You are Entering the No Guilt Zone
Saturday afternoon I got together with a couple of girlfriends to celebrate my birthday a little early, since I will be out of town on the big day itself (My birthday is on the 3st, gifts and money are always accepted, harhar). I have not seen either of them for about 30 pounds or so (yes, that's how I measure time now!) and they were both in shock over the changes I have made. It was very nice, and they are both very supportive and great about being sincerly happy for me. We had a delish dinner that was WW friendly, but I had 4 adult beverages that involved the use of coke and rum, and a slice of Ice cream cake that "cost" me 10 points (500 calories for those not familiar with WW). I had so much sugar on saturday, it was insane. But, I had a great time... I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard.
5 months ago I would have been devestated by what I put into my body on saturday. I would have told myself that I should have been stronger. That I should have stopped drinking at 2 drinks, or not eaten the cake. That I should have been better. I probably would have either been too strict with myself for the next several days, or used my self-proclamed failure as an "excuse" to eat even more crap. Not this time though. I had the points for my eating excursion, and aside from a small headache and a BIG tummy ache, by the time I got home on Saturday night I had put the days eating behind me. I moved on, back to my normal eating habits. This is a huge victory for me. Not letting the food have a hold over me, that is. Not letting it dictate my mood. I see Saturday as a big sucess, because it shows me that I can splurge once in a while, and not have it be the begining of the end. I have beaten down the food demons and shown them whose boss.
The act of losing weight is a simple process. Eat less calories than you use and your body will shed the extra fat. The problem comes in because we have placed such an emotional value on food, and that is a lot harder to get to the bottom of. If we can free ourselves from the emotional chains that we have with food, we can no doubt be sucessfull, but the solution to freeing oneself is different for everyone. There is no majic formula, or pill. There is no one way at all. For me, it was positive self talk, learning to really listen to my body and my mind, really learning about nutrition, and how food SHOULD be used, most of the time, and letting myself see and be motivated by the results that came from the first three. What will work for you?