Thursday, September 25, 2008

Day 7 - Hard to Believe




It is hard to believe I bought a "diet book" and followed a specific plan for almost a week now. I have no doubts about today, its the last day of cycle one and I am thrilled to finish the day on plan. I am not a diet book buyer (anymore, I own several already) AND I do not normally stick to anything like a rigid restrictive eating program. I do some things off and on (affectionately referred to as "Drastic" thanks to Helen!) and I incorporate principles and things I have learned from several programs (South Beach, Kay Sheppard, Weight Watchers) into my various Drastic plans. I like flexibility. I don't like to set myself up for failure, either. And I am always suspicious of anything that prohibits carrots!!

So, when I went to get the Crack the Fat Loss Code book I wanted to read it and learn about the theory and incorporate the principles, etc. into my own Drastic. But I saw Laura's fast results and I wanted a boost to my program. I wanted to get out of my slump. Which is one of the promises of the book - to get you off your "plateau" which is another word for my slump. After looking it over and reading I decided to do it and see. I decided to take it day by day and not overwhelm myself with thoughts of the future cycles and menus and plans. It looked easy, and did not require me to get anything special that I don't already eat, and so on.

I have been doing it now for six days and I like the instant result of getting the gain off that has been bothering me since late July. I feel like I am back where I was and ready to move forward. I like that I am learning about my body's response to foods and I like that I have cleared and cleansed and halted my carb-junkie infusion of high glycemic foods. It feels good. It feels better each day. I want to do the entire 8 weeks. If I don't that will be ok but it's a goal for now and I actually feel like I can do it. Especially since I am almost finished with what looks like the hardest part.

Now, if I look at the upcoming "cycles" they can look a little complicated with the "carb up" "carb down" and "Baseline" days. But here is how I am looking at it. I am focusing on the day I am in. And looking one day ahead so I can have the food on hand. I am not getting all tied up in three days from now, the weekend, my daughter's birthday next week, or my business trip in October. I think if I did that, I would not like it. Tomorrow I know what I am adding to my plan. I like the simplicity of looking at the suggested menu and following it. Next week, who knows? But for now I am enjoying this "science experiment" on my body.

Here's my commentary on the ball park which I almost made as the title and subject of this post. The ball park is a huge food court. It is new and expensive (no drink, bottled water included, for under 5 bucks) and full of every restaurant vendor you can think of. I could have had steak, instantly, all the traditional ball park junk, or upscale type foods, food, food food. Food walking past my nose (I was on the end seat) going up the stairs. Food smells, sights, images of pizza on the big screen, you name it.....geeeez!!! But I ate my yummy broccoli marinade (as I am calling it) and my chicken breast for dinner while the kids had seasoned fries. I had my boiled eggs and a slice of cheese later while they had cotton candy. Did I feel deprived? Absolutely not. I felt competent and healthy! Successful and smart. I was tired. I did pump up with diet cola. The most tempting smell was the jalapeno in the nachos. But I reminded myself that I have jalapenos at home and can use them on foods that are on my menus.

So I survived the ball game with one glitch, when I got home and was doing something in the kitchen, the natural peanut butter -- fresh ground peanuts -- caught me and I had the uncontrollable urge to get a spoon and eat the entire tub. I stuck my finger in it and had a couple of bites. I looked up the carbs and since it was a low carb day I don't think I went over my limit. I am not starting over. I am moving on. It is what it is. So be it. etc.

I love staying in the moment and taking things day by day. I can relax and take it easy more. We worry more about future events than what is going on right now. I am better off if I put the major majority of my attention on the here and now. Today it looks like I can go to the gym on my work break and I am excited about that.
I took time out on the way to work for a river stop, got out and enjoyed the sun reflecting on the water. Just a five minute stop but it made a huge difference, reading my morning reflection and feeling the sun.


Happy Thursday!!!

3 comments:

Laura N said...

YOU DID IT YOU DID IT YOU DID IT!!!!!!!

Great job, Cindy. The first 7 days are absolutely the toughest. You are taking the right approach--one day at a time, know what's coming up the next day and plan for that day. That's exactly how I do it, too. By the time you are half way through week 2, it will seem 2nd nature. I did use my book as my "bible" for the 2nd week, consulting it constantly, to make sure I was on the right track. I often plan the night before the actual foods I'm going to eat, and then will tweak if I'm in the mood for something else (like this morning, was going to have eggs but had power grits instead). I am eating mostly the same few things over and over, but it's OK! And I agree--it's amazing to understand, finally, why the body reacts to foods the way it does.

The ballpark sounds overwhelming. You were smart to take your snacks.

Have you tried the powdered peanut butter? I bought some a week ago, and it's really good. I got 4 jars--I will not eat 4 jars! You can only order it in 4 jar boxes, though. Would you like 2 jars? One regular PB, one PB w/chocolate flavor (it's not heavy chocolate flavor). You can email me your address and I'll mail them to you. Don't worry about paying me for them... I was bothered by having all the extra sitting around my kitchen anyway, and now I know why I have extra...for you! (Shipping won't be a big deal either, since we get a break on business shipping.)

Helen said...

Well, the book is on its way to my hot little hands expressly because I want to investigate the "science experiment" on my body. Should be fun whether I follow the book to a T or not. :-)

Ball park food: I used to go to baseball games ALL the time back around the time I lost The Big Weight. When I started to lose, I had to figure out how to deal with not eating the yummy Dodger Dogs or ice cream sandwiches at the Stadium. I found that I could buy a soft pretzel (no fat -- which is what I was, and am, most aware of) and put all that yummy stuff (onions, mustard) on the pretzel and get the best part of the taste of the Dog. For the ice cream sandwich, I substituted no fat frozen yogurt. Yum. My mouth is watering just thinking about it...I think I need to go to a ballgame next season again! ;-)

Vickie said...
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