Totally Abandoning the Three Meal a Day Plan!

I gave it try, the whole 3 meal a day with no snacks, sweets or trigger foods and it was a total failure. All I did was binge eat from Thursday -Sunday. So for week three I did manage to get a 3 days out of 7 on my Sacred Snacks. I am back to my Sacred Snack plan using the harm reduction model. In the evening I will continue to have my light popcorn, light chips and I try to focus my sweet tooth on jello pudding.

I do like having healthy snacks between meals during the day to help with my blood sugar levels as well.

Getting back on track this Monday!

CLM

Moving on Up!

Since 2008 the scale has done nothing but gone up for me. I went from 150 pounds to 300 pounds by 2014. I have just had my own wake up call! I was inspired watching this show called, "Freaky Eaters", and I had my own version of shock therapy. I realized that even on a good day I am taking in an additional 1,000 calories in junk food. Since this past Monday I have three successful days on my former eating plan which was the harm reduction model. What I have come to realize is that until I cut out my trigger foods completely, and stop binge eating I will not see any weight-loss and I will always be playing with fire. Moderation is a trap for me. When I am constantly eating and snacking as a compulsive eater I put my body in great harm by taking in excess sugar, fat and calories. I have decided that I want to change, I no longer want to binge every single night.

I am going to adopt the mighty 3 meal a day plan, with no snacking between meals, no sweets and no trigger foods. When I think about it this plan is much easier than surgery and I am capable of a lot more than I know. I will follow this plan One Day At A Time.

Here are some benefits to the 3 Meal A Day Plan!

1. It will help me kick my addiction to the curb!

2. I will lose weight!

3. It is easier than surgery!

It is time to see that scale move down!!!!!!!!!!!

CLM

Reason # 999 Why We Should Never Give Up after a Bad Week: You can have a better week!

In looking at my progress I see that the first week I got a 4 out of 7 days on plan. Then last week I had a really bad week with only 1 out of 7 days on plan. After seeing last weeks results I could have easily given up, but then I would not have been able to see the greatness that was this Monday! Last night I managed to stick to my Sacred Snacks for the first Monday within three weeks!!!!!!!!!!! That means I now have the possibility of getting a 7 out of 7 for the first time! Looking at the past two weeks I see that I did well on Tuesday's after my Therapy appointment so I am hoping to have a good night tonight and earn a 2 out of 7 days on plan.

CLM

MM: Last Weeks Results!

Last week I only managed 1 out of 7 days on plan. I had a very tiring and stressful week. I ended up not really following any real eating plan over the weekend and eating way too many trigger foods. After a bad week of eating I have three choices. I can throw in the towel and start eating all kinds of crazy stiff, I can be hard on myself and think about following some extreme plan or I can suck it up, accept that I had a bad week and move on.

I have been watching this show called, "Surving the Cut." It is a military show about people taking these courses to earn elite military ranks. One thing I noticed on the show is that if you fail to pass the basic standard you don't move on to the advanced standards, you simply repeat the basic course until you get it right. Right now when it comes to my eating I am in basic training and instead of making my plan more difficult my aim this week is to simply get the stuff right that I messed up on last week. This week is a clean slate and I have the opportunity right now to earn a 7 out of 7.

CLM

Thursday: Recover from Mishaps!

Last night I totally tanked it own my plan. I ended up reaching for Mac and Cheese for comfort food and I got taken in by some warm baked cookies my husband made. The lesson I learned in all of this is two fold.

I. I have to take 1000% ownership of my own abstinence at all times. ( Sure my husband baked those cookies and offered me some, BUT can I blame him for me eating three of them? Blaming others does not serve me in any way. The only way I can make lasting change is to own my stuff and take responsibility for my own actions. The bottom line is I wanted those cookies. I have to be proactive about reminding my husband to bake when I am not home. I have to do what it takes to remain faithful to my own plan!)

II. Don't shoot out the tires. (Mistakes are not the end of the world!!!! Being a drama queen when I make mistakes is nothing but me giving myself license to make more of them. So what I messed up on Wednesday, what am I going to do about it Thursday? I ate a cookies this morning, and I decided not to count that cookie against myself in my grading for this week. I still have the opportunity to get 5 out of 7 days on plan. I work hard today I can stick to my Sacred Snacks this evening and pull through this weekend I will earn a solid B. It was important to not dock myself and give up, but to allow a little credit so that I can keep fighting. The bottom line is to stop looking for excuses to throw in the towel!)

CLM

TKO: Fight Longer!

Last night I did not earn my 1 out of 7 days on plan with my Sacred Snacks. I began the battle on the right foot. I read some OA literature after dinner, I pulled out my Sacred Snacks, my jello, popcorn and some tea. Then I felt feasty and I ended eating one of those Nature Valley Breakfast Biscuits. Later I was still hungry so I ate bagel thin, and veggie sausage patty. The night wore on and I grew weaker. Finally my resolve broke and I gave in to MC Donalds fries, and ice cream and some cookies. What I learned from this battle is that I need to learn to fight longer. If necessary tonight I will read more OA literature. I will eat more popcorn and more jello and drink more tea. The main goal is to abstain from all sweets other than jello and all snacks except for light popcorn and chips. I don't mind eating real food when I get hungry such as the bagel thin and the veggie sausage, but the french fries, cookies and ice cream where definitely in the no fly zone!

Fight Longer!!!!!!!! I may have lost the battle, but I have not lost the war. It is still possible to get 6 out of 7 days on plan.

CLM

Motivational Monday: 4 out of 7 Days with Sacred Snacks!

The past week I was able to make it 4 out of 7 days with my Sacred Snacks, two of those days was on the weekend Friday and Saturday which are my hardest days to stay on plan. On Saturday I did begin reading, " A Course in Weight-loss, " by Marianne Williamson. I read chapter one and begin to identify some of the stuff that is eating me. I noticed that when I stayed focused all day long, had small meals every three hours I was able to stay on top of things and did not binge. On Sunday I had a sloth day and overate all day long. I think it is important for me to get out of the house on Sundays. Overall I give myself a C+ for the week!

Goals for the week :

1. I would like to earn a C+ or Better this week with my Sacred Snacks. Which means 4 days or more on plan.
2. I would like to read Chapter two of , "A Course in Weight-loss," on Saturday.
3. I would like to go to Church this Sunday. To make sure that I get out of the house.

CLM

The Report Card

I have come up with a neat little system to keep myself accountable on my weekly plan come Motivational Monday. For each day I eat my Sacred Snacks I will earn a letter grade. To recap my Sacred Snacks are when I abstain from all sweets except Jello Pudding, and  abstain from all snack foods except light popcorn and light chips.

The Grading System

1 out of 7 days on plan is D

2 out of 7 days on plan is D+

3 out of 7 days on plan is C

4 out of 7 days on plan is C+

5 out of 7 days on plan is B

6 out of 7 days on plan is B+

7 out of 7 days on plan is A++

The goal is simply to motivate myself to get as many days in the week as I can on plan.

So far this week I have made it 2 out of 7 days, and it is still possible for me to go 5 out of 7 days and make a solid B this week!

CLM

Motivational Monday: Checking In on a Thursday!

I use to post once a month on average. I have recently discovered that having a goal that takes 30 days to accomplish is way too difficult for my scattered mind. I might start the month off focused for a few days and then lose track of my goals all together. I am amending my approach. For a brief period of time I use to fill out these weekly goal sheets every Friday and I managed to lose 10 lbs in 30 days doing that. I did not know it then, but now I am sure that creating those weekly goals is what helped me to ultimately reach my goals.

My new plan is to create goals for the week each week on Monday. Monday is the day when I feel most energized. I am back at work, I feel like I have a clean slate and I am ready to roll up my sleeves. I will review that past weeks progress and make goals for the week on Monday. Monday is simply a virtual day, a day when I get started, if I am slacking on Monday, I will get it together an take action on Tuesday.

So far this week I have had two binges, and one day on what I call my Sacred Snacks. I am currently using a harm reduction model to deal with my compulsive eating. I limit my sweets to just jello pudding and I snack on light popcorn and other light chips.

The basic meal plan that I follow each day is as follows:

Breakfast- cereal or sliced turkey, toast and fruit juice

Mid-Am Snack- Energy Bar + Fresh Fruit

Lunch- Turkey Sandwich + Yogurt

Mid-Afternoon Snack-Energy Bar+ Fresh Fruit

Dinner- lean cuisine, soup, sandwich, or something else light and easy. I usually eat the same thing three days in a row before moving on.

My current goal is to get back to 275 from 300 LBS. I only weigh once a year and focus on healthy habit formation and observing my bodies changes.

* I primarily focus on limiting my snacks to my Sacred Snacks, as I generally eat good meals.

Current Goals for the Week:

1. Don't Shoot Out the Tires  ( "When you have a flat tire you don't shoot out the other three."-unknown weight-loss blog source) When I have one bad day of eating, I don't want to give up. If I mess up Monday, I want to do better Tuesday, if I mess up Thursday, I want to do better on Friday.

As of now I have 1 out of 7 days on plan with my Sacred Snacking.

I can potentially finish this week out with 5 out of 7 days on my Sacred Snacks!

Something Cool I did today:

When I go out to eat I tend to over eat, and I also tend to eat the left overs, especially bad with pizza. Today I ate Panda Express. I got the bowl instead of the 2 entree, string bean chicken and steamed rice. I ate 1/3 of the meal for lunch. I visualized myself eating a lean cuisine and how much food would fit into one, and ate just that. I tossed the rest of the meal away instead of eating it for a later meal, primarily because I don't want to eat fast food left overs when I could be eating my own healthy meal. I realized there is really no need to continue a one meal event into several meals.

CLM

Modified Do or Die Plan

I had to make a few modifications to my plan for this month. I went to myfitnesspal and put in my weight and came up with higher calorie target for myself and modified my plan according to that. I added more food, more frequent meals, snacks and even some treats. The bottom line is that I do not want to binge eat because I am hungry/starving. I think this new plan is way more flexible and sustainable for the long haul.

Modified Do or Die Plan

Breakfast- Amy’s Frozen Burrito

Snack #1 Larabar + Fruit

Lunch- Turkey Sandwich + Yoplait light

Snack # 2 Larabar + Fruit

Dinner- choice one (turkey sandwich, amy’s burrito, smart one, soup etc) Have the same dinner 3 days in a row.

Evening Snacks-

Dessert- Jello Pudding

Snack- popcorn or pirate’s booty chips

Drinks- Green Tea Hot w/ Honey and Lemon, Hot Chocolate, Diet Soda, Low Cal Drinks and Water

Features of the New Plan

·         There is some repetition so that I cement in the habits of eating smaller portions and lower calorie meals.

·         There are frequent meals and snacks so that I do not get hungry and binge.

·         There are safe treats that are lower in calories/fat and less destructive than my usual treats.

CLM

The False Start

Often when we set out to make changes in our diet and fitness we begin with renewed energy and hope. We dive right into a goal and then get dismayed at the first sign of trouble. When beginning a new program, starting a new habit or changing and old habit it is important to keep in mind that you may have some initial resistance to the change. Be prepared for a false start. Remember that old adage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.”

This week I started day one of my program on April 1, 2014. I was supposed to eat a larabar and some fresh fruit for breakfast and lunch, eat a turkey sandwich with some yogurt for dinner and have zero snacks. On this first day of my program I was super busy at work, tired from a long work week in which I had not had a day off in 8 days. Normally when I am beat my response is to eat junk food at night. So even though my house was free of all junk food I still managed to ask my husband to go purchase some junk for me at the late hour of 10 pm. I ended up binge eating the junk food. I felt so terrible physically, and had the worse indigestion ever. I was up until 2 am in agony. Sure I had managed to follow my plan up for the entire day until 10 pm when I caved.

The next day I had a choice. I could wallow in self-defeat and throw in the towel or I could resolve to try again on day 2 of my program. There is something about the false start, almost like I have to fail on day one, so that I know I am really trying. Failing on day 1 takes the pressure off day 2. I can only get better from here. I don’t have to worry about making a mistake, because I already made one.

If you are starting a new fitness, diet program, changing a bad habit or starting a new habit be aware that you may have a false start. Your day one might not go so well, it might take you until day  2, 3, or even day 10 for your resistance to change to break down. Do not give up on yourself and keep trying!

CLM