I was watching Oprah today with my 3 year old grandson (who was a tad put out that I wouldn't let him watch yet one more run of Thomas The Train.) I told him it was Grandma's turn to watch the TV so he sat next to me and fidgeted the whole time. No matter. At least I got to watch the show.
Today's show was filmed live in Mississippi which has been deemed the fattest state in U.S. Oprah and Bob Greene are kicking off their new campaign the Best Life Challenge. It seems everywhere one turns in this new year that there are challenges galore. I'm not knocking them!. I'm participating in several actually! But what it got me thinking was...how fickle I am. How fickle we all can be when it comes to losing weight. It seems like just as I'm ready to start some new plan, another one turns up that catches my eye and I think...maybe I'll try that one instead. It's as if I can't make up my mind. Hmmm...how should I lose this weight....
But listening to Bob Green talk today a little light bulb flickered. I say flickered because it actually went off a long time ago but I chose to ignore it. It's not about a diet. It's not even really about losing the weight. It's about why I overeat. Period. And until I figure that out and make some changes in my lifestyle to help me combat the overeating....nothing will ever work - or stick.
One of the biggest things I've noticed in this struggle to lose is that I NEED to replace bad habits with good ones. If you kick a habit - and don't replace it with something it leaves a hole that begs to be filled with something - and that something usually end up being food again.
Another Aha moment on the show today ~ One of the guests who lost half her weight said, "I didn't want the weight to be the controlling factor in my life anymore ." Amen to that. I worry about my weight from the time I wake up until the time I go to sleep. I even dream about it sometimes! Really! Every mirror I pass, I check to see if my butt looks huge in what I'm wearing - if my gut is hanging out over my waist band - if my upper arms are waving in the breeze...and the answer is always yes - yes and yes! I avoid certain situations where I may run into people I haven't seen in a long while. I think about my next meal pretty much as soon as the one I'm eating is over. In short - my weight controls my life right now!
Does any of this sound familiar to you guys? (I know it does.) I call it the Fact of Fat. Well...I want to be in control of my life! I want to not worry about all the things I worry about now. So I guess I need to do some searching here and see what triggers the binges. And then find things I can substitute for them. Food is the drug of choice for many of us. It numbs heartaches... soothes bruised egos... combats boredom... manages anger. But there are other ways to handle those emotions. Food doesn't. It only makes things worse.
No epiphany has happened here at Lora's blog. Same old stuff I've always known.....but never wanted to think about. It's always been me vs. the food. Now other things are coming into play and I think that it's going to be a good thing. I really do!
I'm even more determined now to make this year be the year. Things are falling into place. Where they should be. And that my friends is what will help the pounds fall off.
13 comments:
yay for that post.. that is right on the money!!
Glad to hear your plan is starting to focus. Love that feeling. "When a plan comes together" lol. Best of luck to you on your path. I am sure you will do just GREAT!!
Have a WONDERFUL week!
*huggles*
=0)
Bob Greene is so calm...don't you wish he was your "brother"...Oprah is so lucky to be surrounded by supportive people. The big guy who went to the gym every day made me feel like a slimeball for not exercising!
interesting because on the biggest loser last week they said that Chicago (where I am from) is the fattest city in the country.
sounds like the show was an eye opener for you and thats important. its not even about jumping on the bandwagon of different plans, but rather, what works best for you, and yes, like you said, finding out how to get through your personal pitfalls.
I know how you feel, I think about my weight constantly and often used it as an excuse. it gets so tiring!
I didn't see her show, but I know about trading one bad habit for another. It seems when I was losing in the fall of 2006 (good dieter and exerciser) I started shopping more at Target. . . for stuff we didn't really need.
Gave up one food item, then started drinking too much coffee.
I'm now on decaf.
I enjoyed Oprah today as well. I really like listening to Bob be all inspirational.
sounds really good. Just wondering, a lot of your stuff sounded very familiar. Have you ever checked out OA? if you want to check it out, www.therecoverygroup.org. Also I posted a bit about it today.
Great post! I've been working on my emotional issues for a while now, and it makes a huge difference.
I have now started slowly adopting good habits, without giving up anything at this stage. The progress is slow, but will pick up momentum as soon as I've added a few more good habits. Enough to let go of some bad habits without feeling deprived. The good habits will essentially be crowding out the bad habits. So what if it takes long?
I'm going to make an effort to start watching Oprah again!
I, too, think about my weight much more than I want to or should. I'm tired of fear about my weight keeping me from doing things I want to do. We can do this!!!
Excellent points. I haven't read much about Bob Greene, but I am willing to check out anything that Oprah recommends. She's such a grounded person and she's willing to share her experiences. I just picked up one of his books from the library. Haven't read it yet, but I wanted to see what the buzz was all about. Programs that focus on lifestyle changes and our emotional confrontations always draw my attention.
Knowing ourselves and dealing with our mental barriers are the only way to conquer those "bad habits."
Thanks for sharing!
Wow you're all up in my brain with this post. Scary how we're all going through teh same thing and yet we think we're alone.
I can relate to what you are saying as like most of us can.
We need food for nourishment but food is like a drug, we crave it and we crave certain types of it at certain times.
I watched something on TV a while ago about thinking of our stomaches with a meter of 1 - 10. When we eat something wait the 20 minutes and concentrate and if we feel about 5 then we are satisfied but when we go to 3 or below then we need to eat and of course anything above 5, stop eating.
We need to fill our minds with other things rather than food all the time because I too am guilty of thinking of food all day.
Enjoy your day/evening
Hugs to you xx
I don't know why we can't/don't want to know these truths that are right in front of us, but once the bell's been rung, you can't unring it. You're on your way!
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