Victories and Challenges

Even though there are still some struggles for me in maintenance, I am so happy to realize that other things are no longer an issue.  Going back on 5&1 has challenged me to evaluate and re-evaluate what's gone right for the past 2.5 years in maintenance and what still needs work.

I still struggle with quantity - my "clean plate club" mentality is still alive and kicking and it's hard to not finish what's on my plate, regardless of how full I may be.  Perhaps it's a remnant of my "think of the starving children in India" childhood, or perhaps it's something else, but I have a tendency to keep going until the food is gone.  I can still put away a lot of food at a single meal, so becoming more mindful of quantity and paying close attention (and not ignoring!) those full signals is important. 

What's no longer an issue is the quality of the food I eat.  I used to be pretty indiscriminate about my food - if it was food, I'd eat it.  I ate a fair amount of fast food and consumed too many empty calories, especially sugary foods.  Sugar is still an issue at times, but I don't eat fast food or junk food.  Potato chips, etc. have no place in my life, partly because I can't just eat one.  I try hard to make sure that I'm not consuming empty calories.

Because I don't want to consume empty calories, one of my "maintenance rules" is that I don't drink calories.  My Starbucks treat is now a venti Americano with a shot of sugar-free syrup.  Sometimes I'll put in a little bit of cream, but most of the time I skip the cream, making it a delicious and guilt-free treat.

Best of all, I no longer run to food to meet my emotional needs.  That was SUCH a long-time struggle, but I learned the first time around that food is incapable of meeting or fixing my emotional needs.  Yesterday a situation came up that was quite upsetting for me and for a second I had visions of diving into chocolate to help me deal with my frustration.  But I didn't.  I acknowledged how I was feeling, then I brought the issue to the Lord and asked for His peace and His strength.  I had to keep releasing the issue over the next couple of hours, but the peace and the strength was there and I stayed on plan and finished Day 4 of 5&1 without a hiccup.  I can't even express what a huge victory this is for me! 

I do want to point out that, in addition to praying, I also don't have any chocolate in the house, other than Medifast Dutch chocolate shakes, Medifast chocolate pudding, and Medifast chocolate crunch bars.  I've set up my environment for success and I keep triggers out of the house.  Even though I don't have that "I have to eat chocolate NOW" urge any more, I am a firm believer in avoiding temptation.  Testing my resolve by keeping trigger food in the house just isn't wise.

So, five days into 5&1, there's a funky sweet taste in my mouth (yeah fat-burning!!) and an understanding of where I've had victory and where I still need some work :-).  I praise God for the areas where I've grown and am depending on Him to help me in the areas where I need to grow.  As I do that, I'll continue to do what I encourage all of you to do:  choose wisely :-)