The rule of Five

Okay, so for those of us who struggle with over eating/compulsive eating, you know how difficult of a pattern it is to break. Focus on the word compulsion. It is a constant drive. An impulse that is relentless. I don't drink, smoke, or do drugs, but I am hearing more and more often recently that over eating can be as powerful as an addiction to those dreaded addictions. I have also heard more and more lately that this powerful, constant impulse can be diminished and quieted over time each and every time you circumvent, avoid, and divert from the impulse. My coach and I discussed this in a session once. He actually had me write down things I could do every time I felt the impulse to eat. I'm talking mundane tasks here. You don't have to go out and exercise or save the world every time you want to eat. Just do ANYTHING but eat. For my purposes here, I've decided to come up with a list of five things I can do each time I feel the impulse.

1) Wash 5 windows

2) Vacuum for 5 minutes

3) Take 5 minutes to make all the beds in your house

4) Do a 5 minute wipe down/dusting of one room in the house; all the surfaces

5) Wash 5 dishes

Now, all of the above tasks involve house keeping. You can create a list of all exercise related tasks. Or household management/administrative tasks. Whatever. Keep lists inside your cupboards...in your office.....in your car. Make a "grab bag" of tasks for a food diverting surprise. The point? EVERY time you get an impulse, DIVERT!!!

So, there's one more catch. Maybe it's just me. My issue? I am often not even consciously aware that I am being driven to eat until I have taken a nose dive into a bag of pretzels, or have done a home run slide into a gallon of ice cream. And once you get going, the mental chatter (usually negative) starts up.

"Oh well, I'll start over tomorrow"

"What's the point. I'm a failure. Might as well keep eating"

"I'll just eat less the rest of the day to make up for it"

"I don't weight in for five days...this won't make a difference"

Yea, that's all a bunch of bologna and don't we know it?

If you walk around in a mental fog, prepare to over eat. Take every thought captive. Every moment! Be intentional about when and what you eat.

So, let's recap.

Step 1) Be mentally alert

Step 2) Identify the impulse to eat haphazardly

Step 3) Choose a task, and DIVERT!

Let's give it a try, shall we?

(Oh, and on a side note. We bought the other Blonde this great cube thing-a-ma-jig. You put kibble in it, and as she kicks it around, if she gets the angle just right, some kibble falls out. It keeps her super busy, and slows her down so she doesn't scarf her food in 30 seconds. I'm just wondering if this idea could be adapted for humans. And if so, would it cause copious amounts of indigestion?)

Monday 4/11/11 Check In

Last weeks weight: 267.8

Todays weight: 266.4

Down: 1.4 pounds

How I feel about it: eh...better than I expected. I ate perfectly M-F, then went wild over the weekend. Still resulted in a weight loss.

My frustration: If I am in a completely controlled environment like home or work, I have no problem. I have a HUGE appetite. The problem is, if I go anywhere, out to dinner or to someones house, I am inevitably faced with much more calorie dense foods, which add up quickly calorie wise, but don't fill you up. And the temptation....sheesh. Add on top of that, any extra stress and forget about it.

My goal this week: Completely a mental one. Re-read "Standard Deviation" (one of my earlier posts) Get perfection out of the picture. That is not reality.

Monday 4/4/11 Check In

Last weeks weight: 268

Today's Weight: 267.8

Down 0.2

How I feel about it: BAH!

What happened: Too much salt. Too much sugar.

Average Daily Calorie Intake: 1,600 (70 calories more on average per day than last week's average)

Exercise encounters: Four 45-60 min walks and one 30 minute session with trainer.

What I am going to do different this week: Avoid salty/sugary snacks. Try to shave down the calories back to 1,500/day. Will aim for at least the same exercise encounters. In a perfect world, get to the gym at least two times.

What I am hung up on right now: I am very discouraged as I write this. I have such a LOOOOONG ways to go, and it seems impossible today. I feel ugly.

One thing I did to counter those feelings: I went grocery shopping and loaded up on good things to choose from this week. I'll go back to work tomorrow, take care of my precious patients, and count my blessings.