No Longer Black and White!

I am a person who sees things as black and white — I’ve always been that way, and probably always will be. That attitude would carry over into my diet. Being regimented like this was helpful while I was dieting in Phase 1. It kept me “in the box,” hitting the Triple Imperative^® every week, and helped me to reach my goals quickly.

The problem with my black and white thinking came when I had reached my goal and no longer had to officially diet. I was either “eating healthy” or “eating whatever I wanted.” There was no wiggle room. If I was “on” my diet, I paid attention to every calorie. It didn’t matter that the day before I was eating donuts and pizza, if I was “on” my diet, I would choose yogurt flavors solely based on the difference of 10 calories. 10 calories?! Hey, those 10 extra calories would mean an entire 2 minutes of walking to make those up. There is NO WAY I’m picking my favorite cherry yogurt when it is 10 whole calories more than the peach flavor. I’m on my diet today! Why would I eat a potato when it has 25 more calories than the broccoli? No way! Even when I came to work at HMR I was guilty of eating only half a banana or choosing a lower-calorie shake even if I preferred a higher calorie one (Shout out to HMR 800, I love you! …I’ll meet you in the kitchen at 3 for our late-afternoon date).

Fast forward to today and my thinking has finally shifted! Working at HMR has taught me a number of valuable lessons: 

• Counting the calories of healthy foods like vegetables, fruits and HMR foods is not usually worthwhile for me. They’re all low-calorie and they’re all crowding out higher calorie foods. (Click here to download the HMR Calorie Guide.)
• When I’m managing my weight, I don’t have to be entirely “on” or “off” my diet. I can strategically place lower calorie choices within my day, especially if I know a higher calorie lunch or dinner is coming.
• If I know I’m going out to dinner, I try to have a shake or cereal in the morning and will often have an entrée for lunch. If I’m out to dinner, I may allow myself a piece of bread, but will also make sure I have a salad before dinner and plenty of vegetables as part of my meal.

By incorporating these strategies, I’m no longer having a week of high calorie days followed by a week of low calorie deprivation days. The overall result is that I’m managing my weight! It’s no longer a total crap shoot as to whether my clothes will fit in the morning (I must admit I still have a pair of much larger pants in my closet that I hold on to as a reminder of where I came from). I also now can eat the whole banana without obsessing, because after all, it is just a banana. While it’s sometimes still difficult for me to have only one piece of cake, I now have the tools that make managing my weight much easier. The end result is a fitter, healthier me, and my friends and family no longer have to hear about my “diet” every day.

 

by Chrissy78 on 04/18/2012 | Share Story With a Friend

tags: Weight-Loss, motivation, mood, strategies