The difference between

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

It hit me suddenly yesterday that there is a huge difference between those two and I have not been playing enough in the "No Longer Hungry" zone.

You know how it is - there is Full as in "Wow - What a meal!"

and there is FULL as in "OMG. I couldn't eat another bite"

Both places are skirting discomfort, even they don't make you feel like Harry Potter's Aunt Marge. Both sensations are just a little to close to panic and lizard brain thought for me.

No Longer Hungry feels very different. No Longer Hungry is calm and at ease. It's fueled for action but not weighed down with the heat of digestion. It is ready to go on to the next thing without needing a nap first. It does not ever offer up reminders of where it's been in the form of gastric reflux or other inner rumblings. No Longer Hungry means you really CAN stop eating anything - even scoops of Nutella on top of Ben and Jerry's French Vanilla Ice Cream. You can always come back to it if you are HUNGRY again. No Longer Hungry is a simply wonderful place to be.

I often override the pleasant sensation of No Longer Hungry because I'm not yet full, much less FULL. After a lifetime of dancing on the edge of FULL I have the body to show for it, both inside and out. So. My new mantra is eat whenever I want, pretty much whatever I want ... just remember to stop when I'm

NO LONGER HUNGRY!!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

SHEILA1505 4/1/2010 1:29PM

I wish I could do that! I've had a serious case of the munchies ever since my tummy bug starved me for a few days last week - at first I thought I was just levelling off the totals for the week - but now?? Nooooooo-oh it's the munchies! What do you say " I am no longer hungry " - do you hear me Sheila? Have an awesome Easter - and thanx for commenting on my blog today Report Inappropriate Comment

MSLZZY 3/31/2010 2:16PM

This is an excellent way to look at things! Have a wonderful Wednesday! Report Inappropriate Comment

JLITT62 3/31/2010 11:03AM

It's a great mantra . . . works for me sometimes -- and sometimes the emotions take over & it just doesn't work. Then I have to rely on my bag of tricks (which also works sometimes & not sometimes). Report Inappropriate Comment

GRAMLORI 3/31/2010 9:01AM

That is a GREAT way to put it.....no longer hungry. I think I will start using that for my guidelines as well. Thank you! Report Inappropriate Comment

IFDEEVARUNS2 3/31/2010 8:57AM

Excellent blog! Report Inappropriate Comment

EDWINA172 3/31/2010 8:49AM

So wise! Wow! This is how I'm going to look at eating from now on. I will pass this wisdom onto my family and friends also. Isn't amazing that something so simple, can give you such an "a-ha" moment? Report Inappropriate Comment

Why do I think there'll never be any more food?

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Or perhaps I should say

"Why do I FEEL there'll never be any more food?"

I KNOW there will be so Thinking there won't isn't possible. That urge to clean my plate is lizard brain stuff - Custard, shrieking to me "Fill Up or you'll be hungry by 10 o'clock".

Well. So What? It's not as if I'm working on the floor of a store or factory and don't get a break till noon. It's not as if I'm still in school and we all know there's no snacking in school. It's not as if I'm going into combat and don't know when I'll see a meal again.

Heck. I work in an office with a lunch room and a fridge and besides ... I'm the boss! If I am full after eating half my breakfast I can stop eating in the sure knowledge that I can walk into the lunch room at 10 o'clock and get something to eat.

So yesterday, when I'd eaten half my breakfast and was comfortably full - and even though I could have eaten all my breakfast and not been miserably full - when Custard began to shriek "DONT STOP NOW! YOU'LL BE HUNGRY BY 10 O'CLOCK" ... because he always talks in all caps ... I just stroked his back and said "That's okay honey. If I am, I'll go eat something."

Felt pretty triumphant all day too.

Oops. Almost 8. More on this another time.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

MAXBALLARD 3/31/2010 6:48AM

Love the concept. Now if I can get my lizard brain to remember it more than just once....LOL Report Inappropriate Comment

ALEXTHEHUNN 3/30/2010 12:07PM

What wonderful insights. I find myself reacting like that. A good example is, I'll be eating very well, everything under control, right amounts, right balance etc. Then, I stroll into the break room to get some water and someone has set a cake (or pizza, or whatever) out to share with whoever wants it. My brain kicks into high gear. "Oh, get some of that, it's ok, it's free!" Not to brag, but I bring home a comfortable salary, and acquiring food has NEVER been a problem - EVER. So where does this grab-it-it's-free mentality come from?!?! Glad to know I'm not alone. Report Inappropriate Comment

JLITT62 3/30/2010 11:28AM

Lately my lizard brain has been winning more often than not . . . good for you for taming yours! Report Inappropriate Comment

NANCYANDRA 3/30/2010 8:04AM

Ahhhh that's a great feeling to be satiated after only half your plate - I love it - that and the extra energy we have with less food to digest - of course I'm talking NOT overeating - Good Job!!! Report Inappropriate Comment

HARPER369 3/30/2010 8:01AM

clean plate, oh yeah has been a problem but little by little we learn to overcome it, I try to make a small plate so if I do clean no biggie still in control Report Inappropriate Comment

MSLZZY 3/30/2010 7:58AM

Excellent control there! Tell Custard to take a nap! Report Inappropriate Comment

STEPHASANA 3/30/2010 7:55AM

I like this! I'm the same way. I just need to learn when to stop, and that it's ok. Thanks. Report Inappropriate Comment

Make it work

Monday, March 29, 2010

Among the pleasures of reading are all the surprise discoveries you make that cross over from one area of your life to another. I have been reading Tim Gunn's book "A Guide to Quality, Taste, & Style" www.amazon.com/Tim-Gunn-Guide-Qualit
y-Taste/dp/0810992841

Early on ... page 16, to be exact, he throws out the command "Make it work" and goes on to say that often when students struggle with a project they will toss it out and start again. he says "This practice unnerves me because it's like playing roulette with one's work. ... Important learning occurs when a struggle is examined and analyzed, diagnosed and a prescription offered."

Wow. did that ever hit home, stumbling upon that shortly after posting yesterday's blog.

Because I know I have lots of tricks and knowledge to achieve my weight loss goals, but that doesn't mean I know it all or that even knowing it all would guarantee I'd reach my goals. Yesterday I had to examine, analyze, diagnose and prescribe .... and there's still no guarantee that I'll reach my goal, though I know that the chance of failure or delay would have been much greater had I failed to do all that work.

It was good to be reminded that everything deserves at least enough attention to "make it work". Where one goes from there is a different matter. I plan to go shopping for new clothes.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

MSLZZY 3/29/2010 2:34PM

Excellent thoughts! Hope your shopping trip was a success! Report Inappropriate Comment

ALEXTHEHUNN 3/29/2010 12:22PM

Fascinating. Report Inappropriate Comment

SHEILA1505 3/29/2010 10:19AM

Phew - that's OK then Cos - don't you sometimes also get in a pickle like me with - keep on keeping on, but then again if we keep doing the same things and expect different results isn't this a "little touch of madness"? Glad that you are going into the next month of distractions and temptations with strength and renewed commitment Report Inappropriate Comment

BESSHAILE 3/29/2010 9:39AM

No no don't be sorry. I completely agree about not flogging a dead horse. But I needed to see that problems deserve attention and I think reading it only a few hours after I'd faced my own issues I read his thoughts on not quitting. It's sort of like rain - it's really good when there is a drought and it's not so great when there's a flood. I was just dry. Report Inappropriate Comment

SHEILA1505 3/29/2010 9:23AM

Interesting indeed - does he give any info on knowing when we are flogging a dead horse, though - because continuing with something when it is downright wrong is futile. I appreciate the thought that we could be giving up when the solution is just around the next bend, but what if we are on the wrong road entirely? Sorry! Report Inappropriate Comment

JLITT62 3/29/2010 8:12AM

Hmm. Very interesting perspective. A lot of food for thought there. Report Inappropriate Comment

MRE1956 3/29/2010 7:56AM

While I despise the fashion industry for more reasons than I care to think, oddly enough I enjoy Project Runway and quite admire Tim Gunn. He comes across as a very sincere, warm and engaging person who passionately believes in what he does....would that more people, regardless of their chosen field, feel and act the same..... Report Inappropriate Comment

50 ways to loose your groove

Sunday, March 28, 2010

The weigh-in was not so hot today. I didn't exactly expect it to be good, but I had hoped it would hold steady. Alas. there was a small gain. It looks like I'm still playing around with that same 5 pounds that have dogged me for the past couple of years.

Sometimes I feel like they are this swinging gate that resists me going through and when I finally do, it smacks me on the back swing and shoves me inside again.

But that's only when I am feeling sorry for myself - which isn't all that often.

Other times it's as if I figure out how to deal with one situation only to see that two more have popped up ... There must be 50 ways to loose your .... groove. (Can't you just hear Paul Simon singing "50 Ways to Lose Your Lover"?) www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5--Sje98jI&
feature=related

Here's a sample of the next few weeks of my life:

3/31. Someone's (who wants to eat out) Birthday
4/4 Easter brunch with parents in high carb heaven nursing home dining hall
4/9 Work Function with guest and meal
4/17 36th wedding anniversary -sorry - I don't cook on my anniversary
4/22&23 Work retreat at another high carb heaven ... meals pre-selected for maximum tryptophan ... after all, it's held at a resort where you are supposed to relax. Just because we'll be working all day doesn't mean we won't also be SITTING all day Ugh!

Lordy! An opportunity to fail every week! And this isn't counting all the times when I am tired and feeling like cary-out - or celebrating a friend's triumph or patting her back in a food laden situation.

I know that we are supposed to find Other Ways to celebrate our friends and loved ones, but I do not always have the say in selecting these ways. And in fact, during most of the week lunch time is the only time I have to play with buddies. Some of my buds are happy to brown bag it with me but a goodly number of them either can't or won't.

No doubt about it. If there are 50 or even 100 opportunities to loose my diet mojo I have to find a way to cary it with me all the time. That's why one of my goals is to be calm around food - because I'm going to be around it all the time. It's the world I live in - an agricultural rural community of beloved friends and family that doesn't necessarily think thin is beautiful. I am actually on the skinny side of the fulcrum so there is no societal pressure on me to be fitter and trimer. It all has to come from me.

So. What's a girl gonna do? Especially faced with a couple of weeks like the ones I've got comming towards me!

Okay - let's see - 3/31 ... Someone wants very much to go to the Churrascaria ... the Brazillian restaurant where they bring you all sorts of grilled meats on skewers. Okay I can do this. I just have to remember what a portion looks like. My favorite meat there is the tenderloin so I need only eat a portion sized amount of that and let Someone do the festive eating. I can still have fun even if I don't eat all night long.

Easter Sunday brunch at the nursing home? Well. I know there will be fresh fruit and I know there'll be other healthy choices. Nobody will pry my mouth open and shove a Danish or a muffin down my throat.

The library function on April 9? Easy - just eat only half a portion (it'll be lasagna) and NO bread. Just decide this, bess. And half the desert since I know it will be special.

The anniversary? well. There I will have some control over where we go and if the weather is nice Someone will be happy enough with a picnic ... which (laugh at me) isn't cooking! Or rather, that sort of cooking is done before the event so it doesn't count.

The library retreat? ouch. That is going to be tough. It's always at the same place and it's always this same heavy food, of the sort and quantity needed to fuel 19th century coal miners or perhaps men going into combat. And it's all good too. I'm going to have to really decide ahead of time what and how much so that when the 5th platter of vegetables laced with butter is passed beneath my nose I can be calm and pass it on to someone else.

Well. Dear me. Obviously what is needed are plans (maybe written down?), a goal to keep in mind, and .. not exactly willpower, but decision. Calm decision. Because .... this is only April. There are 12 more months and 50 more ways to loose my groove.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

MAXBALLARD 3/29/2010 7:22AM

Good luck! I like what you said about staying calm around food. Report Inappropriate Comment

VLVTGRRL 3/28/2010 3:04PM

With so many of us wishing for healthier choices out in the world of restaurants, we should start our own SparkRestaurant chain! LOL! All meals/entrees will be 300 calories or less!! And a full menu of 100 calorie desserts. :-D Ok, I'm back from dreamland now. Great planning-ahead! Take some 'stick-with-it' with you when you attend these functions. Good luck! Report Inappropriate Comment

OPAL50 3/28/2010 1:52PM

Good luck with your game plan. The food choices in life never end. Report Inappropriate Comment

JLITT62 3/28/2010 1:48PM

You know what to do -- it's obvious from your blog post that you know what to do. I think the key might be deciding WHY you want to do it. Keep that first & foremost in your mind. Oh, and the borders coupon? Luckily only good in the store. Have no desire to drive back out today, so I'm good. This time. NOT that I didn't find things I want -- I can always find more than enough at a bookstore -- just that I decided I didn't need anything right now. Now, if I could just bring that philosophy over into my eating . . . Report Inappropriate Comment

WEDDWT 3/28/2010 12:37PM

I like your breakdown of the next several weeks, you know where the hurdles are and you can plan for them. Your list stopped at the end of April; had you gone on to do May, June and July, there are probably just as many hoops to jump through. Our lives are FULL of temptations and choices. I think that's the advantage of looking at the big picture and seeing the potential for failure alongside the potential for success. It never stops. It doesn't help me to think "oh, if I can just make it thru..(fill in event).." It helps me to think "what can I do to support myself today"? All those days strung together make weeks and months of choosing what's best. It's work, tho, no doubt about it. Don't lose your groove! Happy Easter, Bess. Report Inappropriate Comment

JCDROLSHAGEN 3/28/2010 10:32AM

Think you have a plan! Stick with it! Report Inappropriate Comment

JKTENTATIVE 3/28/2010 10:27AM

You know, it is all these celebrations and events that strung together comprise a life. I think you have the right approach - yes you should go and celebrate the people and the event, but also take steps to help yourself remember that the food is secondary (at best). Creating a plan and bringing tools will be helpful in managing the food. Another suggestion - focus on chewing each mouthful 20 times before you swallow; and chew mint gum whenever possible. You can do it! Report Inappropriate Comment

SANDRAFIVE 3/28/2010 9:53AM

When I started reading this blog I thought "she is having a pitty party" but then as I read more you sound like you have things under control. You have a plan and I know that you will follow through with that plan. The little walks sound like a good idea. Good luck with the month of April and all the rest of the months. Report Inappropriate Comment

DAYHIKER 3/28/2010 9:27AM

It is like we live in a sea of food and special (food) events! Even church is fraught with dangerous things like fellowships and "pie and praise." (sigh) Wishing you the best, Bess!! You have a well thought out plan of attack! Cindy Report Inappropriate Comment

FURBALLDTH 3/28/2010 8:59AM

sounds like you have made a wise choice for every upcoming function. Think of how thrilled you will be if you follow thru on your game plan! Remember the functions you are attending are for the people connection they bring not the food. Report Inappropriate Comment

SHEILA1505 3/28/2010 8:52AM

Your plan and decisions will save the day - remember how I set myself up before the wedding High Tea? AND I managed to fit in some of the glasses of bubbly. This weekend is DGD's sweet 16th BBQ - family of Butchers :)) and then Energy Buddy will arrive on Easter Sunday with the Chocolate despite knowing how I feel about it! Hoping to spend some time with a SparkFriend after she finishes the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon - so.... plan, plan and set yourself up for triumph! Report Inappropriate Comment

SHEALUNA 3/28/2010 8:43AM

Good for you on your game plan! I think when you go in knowing what to expect and having a plan of action, you are much more likely to succeed! During the tryptophan induced coma, I mean library retreat, you could always slip out during breaks or in the evening and take some walks. Even a little short walk will burn a few calories, plus have the added bonus of reviving you with some fresh(ish) air! Report Inappropriate Comment

I knew that ... just forgot to do it

Friday, March 26, 2010

What?

Oh. Don't eat dinner while watching television, of course.

I've been absolutely enjoying eating mindfully - Only when I'm hungry, Only what I want, Savoring every bite and Stopping when I'm full - these past two days. And I can feel the difference and I can see the difference on the nutrition chart - except - last night I sat watching television as I dined with Himself - we actually watch old tv dvd's and stop them to discuss plot flaws and guess the end of the mystery - and I never even realized when I got full. I ended up full - even a little too full though, not bloated or anything - but the whole experience of eating was lost in the tv story unfolding before me.

I am sure it was a good dinner. but I never savored anything past that first bite. (baked salmon - yum) Basically I threw away the pleasure of food for a television show I could have watched later! You'd think I didn't even LIKE food!

So. New rule in the Haile family.

Dinner is eaten in the dining room, not the den. Period.

Happily, I know Someone will go along with this. He's fun that way and always likes the opportunity to talk.

Of course. I knew this. I just didn't do it. I won't make that mistake again.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

ALEXTHEHUNN 3/26/2010 8:58AM

This is an excellent reminder of what I should be doing. Thanks for the nudge in the right direction. Report Inappropriate Comment

JLITT62 3/26/2010 8:35AM

It drives my DH nuts that I won't let him watch tv while I'm eating (we often eat lunch at different times, for instance, or I might be having some dessert when he's finished). Which is pretty funny, considering as kids we begged our Mom to watch TV while eating dinner . . . and yes, she usually caved. I guess I'm stricter. Report Inappropriate Comment

PLAYBLUES22 3/26/2010 8:13AM

Nice job I' just learning the same thing and believe me it does make a difference Report Inappropriate Comment

MSLZZY 3/26/2010 8:01AM

I'll take my cue from you! Eat at the table and focus on what I am eating, tasting and savoriing each bite. You are so smart and I'm glad you get good support on this. I prefer not to talk with my mouth full LOL! Have a great Friday! Report Inappropriate Comment