Day 17 ~ Still Feeling the Joy!

Re-reading yesterday's post (which I've not edited), I can tell I was scattered and emotional... kind of an emotional "free-write" which they used to have us do in creative writing in school back in the day. The realization that this is Actually. Happening. and that I. Am. Successful. is still an eruption of joy and love for myself that I don't feel very often ♥.

On one hand, the past two weeks + 1 day went by really super fast -- on the other hand it really didn't. Yesterday the thought crept in that this is going to [at some point] get hard. I want to nibble.  I love to nibble. I was down on the home scale another pound this morning (woot!), which is a wonderful, marvelous thing! But how am I going to react when the scale stops moving for awhile? That will have to be another post for another day.

I know I need to still clear out some clutter from my life -- otherwise the overwhelming feeling will creep back in, and crash into this new way of thinking about food.  But, maybe I've not yet explained conclusively what I'm talking about when I say "new way of thinking about food."

One Big HUGE reason I really appreciate Medifast is the limits. Dealing with less choice is so much easier for me.

In this post-modern world that is so full of instant information (not to mention instant gratification) by way of fax, email, internet, IMing, texting, cell phones, laptops, mobile web devices and whatever the next thing is that is being created -- we have so much information being told to us for our own good... things that we "Should" do. Specifically regarding Healthy Eating & Lifestyle... we have the when, the what, the how and the why of foods and activities we should be incorporating in our lives.

I always thought I preferred Weight Watchers over other programs because it was REAL food. You have to make REAL LIFE CHOICES regarding what you are putting in your mouth.  We have to face reality eventually about making the right choices after we've lost the weight and reached goal, so (in my thinking), we might as well START OUT RIGHT and learn to make those choices right at the beginning!

And ultimately, I still believe that!

But I'm no longer thinking of WW as the only way... with a slight air of judgement for any other weight loss program out there... *shame on me for the judgement*

But... BUT -- for some of us... trying to figure out 100 calorie snacks or 'mini meals' every two to three hours that will incorporate the wants we desire (along with the nutrition needs) is completely overwhelming and my tendency was to give up before I even really started.  I'm talking about making decisions based on taste, chewing, sweetness, savoriness, the bulk amount (size of serving) of the food we choose... all those things come into play when trying to devise a *satisfying* eating plan within the wide variety of food choices we are so very blessed to have.

And don't even get me started on the "Unlimited" Foods. I am an All or Nothing *LITERAL* person and if you tell me I can have as much as I want, I believe you. Knowing that nothing is truly unlimited... my stubborn little 3-year comes out and challenges the statement... and all reasonable thought disappears... just to prove that the statement is wrong - and ultimately hurting myself in the end. (I hope that makes sense...)

Think of clothing and seeing the "One Size Fits All" size (ha ha ha!) -- that was crap for the same reasons.  Now many if not all manufacturers have changed it to "One Size Fits Most" which is so much better (IMNSHO). To me that was such a D'uh!!

There IS a reasonable LIMIT to the amount of unlimited foods we can eat -- but, in my warped mind, if someone says UNLIMITED... then I believe what the dictionary says:

1. not limited; unrestricted; unconfined: unlimited trade.
2. boundless; infinite; vast: the unlimited skies.
3. without any qualification or exception; unconditional.

Which, I understand in my intelligent mind that there are reasonable limits... but I'm telling you the quite immature emotional side of me couldn't listen... with MF she's learning to listen and be okay with the limits.

ALL THAT to say: the non-thinking about all meals but one keeps me intrigued with just enough freedom and creativity for that one Lean & Green meal to keep me from getting bored... bored with the food and bored with the program.  During this year I can create a month or two of meals for each time of day (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner), which will become what I see as our "Menu For Life."

And I only have to think about One. Meal. At. A. Time - once a day.  For 12 months and a bit. And if I need to eat shrimp salads two nights in a row, I'm so wonderfully okay with that. We are not foodies, we don't have to have extravagant and/or complicated dishes with all sorts of exotic tastes and ingredients. I'm creating a habit - slowly. (See the 6changes.com website for more on creating habits that will stick, 6 at a time)