feel like I completely fell off the wagon, but I did decide for some reason that I could make Sunday a treat day. Is this a result of being too restrictive during the week or just losing some self control/thinking it was OK to throw bad foods back into the mix because I could handle it?
The key element is the word "moderation". If moderation can't be achieved then that sort of food is best avoided. Don't be surprised if it takes a while for you to get the hang of dealing with these sorts of foods. After all, this type of food is closely linked to your old lifestyle and carries all that baggage as well. New habits take time to establish and these old habits (of eating unhealthily) are ever ready to push their way back into your life. Vigilance should be your watch word!
Here is something that I did for foods that really worked their way into my head that I found very helpful...
I do our weekly shopping. One day, shortly after I started to lose weight I found that a display of glass bottles of Coke (not the cans or the plastic bottles...just those classic ones...connecting right back to my childhood memories) at the supermarket was weaving it's siren's song at me. Each week I would go past it being sorely tempted. I knew that something had to be done about it or I would give in and glutton out.
So I made a bargain with myself. I could have it (thus removing the "forbidden" tag)
but only if I earned it! I used it as a driver towards weight loss rather than having it sabotaging me. I could have one glass bottle BUT ONLY IF I LOST TEN KILOS. So that's what I did. Interestingly, having set the premise for it - the urgency for it went away. After losing ten kilos I bought it and had it as my reward. By that time (one month) I had worked Coke out of my system and no longer enjoyed the taste (far too sugary!). This litre of coke a day man had broken the habit...it no longer tempted me. I continued the practice with other things. Most went the same way as Coke with only a few (mushroom pie for example) remained in my life. Even those however were no longer temptations as I learnt to eat them moderately.
Rocca wrote:I'm heading interstate for a week tomorrow and worried about finding good options while staying in hotels. It's the first holiday I've had in a long time and I want to find a way to relax, not have to worry about food, but not do anything I will regret either.
Will have to weigh in a day early tomorrow before I head off so will see what damage the meringue has done! Not looking forward to it...
Keep striving to have a healthy lifestyle even on holiday. You can eat well...just make sure you don't eat too much. Consider exercise as part of your holiday fun. Not only lots of "incidental" exercise but try working in some formal ones as well. One of the things I've enjoyed in my new healthy lifestyle is jogging around new places in my holidays...gives you a great new way of seeing these places.
Looking forward to your weight in.
I'm excited by your journey so far...you are coming to grips with some very important issues and doing very well indeed!
Kim
I've had HEAPS of binges, nothing short of pure gluttony but after I had my fill, moved forward and backward and sideways and basically in any direction I could to exercise it off!!! 
)