A Rescue Day

After vacation or two or three days of 'high end' eating--by that I mean eating to the limit of my parameters--or when weight loss is slowing and I want to kick start things I have a special eating day--or two. 

My goal is to cut way back on fat and cut back on calories, without eating less food volume.  I don't want to go hungry or feel deprived, but I want to go to the low end--to change things up.

Remember, I'm already eating small, so you might think this would be hard, but it's really not.  Here's an example of what I eat on a rescue day.

Breakfast:

• one serving fat free yogurt
• one serving blueberries or strawberries 
• a small sprinkle of crumbled crunchy cereal--like bran flakes
• coffee with 2% milk

Mid-morning snack options:  (I'd eat one or the other, not both and only if I was hungry.)


Sweet:

• 2 plain regular size brown rice cakes
• spread with low calorie spread
• sprinkled with cinnamon and calorie free sweetener
• Iced green tea

Savory:

• same as above except sprinkle the rice cakes with onion powder

Lunch:

• 2 slices bread (50-70 calories per slice)
• 2 slices fat free cheese
• thin spread of reduced fat mayo 
• half or one cup of V8 or tomato juice
• iced green tea

Afternoon sweet:

• 1 or 2 individual sugar free jello cups, cubed
• add one sliced banana
• add a blob of fat free Cool Whip

Supper :

• 3-4 ounce boneless skinless chicken breast or other lean meat 
• one very small baked potato, sweet or white with spray butter
• 2 servings low carb veg, like green beans, zucchini, cabbage, broccoli

Evening snack or dessert:

a piece of fresh fruit in season

OR

Fat free Cool Whip Chocolate Mousse*

Coffee or hot tea with milk

 

*To one fourth tub of FF Cool Whip (56 grams) add one teaspoon cocoa powder

 

There you have it.  I don't go hungry and it always seems to result in getting the fat burning machine stoked.

If I do this a second day the menu changes.  That way I never feel bored or deprived.  Usually I only do this 2 days in a row.  When I make my food choices my goal is to eat protein, fiber and small amounts of carbs and very low fat at each meal and snack--and get in some healthy fruits and veg.

Short and Sweet

Another two weeks has passed and I've lost two more pounds, for a total of 9 pounds. I will continue as I've been doing for these past 8 weeks. The way I am eating now is the way I will continue to eat 'for life'.

The one thing I have taken away recently is that if I want to be a 'little' woman--as in size--I must eat 'little' food.

Funny isn't it. And profound. The amount of food we eat is relative to the amount of weight we carry. Duh.

Whether we reduce our caloric intake by eating less food or eating less caloric food, the result is the same.

And we would do well to remember the Holocaust survivors when we reach a plateau and stall in our weight loss efforts. Those people existed on a tiny amount of food each day. The survivors were all, every one of them, skin and bone when they were released, which proves that starvation and the metabolic starvation mode our body supposedly enters will not stop weight loss if that starvation continues long term.

If I continue to eat little food in time I will be a little person.

One piece of chocolate. One bite of cake. One small portion of lasagna. A hot dog. Once in awhile. These types of foods can be eaten--if they are eaten infrequently and in small amounts.

I have a pretty good idea that all the 'small' people out there practice a lot of self control when they eat. They don't chow down, scarf the whole lot, pig out. They use reserve and self control--which cost nothing. Which require no special diets or programs.

Reserve and self control are functions of the will. And each one of us has a free will and the ability to exercise it as we wish.

Reserve and self control coupled with some brain power--i.e. using the knowledge we possess to make wise food choices that won't spike our blood sugar and insulin and affect our hunger-- are the key to long term success.

If I fail in this effort to become a 'little' person, it is my own fault. Owning that fact is critical. Blaming my failures on my past--the less than perfect childhood, the hardships and hurts-- is just an excuse, a cop out.

THE LEARNING CURVE

I'd say I'm in a rut. A rut, as described by an acquaintance, is a grave with the ends kicked out. I've been running up and down my current rut since the middle of September. A couple weeks ago I lost some of my vacation/Labor day gain by watching my fat intake but that was short lived. So, here I am, still running the rut.

In years past, that rut got really dark..it was a deep rut. But things have changed. Granted I'm in a rut, but I have hopes and intentions of climbing out.

Here's the thing. Even though I don't appear to be making any headway on the scale, as in moving closer to my goal, I have made major progress. I've come to this point in my thinking: quitting is no longer an option.

All my life, when I'd be unsuccessful in my weight loss efforts, I'd reach a really hard place and I'd quit---just give up, throw in the towel and eat, eat, eat. If the scale wasn't moving down I'd think " I'm not going to restrict my food intake--what's the point?". Likely, in my frustration and discouragement, I even ate food I didn't want--just because I "could". Having thrown off the diet I was free. Having no diet restricting me equals no restraint. And I exercised none.

The thing that is different now---that has changed ---is my thinking. When I quit the diet mentality and began to rethink my relationship with food I entered a new phase. In this phase quitting is not an option. There's nothing to quit.

Once I realized that my problem is eating too much food calorie wise I also discovered the solution. And that solution is to eat less food. Some days that is not so easy. Diets don't work. So, what does work? It's this: understanding that giving up is not an option.

In the past I was able to just quit. Now I can't. Why?

I have ever present in my head, these reminders: the miserable feeling I get when my gut is stuffed; the loathing and self recrimination that will follow; the clothing in my wardrobe that I won't be able to wear; the sadness that I can't "overcome" my problem, that once again I've given in; the loss of joy because I'm unable to enjoy the food I'm eating because fluttering around the edges of my thinking are the reminders personified-- whispering loudly the "you'll be sorry" message.

This host of thoughts, one might even call it the voice of reason, has become the restrainer. "It" speaks to me--and "it" doesn't go away. "It" hounds me so to speak. "It" won't get off my back, won't leave me alone. The diet, I could quit, toss in the trash. But the voice of reason? It presses me, presses in, forces me to face the consequences of my choices and it won't relent. Once reckoned, it can't be escaped.

It appears I'm connecting the dots ...that overeating leads to things I don't want. I always knew that--the knowledge was there in my head--but it had little effect. It was a case of knowing a thing, but it not mattering when it came right down to it. Because it was only the possibility, not the reality. The change now is that I'm able imagine, to feel, to experience the awfulness of those unwanted consequences without having done the deed.

So quitting is no longer an option. It's off the table--the burden of the result should I quit is more than I can bear. Therefore I trudge ahead, with the belief that as I persevere I will figure it out, and eventually I will progress downward on the scale.

BECAUSE I WON'T GO BACK "THERE" MY ONLY OPTION IS TO MOVE FORWARD

The Process

If you haven't checked out Lynn's blog for awhile, do. She's been nominated for Best of Blogs award...so head on over there and vote if you'd like.

I left a comment on her blog and and after rereading it thought it was fairly significant...mind you, I'm not patting myself on the back or anything. I just wanted to have it available for my own reference and thought I'd share it here.

When faced with a plateau the thing to remember is we have all the time in the world to get to our weight loss goal....what's the rush?

I think if one is following a plan that is too restrictive or too low in calories, it is hard to follow for long, and a plateau will be the downfall....because there is no reward for the deprivation. But if one is eating healthfully, enjoying some favorite foods along the way, there is no reason to quit, and a plateau is no big deal.

If we are so encompassed with weight loss that we over-focus on the end result we will lose patience with the whole process.

STALLED

Well there it is folks...an update on the status of my efforts to lose weight and maintain my to date loss. I'm still on the plateau. But I'm going to just hang tough...eventually something will give.

I've managed to get some walking/sprinting in...although I must tread carefully so as not to stir up any old injuries or create new ones. And the unplanned eye surgery threw a wrench in this month...that along with my upcoming birthday and Easter holy day have a deleterious effect on my eating plan. But such is to be expected---it is just life....as is said "the beat goes on".

But I don't have to miss too many beats, although I will miss a beat here or there.

Picture removed was photographed by Rolf Hicker pictures from Canyonlands National Park in Utah.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I'm no money guru but want to make a comment on investing. We know we should never invest more than we are willing to lose. And we know we shouldn't put all our eggs in one basket.

When Wall Street tells you this, they mention investing in different stocks and bonds. But if all your money is invested in the stock market, then your investments are not diversified....bottom line is this: your eggs are all in the same basket if they are all in the stock market.

What about investing in real estate ---like owning your own home free and clear. Or investing in precious metals, like gold. Or how about some land you could live off of....

If the stock market collapses and the banks fail, what will you have of value that will help you survive the crisis. Could you grow your own food? Could you build a fire to warm your dwelling? Where would you get your water?

We own several acres covered with trees and there is water on the property. My husband grew up living off the land---he knows how to forage for food in the woods, hunt, and plant and harvest crops. He knows how to fell a tree and build a fire. He knows how to exist without electricity and running water or a bathroom in the house. He knows how to build a cabin or primitive hut. We could probably get by...what about you?

Get ready folks...some hard times appear to be coming down the pike. The government is not our saviour.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++