Does it ever get any EASIER?

As we all begin our new year, many of us are 'restarting' or 'rebooting' after some not-so-good eating over the holidays.

And it can be HARD to get back OP. Very very hard! Especially if you aren't seeing the scale move as fast as you'd like...and you're working as hard as you do to 'Just say NO' to the sludge!

So...does it ever get any EASIER? What IS this all about, in terms of our eating habits? Will we have to "DIET" or live on MF meals the rest of our LIVES?

The answers? In my opinion?

YES, it does get easier. Because we 'train' our brains to eat a NEW way. We get used to eating smaller portions and more frequently. In fact, I'm at the point now where every 3 hours, almost on the DOT, my stomach goes 'Time to eat'! LOL...
and so I pull out a bar or open a bag of pretzels or whatever, and go on with my day.

It DOES get easier. It becomes second-nature to order OP at restaurants (or make do with what offerings they have...or even change the restaurant altogether and suggest a different one where you can get what you want!)

You begin to view sludge as....well....sludge! You realize that it's POISON for your body. All that sugar, fat, and processed junk....who needs it?

You start experimenting with ... vegetables! Really! And things like (gasp) TOFU!

I made a meal with tofu the other night and it was awesome. And I wondered "what took me so long?" LOL

We all do that. Change is hard. But once you START changing, and your body realizes you're shedding FAT, you'll start feeling better, which leads to making MORE good choices, which leads to feeling even BETTER, etc.

It's a cycle of GOOD things happening instead of a bad cycle.

And our brains really CAN be trained. They say it takes 6-8 weeks to establish a habit; but I submit that you can get into a routine of eating your MF meals, logging, and planning much much sooner than that. If you have the tools (and we all do) you can quickly and easily log your foods and keep track of what you're eating, and plan your meals. It only takes a few minutes every day.

So DO IT. For YOU!

What about this 'dieting' the rest of your life crap? Do we really have to LIVE like this 'forever'?

That was a question that really bothered me when I first started. I wanted the weight off, and I realized that I had to make some changes, but I was really worried that I'd have to give up my 'goodies' permanently.

I didn't want to go there. Didn't want to think about it.

So I ...didn't think about it. I just worked the program. Day after day, week after week, month after month, I put my head down and DID It. THAT's what it takes, by the way. Consistent dedication. NONSTOP OP days...not 3 days on, then the weekend 'off', or going 'off' just for an event or something. I knew I had to TEACH myself a new way of eating, and the best way to learn something? Is to DO it! So I just did it. I didn't even think about 'when' I would reach goal....I just kept fixating on staying OP until I GOT there.

The problem was....once I got there, it was like, 'NOW what?'

I still hadn't gotten the final lesson, and that is, YES, you WILL have to WATCH what you eat the rest of your life.
You won't have to live on MF meals...there ARE ways to get the right combo of protein/fats/carbs in for meals that AREN'T packets....but it takes planning and it takes discipline, just like the discipline you used when you stayed OP to get to goal. It takes ... food logging (yep!)....to see what WORKS in terms of your TEE (total energy expenditure;
basically the total amount of calories you can eat every day to MAINTAIN your weight), and what doesn't.

It takes SAYING NO....STILL!....to the sludge. For some, they can eat 'some' sludge...once in a blue moon...and get away with it. For me? It's not possible. Simply because as a food/sugar addict, sludge awakens Fat Brain and I'm off and running on an eating binge.

I can't go there. I've been there TOO MANY times...more than I can count. So I can't do it.

Is that HARD? Not really. Not when you think about the REWARD I get in return!

The reward is a healthy, slim, active, ENERGETIC body that does what I want it to do without complaining or aches or pains or pulling muscles. The reward is fitting into EVERY SINGLE ITEM IN MY CLOSET (!!!)
The reward is NEVER having to 'hide' from a camera again.
The reward is KNOWING I'm eating healthy and treating my body RIGHT...taking care of it properly.

And that is WORTH it. Boy is it worth it! Every single time I look in the mirror it's worth it. Every morning I wake up it's worth it. And stepping on the scale becomes MUCH less agonizing and more head nodding "Yep, I'm maintaining..doing well....good!" or "OK so the scale went up 3 lbs, no biggie I'll watch closer today and keep tabs on it".

But CONSTANT VIGILANCE -IS- the price you pay to keep that healthy, slim body.

And OK, I could walk around going 'It's not FAIR!' because my thin friends never have to worry about it like I do.
They are 'normal' eaters. They just NATURALLY cut back when they need to. They know when 'enough is enough'.

I don't. And may NEVER. And my body is super-efficient at storing...FAT! So...it's different for me.

But that's OK. As I've said before, EVERYONE has their particular 'cross' to bear. Mine is my weight and my food addiction.

That's OK. I know how to take care of it. I can't make it go away completely, but I can CONTROL it.

And it's WORTH IT. Most definitely!

Keep on keepin' on....