Breaking It Down

I'm pretty blown away by all the positivity that's been tossed my way since my post on Friday. Thanks, everyone! The back is doing some better today, although I did miss church, so I'm feeling chipper about that bit of progress.

On to business. I've been thinking about my diet and pondering three questions.

1. What made it work the first time?

2.  What made it fall apart the first time?

3. What changes will I made this time so I can be more successful?


So. What made it work the first time?

I was eating a lot of veggies, only some fruits, no grains, no sugar, regular protein (meat and eggs), seeds, nuts, and some (but limited) dairy. This combination worked for my body like nothing else had before. I was also taking supplements and drinking a lot of water.

What made it fall apart the first time?

The biggest obstacle was food preparation. All ready-made foods have certain chemicals in them that I shouldn't have, so ideally, I would prepare a bunch of food in advance to have on hand. That never happened, so when things got busy, I started justifying. So 1) lack of preparation 2) justifying. Add in the fact that I really like certain unhealthy foods, and add in a lack of understanding of my own emotional needs.

And what changes will I make this time?

Obviously, food prep's going to have to happen. I'm thinking that if I start a Crock-Pot of veggie soup at night before I go to bed, I can eat on it all day long the next day and have a little fruit or nuts or other fresh veggies on the side. And I can change up what I throw in there, so it doesn't have to be the same all the time.

Justifying ... well, I've run out of excuses, haven't I?  :)  The weight didn't cause my condition, but it is adding to the pain.

Food restrictions - one of the hardest things for me before was how very strict the diet was, and if I cheated once, I felt horrible guilt. I'm going to allow myself certain amounts of leeway that will keep me on target, but won't make me feel so boxed in.

And I'm going to keep working on my emotional needs. This has been an eye-opening process for me, done with a lot of prayer and thinking back over my life. I'm not crazy about a lot of the things I've been realizing. But knowledge is power, as they say, and once you identify the problem, you can fix it.

So that's where I am right now. My starting weight on this new venture is 260, and I'll be keeping you updated on that. Today I've had chicken, a yam, a nectarine, water, lime/dandelion juice, sunflower seeds, and I'm about to have some peas. (That's not a lot, but I've been sleeping a bunch today.)

And I'll check back in with you in a few days!