I would like to say today that my recent realisation that this is a lifestyle I’m creating here rather than a diet to get me where I want to be (and then thus to be dropped) has made everything simple again.
Well, it hasn’t.
It’s that time of the month in lady land and it’s been hard. I don’t know what it is about this month, but the cravings have been hard to deal with. And it’s not even just sweets, which are fairly easy for me to avoid. I just want to EAT.
I’d like to say that my recent ravenous hunger is due to pregnancy, but I’d be lying. I can pretty much only blame the hormones. That being said, I think I’m actually doing okay in the long run. Sure, I’ve done some not-so-great things like turning to chocolate for comfort when my evil kitten decided to forget all his training and drive me up the wall. But there are good things, too, like opting for a Subway 6-inch and skipping the drink and cookie instead of going for a larger and/or more fatty meal. There was also going clothes shopping and letting the ‘ugh’ moments be motivation to keep getting healthy instead of a reason to go into a depressive mud cake bonanza.
So, I’m not there yet and don’t plan to be for a while, but I’m satisfied with where I am at the moment. I’d rather be happy where I am than just satisfied, so I’m keeping on truckin’, but satisfied is a lot better than unhappy.
I have been exercising off and on for years now. While my weight has not changed dramatically by any means, I have toned up a bit. I am a bit stronger and some areas – only some – are not quite as flabby as they used to be.
Even what other weight loss bloggers so ‘lovingly’ call their chicken wings has toned up a bit on me. (Thank goodness for that!)
With this toning up, my stomach area has noticed some benefits. I am still pretty flabby there, but it has firmed up a bit an even shrunk a little. Unfortunately, that sort of toning hasn’t extended across my entire stomach area.
I now have a ‘problem area’: my abdomen.
Unlike my stomach, my abdomen fat stretches across nearly my entire front side. It doesn’t look good and it doesn’t feel good at all. With my upper stomach slowly but surely coming right, I’m noticing my abdomen more and more – and hoping that other people aren’t.
My pants may be getting a bit loose around my waist, but my abdomen certainly isn’t. It makes for an odd shaped body and front, one I am growing a bit self-conscious of. As I search around for some yoga and other exercises to help me deal with this, I can’t help but wonder…
Do you have a problem area? What makes it a problem for you? What do you do about it?
Share your story. I’m off to find some abdomen exercises…
Last week I decided I would take pictures of all the food I ate in order to see how it influenced me. Would I eat less? Would I eat healthier foods? So on and so forth.
While things didn’t go as planned when my binge demons came out to play, I did learn a lot from this project…
What I Learned:
*I do a lot more mindless eating than I thought. I need to stop multitasking and focusing on my food when I eat.
*Starting the day off with a smoothie? Awesomeness.
*When I was taking pictures, I cared what my food looked like. When I cared what my food looked like, I found it more pleasing aesthetically as well as found it tasted better. I need to care about my food no matter who is or isn’t watching.
*Giving up addictions (like sugar) takes time. You can’t go from all to zero suddenly or you will binge. Not to mention experience other physical unpleasantness.
*Spinach leaves are incredibly versatile.
*Finally, I learned that the most impressive thing for me with this project is what I didn’t eat:
*Glass of orange juice x2
*Piece of bread w/hommus
*Chai latte
*Cottage cheese spoonfull (number of occasions)
*Doughnut (had a bad day and wanted sugar)
*Kahlua and milk
*Alcoholic cider
*Chips (french fries)
*Crisps (potato chips)
*and probably a few other things I didn’t list but they passed through my mind and then quickly out when I saw my camera.
And…
*I didn’t overeat when I easily could have.
All in all, I think every person trying to live a healthier lifestyle should try doing this. Has it cured my binge eating? No. For the moment, but I’m no dummy. I have emotional issues to work out. But it has gotten me to think about food – and portions differently. It’s gotten me to think about how much I not only hide from other people but from myself. It has gotten me to realise that, while I thought I was ‘doing okay’ diet-wise, I actually have a lot of room to improve with healthy eating.
I do hope that everyone who reads this has tried it, is trying it or will try it. I may have had a crash and burn moment, but I’m going to keep on taking pictures (though not loading them too the site because I just don’t have time for that).
When I first started searching out possibilities for my PCOS symptoms, I came across Insulite Laboratories. I wasn’t able to get their system (international shipping hiccups), but I did sign up for their newsletter. A while ago, they sent an interesting article about how frequent childhood ear infections could contribute to obesity.
“…New research suggests that frequent childhood ear infections may be linked to weight gain or obesity later in life. A study says the infections may damage a vital taste-sensing nerve in kids, resulting in a preference for rich foods and making children prone to weight gain as adults.
People with a serious history of childhood ear infections appear to be about 70% more likely to be obese than those with no history of the condition, according to preliminary research at the University of Florida College of Dentistry in Gainesville.”
Now, I would usually dismiss this because we don’t need something more to blame, we need solutions. But the thing is, I suffered from ear infections as a child. One in particular kept me sobbing in bed for five days. (My parents wouldn’t take me to the doctor.) The pain was nearly unbearable and I spent more time with my ear on the heating pad than not. Which is why I found this interesting…
“Those who suffer harm to the crucial chorda tympani nerve — which runs through the tongue, along the side of the face and behind the eardrum on its way to the brain — may not realize why they can’t stay away from fatty foods that pack on the pounds.”
I’m certainly not looking for an excuse for what I do or anything like that, everything is already done and I’m working on it, but imagine taking special care to instill good, healthy habits in children who have frequent ear problems. There are a lot of possibilities.
If you’re interested in reading the rest of the article, click on the more tag.
more…
When 451Press, and my blog on their network, went down the crapper, I decided to carry on with a new website. My own website where only I (and the server) would be responsible for it.
I picked the name ‘Naturally Curvy’ for the new site because I wanted it to be about me learning to love myself and my curves as well as learning to create and maintain a healthy lifestyle. I accept that I will never be – and do not want to be – a toothpick woman. I have hips meant for bearing children, the shoulders of a farmer’s daughter and big ol’ boobs that I love.
But I seem to have missed that message, that original intent I had for this site. I continued on focusing on the scale and doing what I could to get rid of these damned pounds. At one point, I lost weight so fast that my gallbladder had to be removed.
Then we moved. I gained weight. And, despite an increase in exercise and decrease in eating, I can’t seem to get it off.
And I’m left wondering if it’s some divine justice.
I’ve realised lately that I have a lot of anger when it comes to weight loss and body image. I have so much anger bottled up inside and I don’t know what to do with it. I mentioned therapy as a possibility to help me lose weight. But is that missing the point? Is that really going to do any good when all I really want is body acceptance?
I’m not healthy at this weight, I know. The Bloke and I won’t have kids until I lose most of it. And yet… I want to be able to have kids now (not to have them, but be able to have them). I don’t want the weight to be the deciding factor. I want to feel like people love me as I am now (and many do, I’m not saying they don’t, but I don’t always feel it). Part of me is so angry because things depend on me losing weight, while I feel like weight loss won’t be natural if things depend on it.
If that makes any sense.
What would you do to start loving yourself and accepting your curves? Would you throw out the scale? Would you try other things to love yourself while still trying to lose the weight? Would you call a hold on losing the weight until you get the rest sorted out?
I don’t know what to do.
