All day long the other day, I kept envisioning a rubber band.
Why?
Because it suddenly occurred to me, that all these years, I've been treating my BODY like a rubber band.
Think about it. Our stomachs stretch...a LOT. They can hold an incredible amount before we actually eat enough to get SICK (as a binge eater, I can testify to that fact, sadly...). And those who have had that 'rubber band' type stomach surgery know that the rubber band can be adjusted, as well. It's flexible.
So what happens is, we stretch the rubber band out too far, and it SNAPS BACK!
Here's how it goes:
1). DIET - deny yourself all the 'goodies' you used to enjoy, 'STRETCH' yourself to keep saying NO (to yourself and to others at social functions), and just be disciplined enough to CONTINUE to deprive yourself, until you reach 'X' weight. Some even say we 'shrink' our stomachs, although I don't know how true this is, because I've found I still have the ability to 'consume mass quantities', even after years of weight loss programs.
But the point is we STRETCH ourselves in our heads to accept much much LESS food. And to DENY ourselves.
2). Get to GOAL weight -- Yay! (for it seems, 5 minutes). Isn't this GREAT? "I'm never going to be fat again". "I know how to take care of myself now".
Famous last words.
but then, inevitably:
3). Start to eat those foods I denied myself when I was dieting....and the Rubber Band snaps BACK. I stretched myself to discipline myself to eat 'only' X + Y ... but now, I feel I can 'get away with' eating X + Y + Z and a little junk, too...'just because'.
After all, I'm THIN now. Right? People are telling me I shouldn't lose any more weight, I'll get TOO thin. And there's so many wonderful things to eat out there! So many foods I've MISSED!
It's NOT FAIR that I can't eat that stuff. So I'll have 'just a little', because I can control it...
