It's A Mental Thing

So, I was home yesterday and I caught an episode of the Judge Mathis show on TV. On this particular show there was a young man that was a recovering heroin addict. He made a statement that really hit home with me. He said that he considers it a relapse when he makes the mental decision to go ahead and use heroin, not necessarily the moment he actually uses it. I have really been thinking about this because weight loss and maintenance really is about a metal battle. I have to fight the bad habits and sabotaging thoughts about food that led me to being overweight to begin with. Let’s face it, I didn’t get fat because I ate only when I was hungry and stopped when I was full. My Weight Watchers journey started almost 11 months ago and I still fight some of those thoughts. It is true, once I mentally make a decision to allow myself to give into one of those bad habits it is as good as done. One difference now is that I can reign myself in and not let one bad moment turn into a day or days of bad decisions. I have a good foundation to base my food choices on and I can fall right back into my routine. So, I try to start my week thinking about the things that I know are self sabotaging behaviors that I have not concurred and try to work on them. Things that I controlled during weight loss but now I find sneaking back in during maintenance. They are always the same and I am hoping one day to cross them off the list as no longer a threat: 1. No sneaking food – if I am going to eat it then I need to own it and eat it openly. Let’s face it, anything in life that we feel we need to “Sneak” to do is probably not the right thing to do. 2. Exercise – 5 days a week. Even if it is only half of the normal time. Keep the routine! 3. Stay away from the cafeteria at work. It only leads to bingeing.