Pitfalls

Ever since I read the comments on my previous blog, I've been constantly thinking about what this next blog was going to be about. My mind has been racing - would I talk about my eating, and how I can make sure that I do better? Do I talk about getting into a "just do it" attitude and keeping myself from making the same mistakes that I have over and over again? I've gone over a hundred new 'techniques' in my head the past few days, but yet it all keeps coming down to a certain theme.

Avoiding pitfalls.

I have become very good for a short amount of time. If you need someone who will eat perfectly, work out great and lose a good amount of weight in a few days, I'm your man. I've lost over 100 pounds by doing this - short chunks of time in 'perfect' state, and then a day or two slacking off, and 'right back to it!".

So, I didn't want to re-invent the wheel. I know that in order for me to lose weight, I need to stick below 2400-2600 calories in a day. I know that I should work out at least 4 times a week. I know that I should take the processed foods out of my diet, plan my meals, cook ahead of time, follow a schedule, write blogs keeping myself honest, write down my calories, follow a workout plan .. I could go on and on. Honestly, I could write a weight loss book based on the fact that I've dropped over 100 pounds on my own. Not many people can say that.

So what's the catch? Where do I go wrong? What are the PITFALLS that I fall into that cause the slowdowns - the lapses in my concentration that allow me to eat poorly, justify it, and lose the ground that I've already gained multiple times?

That's the hard part for me. I've been looking at this as objectively as I could lately. This is what I've come up with:

- Eating 'because it's time to eat". It seems like I have this idea of a schedule. A good example of this is my work schedule. I do my student teaching from 8:30am until 12:30pm every day. The teacher I work with has a scheduled lunch break at 11:15. So, I have my breakfast before the gym, and I head right to the school. When it's time for lunch at 11:15, it's time to eat. I'm not hungry - but that's what the clock says, so that's when I eat. Even if I'm not even remotely hungry, I eat my turkey chili and whatever else I've put together, and eat the entire thing.

Then, I leave there and have a 25 minute drive to work. I've trained myself over time that when I drive, I need to eat. I've programmed in myself that when I drive, I need to eat. Since I've already eaten my lunch, my brain is telling me to eat again. Why? Because I'm supposed to eat when I am driving. I don't know how it became this, but it did. So, when I get to work I feel ripped off - I wasn't able to eat while I drove, so I start snacking. And in my office, there is NO shortage of snacking stations. If you want it, chances as you can find it at my office.

So there lies a pitfall. If I know this is my behavior, how do I correct it with good behavior modification?

I've decided to take two lunches to work. Not two full lunches. There's no reason for that. But, because I have to spend between 11:15am and 11:40am in the teacher's lunch room, I should bring food. Tuesday when I go back (they have Monday off), I'll being a few pieces of extra fruit and maybe some veggies - put them in my lunchbox with a bottled water, and eat that while I'm at the school. That'll hold me over.

That way, when it comes time to drive to work another hour and a half later, I'll have my lunch.. If I want to eat my pre-measured, pre-made turkey chili on the way to work, I'm able to. I will have planned my meals, ate when my body wanted to eat, and I avoided the pitfalls of 'cheating' my body out of it's normally scheduled eating time.

From there, my day seems to go well.

The bottom line for me isn't trying to re-learn how to eat healthy. I've already got that down pat. I've got my workouts down pat. I know how to systematically work this so that I run at peak performance. Even after these past few months of being mediocre, I still consider myself in the best shape of my adult life. But sometimes that isn't enough, and I know I'd be lying to myself if I tried to convince myself of anything otherwise.

So my blogs aren't going to be about the number on the scale for a while. I want to post my challenges - not in a whining, "poor me" kind of way, but in a very straight forward self-analysis type of way. I need to systematically restructure my way of thinking, and instead of hiding my weaknesses in hopes of them magically going away, I need to bear down and take a good hard look at myself.

Billy was dead right. I don't WANT to give up comfort foods. If given the choice between a healthy cooked meal and fast food, I still want the fast food. I haven't gotten to the point in my weight loss journey where I've seen FINAL results - so maybe that's part of it. This has to be looked at in a common sense approach. I've always wanted to bury it in my consciousness and ignore it. That monster keeps sneaking back up and taking swipes at me.

It's time for me to face these mental issues head on. There's no other way around it.

This is step one.