Are you a human rubber band?

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...

Only....I DON'T control it. 

A little bit here and there becomes a LOT ... I stop weighing and measuring and soon 6 ounces becomes 8 ounces...2 ounces becomes 5....1/2 cup becomes 1 cup...you get the idea.

Combined with that, maybe life gets a little busier....and suddenly I'm not getting to the gym as often.  Then one morning I wake up and I don't feel well, and I decide to skip the gym AGAIN.  And this gets to be a habit.

Inaction breeds MORE inaction.  The couch potato syndrome gets worse and worse.

....and then:

4).  I've regained weight.  Not all of it....thankfully I was smart enough to get RID of all those size 22s...(!!!)....but enough that now I find I can't FIT into my goal clothes anymore!  Horrors!

(DENIAL is a wonderful thing, isn't it?)

So.....where did I go wrong?  What's the solution?

I've come to realize that the "Rubber band effect" only happens if I stretch myself TOO FAR. 

In other words....whatever changes I make to my diet, or to my lifestyle/exercise/gym work etc.....MUST BE SMALL CHANGES, MUST BE EASY CHANGES, and MUST BE GRADUAL CHANGES!

"All at once" = DIETING.  And that = DEPRIVATION.  And that = feeling like you're 'missing' something, which of course you run BACK to the moment the 'diet' is over.  And you regain.

But what if you rethought the entire thing?

What if, THIS time, you made SENSIBLE changes...?

Things like, getting rid of the JUNK food, but making your meals as tasty as possible so you DON'T feel deprived!  (not TOO delicious, mind you...because portion control still counts...but enjoyable enough to (gasp!) LOOK FORWARD to them, even though they are "diet" meals!)

What a concept, right?

See, that's why I love Medifast.  I can eat a BROWNIE and know I'm losing weight because it's a HEALTHY brownie, with protein in it.  In fact, ALL the foods are tasty to me.  It doesn't feel like I'm depriving myself.  Not when I can eat 6x a day! 

But I sure better make the distinction, that from NOW ON (and I mean, for the rest of my LIFE) I can't ever begin to substitute a 'real' brownie as often or instead, because the nutritional difference is HUGE.  A real brownie has too much sugar, too many carbs, etc. for my body to handle on a regular basis. 

That's why I make "Lean and Green" meals that I LIKE!  That's why I'm always preaching to my clients that "your L&G is for LIFE".

Because it IS!  If it isn't....if you go back to the lasagna and the fried chicken and the cheese-covered whatever fatty glop you ate before...if the pizza guy's phone # is programmed into your phone....guess what?

You're going to GAIN IT BACK.  So fast it makes your head spin!

That's why I experiment, I try new recipes, etc.  Because there's something pretty cool about looking forward to Shepherds Pie, (made with mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes), and KNOWING that I won't get fat over it.

Right?

But it goes deeper than that.  When I reach goal, I need to TRAIN myself to find ways to eat HEALTHY and still be happy and full!  That means I may have to KEEP measuring.  That means I might have to continue to do an awful lot of headwork....meditation....journaling....learning how to express my feelings, etc. 

Because all of those things are ONGOING when you're dealing with emotional and/or compulsive overeating.  I know that.  When I let that aspect 'go', when I tell myself 'I can eat whatever I want'....oh BOY, do I get into trouble!

The truth is, as a compulsive overeater, I will NEVER be able to eat the way 'normal' people eat.  I MUST watch every bite....because deep down inside, I've been USING food as a panacea, as a soothing mechanism, a comfort, etc. ALL MY LIFE.  I've relied upon it for FAR MORE than simple nutrition.  And I can't say that I can reverse that trend easily....not when it's how I've LIVED every day for 60 years! 

But I can work on it.  And that means, treating each meal like the nutrition break it really is....NOT as a method to 'treat' my wounded pride or ego or soothe or comfort myself in some way.  Because that's a false method...one that doesn't last very long, and you wind up with TWO problems...your original problem PLUS now you've overeaten!  Yikes!

And the weight WILL pile back on again if you go back to 'using' food the way you USED TO.

So BREAK THE CYCLE. 

If you are doing Medifast, buy the meals you enjoy (and by all means, TRY them all, there are over 70 to choose from!), and by all means, ENJOY them when it's time to eat.  But be careful with them.  Remember that they are MEALS, containing the protein and vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy.  Once you get to goal, if you stop using the MF meals, you MUST replace them with something NUTRITIOUS.  You can't go back to eating yum-yums for Breakfast and munching on donuts in the breakroom and having a burger with fries for lunch.  NO WAY. 

If you truly HONOR your body and RESPECT all the hard work it took to lose the weight, you MUST be willing to find a 'happy medium'.  That means, NUTRITIOUS meals...think plain greek yogurt + fruit, or a couple pieces of string cheese...as a snack if you are going to snack at all....and your meals have to CONTINUE to be healthy and nutritious. 

Maybe continue to use the MF bars or pretzels as healthy snacks.  And make your regular meals, HEALTHY meals that you still enjoy.  Not garbage...despite what 'everyone else' is eating. 

NEVER EVER compare yourself to others in terms of eating, because we are ALL unique, and ALL different.  KNOW THYSELF.  If you can't eat a donut, you can't eat a donut!  It's not the end of the world!  It's just something you live with....like a food allergy.  You're ALLERGIC...TO JUNK!!!!

It doesn't mean you can't enjoy a 'goodie' now and then, IF you can stop.  (and by the way, that's a BIG if.  I can't COUNT the number of binges I've had, that all began with "Just one bite" of a sugary or junky food). 

If you feel you can't stop with one, if it's 'calling' you, if you're anticipating it just a little too much, if you find yourself restocking that goodie over and over again (and panicking when it's getting low), then guess what?  It's a TRIGGER food and it HAS TO GO. 
TOTALLY.

We MUST honor our bodies and give them the nutrition they need.  And to do that, we MUST treat the INSIDE of our bodies...our heads, our hearts, our deepest feelings and desires....and not just the OUTSIDE in terms of our weight or how we look.

We MUST learn to manage our emotions without heading for the refrigerator.
And this is a huge huge problem!  It's not as simple as acknowledging, "OK, I eat when I'm angry".  It goes far deeper than that.  It takes PRACTICE.  It takes FEELING the anger...allowing yourself to FEEL (!!!!) instead of 'stuffing it down' with food. 
And it takes learning OTHER methods to cope, as well.  Maybe you need a punching bag.  Maybe an anger management class.  Maybe an assertiveness class! 

These are all KEY things that compulsive overeaters have in common....the fact that we DENY ourselves 'feeling' our emotions, because it's too hard, it's too painful.  We don't want to feel this way, so we STUFF IT DOWN.

Literally.

So the emotional and headwork has to CONTINUE.  In whatever way/shape/form you need to do in order to help you learn how to LIVE without overeating. 

And that is a long process.  For many of us, it can be LIFELONG.

But it CAN BE DONE.

I DO think it's possible to break the 'rubber band cycle', given enough patience, and faith in yourself, and with loving support (either from a Health Coach or a group of other overeaters or whatever), and giving yourself the time to get it right, forgive yourself when you stumble (because EVERYONE does), and learning from each experience...YES, I think it's possible to break the rubber band cycle. 

And STAY at a decent weight the rest of your life!

Keep on keepin' on!

Linda
angiecat6@comcast.net