Although I'm not in some fantastic "losing the weight groove" yet, things are definitely looking up. I've still been eating what I want (and when I want), but just not as much of it and not as often. For some reason, I've been having less cravings.
As I was reading the thoughtful comments for my previous entries (thank you thank you thank you, by the way), I came upon one that recommended a book that addresses overeating. Of course I read some quotes from it, and one quote in particular really stood out to me. I apologize that I don't remember it word for word and don't care to look it up at the moment, but it really struck a chord with me. It said something along the lines of, "Extra weight is equivalent to the emptiness you tried to fill with food." (Again, sloppy paraphrase, and I apologize.) But wow. Of course not actually NEWS to me, since I've read about how people sometimes use food to fill an emptiness before, but to see it worded in such a way made it a bit more concrete. Having read that (just that one quote) has helped me to automatically think twice before reaching for the delivery menu.
Interestingly, though, although I haven't been exercising for as long each day or as frequently as I had been doing before, I feel better than I have in weeks! Perhaps it's because with the less exercise, I've also been consuming more thoughtfully. This just goes to demonstrate even further just how crucial diet is when losing weight. Before, I exercised at least 5 times a week, for 45 minutes (and most days aimed to do more than that). Maybe exerting so much physical effort each day "encouraged" me to eat more. I also haven't been tracking calories as religiously as before. I still do aim to track as much as I can, of course, but I've really been trying to listen to my body. I've been stretching more and doing more pilates. Before, I didn't care to do much of the "stretching stuff" because cardio burns calories. Cardio, cardio, cardio.
Ah, and another thing. I've also been drinking pumpkin juice, because I read that it helps get rid of bloating. And I think it's working! I've been drinking 100 ml before bed each night, and anytime I feel like having it (up to 3 times a day), and I feel great! I know it's not a cure-all, but I'm happy with the results so far. :)
Thanks for the encouragement, ladies. I very much appreciate it. I'll be catching up with everyone's blogs through the course of the upcoming week!
About Me
- shameless bliss
- I am a 20-something year old woman who's hoping to reap something positive from honest blogging. I intend to fully live--that is, live an un-apologetically pleasure-filled life, while remaining principled and trying to keep in mind what God desires for me.
I'm glad you're finding resources that work for you! Yeah, I'm a big believer in the fact that diet is crucial even before exercise. We're all working on mental or emotional stuff that lead us to overeat, we just need to figure out how to tackle it for ourselves. Keep reading, keep searching!
ReplyDeleteAre you talking about the quote on my post? It's so crazy how much that book (Women Food and God) made things click for me. It wasn't really new information, it was just worded in a way that got thru to me.
ReplyDeleteHere's the quote I think youre referring to-
Compulsive eating is an attempt to avoid the absence (of love, comfort, knowing what to do) when we find ourselves in the desert of a particular moment, feeling, situation.
I'm definitely not endorsing it or anything but I just highly recommend it to overeaters which is why I did a lil recap on my blog...
http://needtogetmeback.blogspot.com/2011/02/problem-emotional-eating.html
Yes, I am! Thanks so much for recommending the book to me. I haven't gotten the chance to look it up separately or order it yet, but I'm looking forward to reading it. :)
ReplyDeleteActually, the quote I was referring to was this:
"Weight is what happens when you use food to flatten your life. It's giving up without saying so."
On your blog, it's typed like so, but is it "use food to FATTEN your life"? I interpreted it with the word "fatten," assuming it was a little typo. =P