04/25/2010 20:54
Being Content
I just read this article in Women's Health magazine ~ about how positive changes in your life can affect other areas of your life as well. In particular, if you are disciplined enough to lose weight ~ you will also become disciplined enough to get yourself outta debt and vice versa. And I realized ~ that's exactly what seems to be happening to me...
I have been making great strides in paying down my credit cards debt and it feels good. Really good. I'm proving to myself that I really CAN reverse the irresponsible spending habits of my youth. I've noticed that I challenge myself more before making a purchase, and have walked away from many things that ~ previously ~ "I just had to have..."
I realized, that this philosophy of "just had to have" is also present in my unhealthy eating habits, but I've noticed, that that is changing too. And unconsciously for the most part. I am starting to believe that I can also reverse my irresponsible eating habits as well.
Back in January ~ I became sick (again) ~ took a trip to the ER for my digestive "issues" ~ and have struggled to get back to eating normally for the past few months. And it's been a wonderful learning experience in the process. I learned that I can survive on much less food than what I was shoving in to my mouth. I had no choice but to limit portion sizes, and now... I automatically monitor them. I discovered that ~ it's ok to have your stomach growl ~ and that my body ~ if I listen to it ~ will tell me when and what to eat. I no longer "have to have" that cookie. And to test that ~ I made my favorite choc chip cookies a few weekends ago ~ and for once in my life thought: there's too many. Why didn't I just make 1/2 a batch? I could have never imagined that such a thought would cross MY brain when it came to choc chip cookies!!!
I've also learned that ~ I can live without my precious coke. Who would have thunk it? We all have those things we insist on clinging to, and mine was Coke. But in reality, it was just a script I ran in my head, to convince myself I "needed" the soda ~ when in fact there was no such "need". My body DOES NOT NEED Coke to survive. In fact ~ I feel better without it. (but ~ I do have one from time to time since I truly do like the taste; but in the past 4 months, that has amounted to 4 cokes in total).
I also learned while being severly limited to what I could eat while recovering that ~ you have to make your choices count. So... which is better? the candy or the fruit? And when you pick the smarter choice ~ your body starts to feel better.
The other week I paniced at work and ate junk food ~ reverting back to my old eating habits and you know what? I felt gross as soon as I ate it.
The exciting news is ~ with these new-found realizations that I can change my evil ways ~ and that it feels pretty good in the process ~ that I've managed for two months now to keep off the 12 lbs I lost from being sick. I'm still smiling that I'm wearing a smaller pant size. It feels great and it's empowering me to continue making good choices.
Some would say you should not derive your happiness from the number showing on a scale ~ and to some extent I agree. But I am happy because the number on the scale has not increased in over two months. But I am still overweight. And that's ok too. As they say ~ we did not become overweight over night. It is a slow process to lose weight but so worth the journey ~ because along the way ~ you may just discover cool things about yourself that are priceless.
