BambiS - Not a bad week at all! It was a nice thought by your mom to make "healthy" muffins, even if the ingredients missed the mark in regard to MWL, right? This stuff can be tough for people to understand, but sometimes they get it, eventually.
I think it is excellent progress that you were able to get right back on track afterward. Maybe eating some adherent foods in advance of a visit there could be helpful?
trueunity - Your progress continues! Something that I found helpful in dealing with the urge to "clean my plate" and "fear of missing out": when you know you are comfortably full, immediately take any leftover food and put it in a container in the refrigerator, with the knowledge and agreement that you can have it as a snack if you want, whenever you feel hungry. You could even put your name on it, if you think someone else might take it. Perhaps that might work with the fruit, too. Take a selection of the fruits you like, and separate them into containers labeled with your name, so you know they won't "vanish."
trueunity wrote:Question: If you start the meal with fruit is there a certain amount of fruit or a type of fruit that's better than others? When the goal is weight loss?
If weight loss is the focus, the most suitable fruits to use as a preload would be those that are more calorie dilute and fibrous; e.g., berries, apples, pears, oranges, grapes, cherries, rather than bananas or passionfruit, or others that are relatively more calorie dense. On fruit more generally, there is some great information in
this thread. Keep at it!
Rebecka22 - I agree that not feeling out of control or going into a freefall of lapses is important progress and a meaningful improvement!
Being able to manage all the obstacles, complications, and temptations that accompany traveling was one of the biggest challenges for me, too. Definitely something I struggled with for quite some time. I can still vividly remember the first trip where I felt like I navigated things completely successfully, which felt like a significant achievement. Interestingly, after that single success, I never had any trouble again; it was almost like I "proved to myself" that I could make it work so, from then on, I did. I think you are right, that the underlying answer is adherence across time, and adjusting strategies when they fail or bump against unforeseen obstacles. You can get there!
Taters - Aside from the cereal, that looks like a pretty solid week of adherence, Rachael! I think the feeling you describe of temptation in the aftermath of a big event or social situation, with accompanying challenges requiring diligence and determination to overcome, will feel familiar for many participants. It is as though our "willpower" is depleted, leaving us more vulnerable in the wake of those efforts. Dr. Lisle discusses some concepts relating to this in
The Story of Willpower – What it Is & How it Works. I think your reflection that having a home environment that is fully aligned in support of your important goals that you can return to after an event could be a great help. I can very much relate to the experience you describe with dry cereal. It was definitely a food where I just couldn't moderate my consumption. It seemed like every time I would have even a taste, I'd end up eating the whole box. Ultimately, after quite a lot of struggling, I decided it just wasn't a food I wanted to include in my personal menu. Years later, my family eat cereal almost daily, and I don't feel tempted, but that certainly wasn't the case in the beginning. Time, adherence, and experience can really reorient the way we relate to these things, I think, but it usually isn't easy and it takes however long it takes. Carry on!
Greens - Nice progress, Marilyn! I totally get what you mean about something being really hard to pass up when it is all prepared and sitting right in front of you.
Balancing our desire to maintain a particular pattern of behavior in service of our health goals against the need for belonging and social connection can feel overwhelming sometimes. Building and maintaining meaningful relationships is important for our wellbeing, too, right? We all have to sort these things out in a way that is appropriate to our unique situation, and our own values. Usually, I bring along my own food (even to a restaurant), or eat in advance, so I can devote my full attention to socializing without being distracted worrying about finding an adherent menu item. I realize, though, that not everyone would be comfortable doing that, nor might it always be necessary. The key is to figure out what works for us, given the specific outcomes each of us seek. Ever onward!
Gimmelean - Great progress! I'm happy to know you are feeling more at ease on your path back toward closer adherence. You are absolutely right that it rarely happens overnight, but it can and does happen over time. Instant gratification would certainly feel nice, but we work with what we have, right?
Hjklost55 - Definitely looks like a pretty good week to me, Holly! I would be curious to know more specifics about that "mind chatter," if you feel comfortable sharing; the strategies I might suggest could be different depending on the content and context of the self-talk. The first thing that comes to mind though, is don't go hungry. I know that seems like counterintuitive advice when you are aiming for a lower BMI and you feel like eating past the point of "comfortably full" is an ongoing challenge, but I think feeling satisfied is a key contributor to "peace of mind" around food. Dialing down calorie density through the application of the principles is often more useful than perseverating about the "appropriateness" of a particular portion size. I'm not saying that is what you are doing, but I thought it was a point worth bringing into the conversation. I'm excited and curious to hear other participants thoughts on the topic of intrusive thoughts in relation to food, ideas for quieting the chatter, and well-adapted tools for self-regulation. By the way, I love cold soup, too.
Enjoy the Idaho potatoes!
Lizzy_F -
Lizzy_F wrote:I feel really good about the processing I have done this week on points # 9 and 10.
Me, too!
It seems like you are in a positive state of mind and you are doing good work. I can really relate to what you describe around feelings of fear, anger and frustration in response to my body not "cooperating" with me on MY schedule. I think your intuition is sound that cultivating gratitude and appreciation for all one's body has done over the years, and all the times when it serves our needs without complaint, could be helpful. I have often used chair workouts, like those in
this YouTube playlist, when a standing workout seemed out of reach for me. Your thought about taking slightly smaller initial portions seems like it makes sense and could be worth testing, if that "clean plate" impulse feels overpowering right now. Keep us updated on how things are going, be kind to yourself, and just keep doing your best!
VegSeekingFit - Awesome efforts, Stephanie! I think your thoughts and observations about adherence fatigue are right on target.
VegSeekingFit wrote:What are your thoughts on adherence fatigue?
Thinking it is like a black storm cloud to steer clear of… Seriously, I consider it a risk to be aware of / mitigated as its impact may result in severity from a single lapse to complete relapse to off-program.
I particularly echo your sentiment here; I think you are right that this is something we should all take seriously, because its impact could be quite severe.
Great information about how you stay on track, manage lapses and maintain motivation!