My name is LeeAnne and I am an emotional eater. If I'm stressed, I eat. If I'm happy, I eat. If I'm sad, I eat. It is a horrible cycle that I have yet to find a way to stop. I realize the need to improve my diet and exercise more....but losing weight has been exceptionally hard. I like convenience and I like quick and neither of these things really describe healthy eating and exercise. I also like immediate results which is probably why I have spent more time off the wagon instead of on it. I get really motivated at the beginning but the results take FOREVER so I lose what motivation I had...and then I feel bad about myself so I eat!
I'm also the kind of girl that can think of her favorite foods and instantly be overtaken by a craving that leaves me crumpled in a heap begging to get the images out of my head. Unfortunately, the only way to get rid of the craving is to give in....so I eat. Guilt then ensues and that only drives me to eat MORE...and the 6 Thin Mints have now turned into a whole sleeve of Thin Mints (damn you Girl Scouts and your little satan cookies!).
I began a new experiment yesterday to see if I have better results. My new "diet" consists of this (note: this is an experiment for a major Type A control freak):
1. I now keep a food journal (in Excel) of everything I eat during the day. I track how much I eat and the nutritional information for that item (calories, fat, protein, carbs, and dietary fiber).
2. My daily caloric intake will not exceed 1600 but I will not flog myself mercilessly in the town square if I sometimes find myself going over that target.
3. My carbs/protein/fat breakdown will stick as close to 60%/20%/20% as possible.
4. I will eat 3 meals a day PLUS 2 snacks...and no eating after 8 PM.
5. I will drink as close to 8 glasses of water a day as possible.
6. Before going out to eat, I will check nutritional information of the restaurant before leaving the house so that I have a plan and will focus on that plan so as not to be dissuaded by other "non-healthy but oh-so-tasting" items on the menu.
7. Every other day, I will walk 2 miles on my treadmill and if my fat inner self tries to talk me out of it, I WILL fight back and piss myself off enough to lug my fat butt onto the treadmill just to prove that I can do it.
8. I will walk a mile outside every day just to change up the scenery and get out in the fresh air.
9. If I find myself cowering in a corner because of a craving, I will picture myself pregnant and decorating the nursery to try and keep my focus.
10. If I give in to the craving, I will not beat myself up but will brush myself off and pick up where I left off.
11. I WILL TRY NOT TO GET DISCOURAGED when the weight seems to take longer to get off then it does to put on. To focus on the small victories, I will weigh myself every morning and record my weight in a nice, pretty graph.
12. I will set shorter goals (i.e., drop 6 pounds in 2 weeks as opposed to losing 30 pounds in 3 months) to keep my drive up and the finish lines in sight.
So there is my 12 step plan. I can do this and I WILL do this.
Yesterday wasn't so bad (and I even had Wendy's for dinner!). Here is what the final totals were for the day (target/actual):
Calories: 1600/1572
Carbs: 240/251
Fat: 36/26
Protein: 80/80.5
Dietary Fiber: 30/30
Water Intake: 8/7
Exercise: 3 miles/3.2 miles
Day 2 is a little harder because I've cut out caffine and am more hungry today for some reason but I'm holding onto my spreadsheet as hard as I can.
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