My Recipe for SUCCESS!

Like many of you, my weight loss battle hasn't been an easy one, and it's been going on pretty much since I was old enough to realize that I was 'fat'.

From my teens onward....nearly 50 years!....I've ben struggling to find the 'right' method to lose the weight and keep it off.

TSFL using Medifast meals IS that 'right' method....because it has all the right ingredients I needed for success:

1). The right NUTRITION: It's incredibly important to eat the right balance of protein, carbs and fats; not just every day but even every MEAL. I've learned that too many carbs and sugar, for instance, can make me hungry to the point where I'm eating everything that isn't nailed down....REGARDLESS of the amount of calories. I can't just say to myself, "Well, I ate a huge piece of chocolate cake and that was 500 calories so I'm good for two meals". It doesn't work that way. My body rebels because I'm overdoing the carbs, sugar and fat and not getting enough healthy protein, vitamins and fiber to sustain me.

There's a reason why, for example, that guy from "Supersize me" who followed an all-McDonalds diet for awhile as an experiment, felt AWFUL. His nutritional balance was way way off. Too much sodium, too much fat, too many chemicals and sugar....ugh...our bodies reject that kind of 'nutrition' because it's NOT nutrition, it's SLUDGE and JUNK and it serves no purpose other than to addict us to MORE sugar and carbs and fat, and the cycle perpetuates itself.

I tried for YEARS to find the right balance...I really did!

Exercise!

OK, I'm going to talk about exercise here...so ... I know this is a 'controversial' subject on this plan sometimes...there are definitely opposing points of view...some people firmly believe in it, while others swear that since MF doesn't recommend it until after Week 3 (and I don't, either, by the way) and since MF/TSFL don't 'require' you to exercise, you shouldn't.

Dr. A basically says in the Habits of Health to wait until your weight is off FIRST, then think about exercise.

But...I respectfully disagree. At least in my case.

 

And for that matter, in EVERY case where 'Stress' with a capital "S" is a factor in your life. (and it seems to me we all deal with a lot of stress just living in this day and age, right?)

Because I am here to tell you, I could not have succeeded to the point where I am at today WITHOUT exercise.

Now, it's not because I wanted to become some super athlete. That is NOT me. Growing up I was super-uncoordinated. The last to be picked in gym class. That fat girl in the back, trying to hide. Nope. Not for me.

It's not because I was determined to twist myself into a pretzel and learn advanced Yoga moves, or become a 'Zumba Queen' with the best of them.

Or because I wanted to shout from the rooftops that I just participated in my first 2K or 5K or whatever that is (I finally figured out that a 1K = 1 kilometer which is 0.62 miles).

(and by the way, I had to look that up on the internet LOL).

Sometimes you gotta PUSH yourself!

I was planting daffodils yesterday when it occurred to me.

I ADORE daffodils.  I love everything about them.  Their beauty, their light scent, the fact that they are strong enough to emerge through the cold ground that was snow-covered just a few weeks previously....their hardiness despite the chilly April winds....and the fact that with all the hybrids developed, they now come in all KINDS of pretty colors and variations.  Including pink insides, some with ruffles, etc.!

So every year I order daffodils...usually in June.  That's when the big suppliers' catalogs come out, and the daffodils that I had have died down again, 'gone to sleep' until the next year (they appear first thing in the Spring, April/May).  And my goal is to cover my HILL
(we live on a hillside) with them LOL...
But they have to be ordered in June, for October/Nov. delivery. 
And they have to be planted in the Fall. 

So I order 'more' every year....because I have lots of room to plant them (once I get past the rocks LOL....!)  And also because the moles, groundhogs and other assorted creatures dig up some and eat them (they are quite the delicacy, apparently), so I lose some that way.

But every year, it feels like I order 'too many'.  When the package arrives I sigh....I don't FEEL like planting them, UGH why did I order so many.....?

It's a CHOICE, not a battle!

(editors note:  OP means 'on program'....i.e., on the TSFL 5/1 program).

 

It's a CHOICE, not a Battle!

 

Lying in bed last night, I was thinking about how far along I've come with my headwork on this journey.  NOT that I'm perfect, mind you....no one is...! .... we're all human, and that's the very definition of imperfect LOL.

BUT I've learned a lot. The recent 'scare' with the new website, which has resulted in my copying over all my old blogs (a practice I recommend to those of you who blog often, by the way....I know, I know, they say they will transfer over...but accidents DO happen...), I was marveling at my 'inner growth'. 

It really DOES start and end with your HEAD. 

NOT the food.
NOT the scale.
NOT the exercise.

I'm not saying the above aren't important -- especially the food! -- eating those 5 MF meals is KEY, plus your L&G, of course  -- but if you can decipher what's happening in your BRAIN you've got half the battle won right there.

Fat Brain

Please allow me to introduce myself....

I am Fat Brain.

I live inside of you and am a part of you. In fact, I am an actual, physical  piece of your brain.  I'm left over from the caveman days.  When you HAD to eat whenever food was available, or you'd starve to death.

The problem is, I'm still here....even though I'm really not necessary -- at least insofaras food is concerned.  Food is available in abundance in our modern society.  In fact, there's TOO MUCH of it!  It's everywhere. It's just a few steps away in your kitchen....and if you want something else, ANYTHING else, just hop in your car, chances are it's only a few minutes to the nearest grocery store.

But I'm still here and you have to deal with me, one way or the other.
I am responsible for every food binge you ever had, every time you 'slipped up' or went off program, every time you tried to have 'just one' and wound up on that slippery slope down to despair and hopelessness.

I won't apologize for it, either...because that's WHO I AM and what I DO.

I am not only concerned with survival, but with REMEMBERING and cherishing your old habits!  My job is to remind you of them, and try to get you to go back to them, because it was easier.
And not only do I remember them, but I cherish them!

I remember every piece of junk food you ever ate, and exactly how it tasted. All the wonderful gooey-creamy-sticky-sweet-salty-whatever 'ness' about each food.
(Of course, I do NOT remember how you felt afterwards...nope, I don't 'go there'. I do NOT remember the guilt or the shame or the weight gain. These are secondary, unimportant details to me).  In reality of course those details are VERY important, but I will tell you they don't matter.

I'm an expert at lying to you. Manipulating you.  Using your own logic against you. 

And I'll do whatever it takes to get you to do what you did 'before'.
They are the 'good old days' to me. And my entire purpose in life is to get you to GO BACK THERE again.

Why? 
Because I'm the lazy CHILD within you, the one that whines and complains and just wants to EAT 'whatever' already, and is sick and tired of these stupid MF packets and wants to eat 'like everyone else'.

"Everything in Moderation"

"Everything in moderation".

How many of us have heard that phrase?

But for US, that's impossible. And a lot of our problems come in because we refuse to accept that one fact!  We're food addicts.  Compulsive overeaters. It's what we DO.

When life hands us lemons, we don't make lemonade....we make lemon meringue PIE.  LOL.

So 'everything in moderation' has NO meaning for us.

Food is our drug. And we'll go back to its comfort again and again if we haven't learned other life skills to replace our eating. 

Moreover, certain foods can and will act like triggers and we can't stop. Even if we stop in front of others, when we're alone?  We can't help but continue eating in private.

Food is my Controlled Substance!

Last night I managed to override a very vicious urge to binge....right before bedtime.  It was so strange. I had my MF brownie ready to go, but all of a sudden I didn't WANT that, I wanted to eat something fattening....and LOTS of it.  We had some reduced fat cream cheese in the frig and I suddenly I was thinking of mixing it up with a few other ingredients and...
well...I'll stop there, don't want to give anyone ideas...suffice it to say it wouldn't have been good.

And of course I KNEW that....but I couldn't stop my stupid Fat Brain from FIXATING.  The whole time I was getting ready for bed she was on my case about it. "Just do it".  "You NEED it". "You'll FEEL better".
And she went on from there. (those of you who fight binge eating can relate...)...she was planning an all-night binge.  In bed.  Alone.UGH.  It can be very very hard to ignore her when she gets persistent like that. And the whole time, my husband was coughing. Coughing coughing coughing....as he's been doing lately even more than usual.  He has COPD and right now he's battling a cold. And for him? That's all it takes. One cold and he's in trouble....because he has the chronic bronchitis form of COPD and the congestion is ALWAYS there.

Emotional Hunger vs. Physical Hunger

Learning to differentiate and get past my hunger issues was the hardest part of this program for me.  By FAR.
But I think it's a big key to being successful.
I couldn't STAND feeling hungry.  I never knew when I was full.  My mother used to call me a 'bottomless pit'.  (really).
So I came up with a little 'checklist'....that I sort of 'run through my head' whenever I'm hungry, and it's helped me a lot.  I hope it helps you!

MY HUNGER CHECKLIST
1).  Has it been over 2 hours since my last meal? (solution: EAT your MF meal)
2).  Am I thirsty? (solution: Drink water)
3).  Am I tired? (solution: Go lie down and/or go to bed earlier)
4).  Am I feeling an emotion I don't like?  (HALT acronym...also frustration, anxiety, stress, worry, depression...even boredom!   You name it!) (solution: Think it through)
5).  Have I been working out more than usual lately? (solution: More protein)
6).  What's my carb count look like? (solution: less carbs)Here's more info on each of the above:
1).  Has it been over 2 hours since my last meal? 

If so, it's probably time for my next MF meal. Not a big deal...have it and move on.