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I totally know what you mean, and I think it is especially salient to acknowledge that, in many instances, the same prevailing pattern of behavior that produced the results is required to maintain those results. Speaking from my own experience, it does get easier with the accrual of experience and adherence over time, but that period of time may be much longer than one might think. It is TOUGH, but you know what to do, and how to do it.Gimmelean wrote:Maintaining is just as tough as losing and will always need to be top of mind for me.
Mark Cooper wrote: I think this post from [b]wildgoose about handling the Pleasure Trap, as well as this post discussing temptations, offer really practical advice.
texaslil wrote:Mark Cooper wrote: I think this post from [b]wildgoose about handling the Pleasure Trap, as well as this post discussing temptations, offer really practical advice.
Thank you so much for sharing those links, they were both enormously helpful! I especially appreciate the information that it takes 3 months to get rid of the craving of fat, and that some of that resistance comes down to good ol' white knuckling it! I've got my work cut out for me!
I'm also a bit frustrated with myself as when I read Goose's post back in November of 2020, I had also posted that week weighing 171.. that was 9 months ago and I really haven't made much progress since then... very discouraging. I don't think I have been very honest with myself about how I am approaching the MWL and have really just been setting myself up for failure. As of today, I am committing to getting through the next 3 months with NO overt fat in my diet. I know for sure that this will be difficult for me, especially since I love avocado and tofu.. but I also know I want to continue to make progress and what I have been doing the past 9 months has not gotten me much closer to my goal. So, I'm fed up with being fed up and am ready to commit. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't trepidacious, but I am going to put all of my effort towards this. I am also going to increase my non-starchy vegetable intake, ensuring that I'm more adherent to #1 and the pre-load.
wildgoose wrote:texaslil wrote:Mark Cooper wrote: I think this post from [b]wildgoose about handling the Pleasure Trap, as well as this post discussing temptations, offer really practical advice.
Thank you so much for sharing those links, they were both enormously helpful! I especially appreciate the information that it takes 3 months to get rid of the craving of fat, and that some of that resistance comes down to good ol' white knuckling it! I've got my work cut out for me!
I don’t think I can add much in terms of advice to what I’ve already written, but I can share a real-time story that might help....
#1. The last few days, the Gander and I have been eating one main dish that’s richer than we normally eat. Nothing awful, just a little higher fat than our usual diet. But it’s enough. Enough to get those fat receptors singing. And the song they sing is "I want M-O-O-O-R-E!!"
#2. I’m taking a friend to an appointment in another town today, 50 miles from where we live. It’s a place I don’t go very often. Which is a good thing, because it’s also home to my very favorite pizza place in all the world. Pizza that’s worth a 100-mile round-trip drive even if I weren’t going to that area already. You get the idea.
Now, combine #1 and #2, and what do you have? A setup for a big problem. Having eaten just slightly higher on the calorie density scale has thrown me off just enough to get me about ankle-deep in the Pleasure Trap. Just enough to make that pizza sound really good.
And of course, being just enough "off" physically brings in all the mind games, too. I’ve been "so good" for "so long." I deserve a "treat." Right?
I even admitted to the Gander what I’d been thinking about, how it would be only half a mile out of my way to stop at that pizza place. His response? "It’s up to you." No lecture, no pep talk, no drama. Just a shrug and "It's up to you." Maddening how practical that Gander can be, sometimes
It is up to me. And I’m still clear headed enough to know exactly what I’m going to do.
#1. Toss the rest of the leftovers of that richer dish. Back to brown rice and broccoli for a couple of days, which I like and which I know keeps me stable.
#2. Make sure I’m well-fed before I leave on that trip. Load an interesting audiobook for the trip home. Plan the route that does not take me past the pizza place.
I know I’ll be OK. It’s like Dr. Doug Lisle has said, falling off the narrow path just puts you in a shallow ditch. It’s not hard, especially when you first fall off, to step right back up onto the path.
So that’s my story. I tell it to illustrate how the Pleasure Trap is always with us. And that getting out is a matter of one choice at a time. And that I like being lean and healthy more than I like that pizza.
So what do you think, texaslil ? Are you ready to step out of the avocado- and tofu-filled ditch, shake off your feet, and try the narrow path for a while? Sounds like you are.
After all.....It’s up to you.
Goose
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