It Is All About Balance

Wow it seems like only a couple of weeks ago since I last posted on here but it is more like a month. My how time flies by! Well, Dave made his 100 lb weight loss mark and I attained Lifetime status at Weight Watchers. Dave is working on losing his last +-20 pounds and I am working on finding a balance in diet and exercise to maintain this weight loss for the rest of my life. I had really been struggling since I hit the 100 pound mark at the beginning of July to find balance. As I mentioned in other posts I had been letting some old habits start to creep back into my life, the worst of which was some small scale binges and it started me on a cycle of Eat, Repent (Starve), Eat (quoted from Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat) and I really hated it. Of course I love to eat but I really hate the starving to get that extra weight off the scale the rest of the week. I feel like I am starting to settle into a pattern that is more comfortable for me to live with. I designate one day, usually Saturday, as my eat anything I want with no tracking. I still struggle on Sundays to not feel guilty about any indulgences on Saturday but I think that will come in time. The rest of the time I have been sticking pretty much to 29 WW points per day and I monitor calories on CalorieCount.com with a goal of 1,300 calories per day. I think I can probably increase these a little bit but I really do want to lose another 10 pounds and be in the middle of my healthy BMI range. It helps to know that on Saturday I can have whatever I am craving during the week if I want.

The balance really is coming and I like how it feels.Eating without guilt! Tonight we are going to a Lake Erie Monster’s hockey game. It is quite a new feeling to be looking forward to a beer, hot dog, and a soft pretzel. I put in a good workout in at lunchtime today and love to be able to look forward to enjoying what I eat tonight without guilt.

Speaking of balancing acts, it is not uncommon for me to go to bed feeling a little bit hungry, as I generally suspect it is not physical hunger. Usually with a little sleep the feeling goes away but one particular night I woke up several times in the night still feeling hungry. So, at 4 A.M I got up and ate half and English muffin with ¼ of an avocado and went back to bed. I felt satisfied, not full, and I worked it into my 29 points for the day and felt really good about it. It seems, for me this maintenance journey is really about finding a balance that I can be at peace with and eliminate guilt I feel related to food choices. I will never have a metabolism that lets me eat what I want whenever I want but balance and peace are what I need.

Read more »