Friday, October 5, 2012

Clean out time


They are billing today as our last warm day until spring. So instead of spending it outdoors enjoying the weather, I decided it was a great day to turn over my closet and clean out my files.

It was all going great until I came across a file marked "recipes." It almost made me cry. This is not an old file, probably started about six months ago. But there in the file was the recipe detritus of all the "eating plans" I have recently tried.

South Beach. Paleo -- actually four different versions. Beyond Diet. DASH. 7-Day Slim Down. Really sad.

I know I need structure, because without it I will eat inappropriately. But I also know that I need to make peace with food and stop following a diet with rigid rules that I do not like, or in some cases, know is unhealthy.

Starting this week, I am dividing my quest to lose weight into a three-prong attack:
1. Exercise. I actually am very pleased with what I am doing. I look at my daily exercise not as a hardship, but an enjoyable experience. I am making new friends at the gym, which is a totally new experience. And since I meet my friend Ann there daily, we keep each other going. No excuses. Our motto: Friends don't let friends not exercise.
2. Diet. Or eating plan. My nutritionist has signed off on Dr. Furhman's almost vegetarian diet, and I have to admit I am loving it.The food is filling, and the last two days, I have actually reached the full feeling and STOPPED EATING. Again, a totally new experience. Is it doable for life? Nothing I have ever tried has been doable. Which brings me to the third and most important prong.
3. Mind. I am working on this, which actually might be the key to everything I am doing. The book, "Intuitive Eating," is a start. I need to figure out a way to make the philosophy of the book my way of life.

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