I am truly fascinated by patterns. An example: I love that my oldest daughter was born on her great-great grandmother's and great-grandfather's birthday as well as the 8th anniversary of my husband's and my first date! But it's not only numbers, this fascination includes any kind of pattern be it dates, actions, outcomes, or the fact that I mistakenly and unintentionally dressed myself and BOTH my daughters in the same color on the same day.
Okay, enough my weirdness. As I am beginning to shed unwanted pounds from my body by following a rather rigorous diet, patterns are starting to show up. That happens when there isn't a great deal of food in the way. I began this diet knowing that my primary coping mechanism would be stripped away. And make no mistake, it is a DIET (not w lifestyle change)...I can't live the rest of my life eating this way, but for me it's a start. Plus, I already have in place a maintainence plan. (Feeling really good about that.)
Anyway, the patterns which are coming to the fore are not unknown to me. I have seen their hideous work before. It boils down to this, whenever I am stressed out (especially if it involves my children) or bored, I want to eat. Anything. At all. I'm not picky. But therein lies the problem, I completely give away my power to choose and hand it over to the pantry or fridge.
What this new program has done for me is restricting my diet so much that there is NO wiggle room. I don't have the option to have "this" now, but not "that" later. Like I said, stripped away. So I have had to cope in a more thoughtful, focused way. And you know what, it hasn't been that hard. When the thought comes, "I want (read: deserve) something to eat, I simply say, "That's not an option.", and I get cold water to drink and move on to something else. In the past when I tried doing something like this I ended up feeling neglected and sad. But now I know that I'm taking the high road and choosing a better life for myself and by extension, my family, and I can DO it! As a bonus I'm really, really proud of myself!
Pretty patterns, who knew?
Yeah, Dawn! I meant to comment when you started the blog, but forgot. :) I love reading about your journey and look forward to more posts! I totally get the 'eating plan' (as we call it here) and telling yourself 'that's not an option'. Mike and I did well for a while a couple of months back, but I have fallen by the wayside again. Need to get back to it as I know it works and most of it is a mental battle. Onward and upward! I will think of you and be inspired!
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