Fellow happy new year! I hope that 2011 is off to a cracking start.
Things have been rather crapful, healthwise, in the last six weeks of 2010. I was about as tall as a bulldozer! While there was some brilliant bits (good times with friends and family, progress on a groovy new web project), but there were also very messy bit-madness at work, my 6th cold more important of the year and the re-emergence of that old self-destructive streak. I dropped the ball completely and only, has no interest in taking care of myself. I took to hide in the bath with bubbles a foot high, so could pretend that I don’t have a body. The next thing my jangling rubbish was with the sound of the foil wrappers from chocolate coins and dress size 6 that I wore reluctantly for a wedding in the summer was now too tight for wearing a party. D’oh.
I came out the other side now after a few weeks from work and few hours of rest and think. I learned so much in 2010 with compacting visits and awareness stuff-many light bulbs went off. But I wasn’t able to translate these bulbs, sustained significant changes.
The missing element was a plan. It is not enough to make you have to do-you have to understand how the hell you’re going to do it. Otherwise, I could see myself infamy forever, slightly more aware of why I do the things I do, but still bloody doing them!
So it was time to act. I spent the mapping of Boxing Day a wee strategy. I thought I would mention the bits of it related lard here …
Food diary
Yes, that old chestnut! But it works for me. When the user recognises and document what I eat, I’m more likely to tune into signals of hunger and thoughtful with my choices. If not, good for awhile but then I get sloppy with part size, and unhealthy choices, then the creep in mode “noone fast, trying!”, then the slide in all-out negation.
Year-round compacting tried for me to complete a diary and I never stuck with it. I don’t know if it is because a) I wanted you to see how bad my “mistakes” might be (interesting to get approval from someone you’re paying), or (b)) I wanted to acknowledge what I was eating, because it would mean abandoning the diversion fleeting of junk food. Maybe both?
I realized how much that I just buckle and do it, but in a way that satisfies. Which brings us to …
The spreadsheet
The food diary is a spreadsheet in Google Docs. Is inspired by the journal food/mood of the book that gave me the shrinking, but I’m finding it much easier to upgrade your computer or phone. One row for each day with columns and observations. The document is shared with a good friend who is on a similar path-we have a card each and check in on the progress of the other day so theres no chance of slowing down. And so on …
Real-world support & responsibility
Getting help from a professional is great, but in many ways it is an expensive way to talk to you. You can dump all the ills of the session, walk out of the Office and leave it there and not really doing anything with it back in the “real world”.
I was always more successful when I am open about my struggle to eat with those closest to me. My recent strategy of trying to fix things me and pretending that everything was okay did not work and was undoubtedly unconvincing for the ladies, as inflated slowly before their eyes.
So I had some conversations with my nearest and dearest along the lines of, “well, obviously I have been struggling a little wee here. This is what I’m planning to do about it. Do you reckon you might like to buddy to a food diary/go somewhere more healthy for lunch, eat at the table instead of on the couch/etc etc etc? “. Support the simple things in bass clef, but for someone who hasn’t wanted to recognize what was happening really to itself, not to mention aloud to the other, was a huge step forward. He was very lonely on the denial of the planet.
Planning
I am back to good old weekly meal planning. There is also a spreadsheet for this! Healthy meals but not boring, unique launches asparagus and a glass of air. Normal, daily food but remember I don’t need a mountain rice, and that should come in pairs of Brindisi. This is becoming less of a drama every day, now that I’m always back to …
Mindfulness
Mindful eating tools and techniques that I had adopted last year were really helpful. As soon as I had stopped using them! So he returned to things like: optimization levels of hunger before and during the meal, putting my food on a plate and sit down to eat, exercising for fun not punishment, etc etc etc.
Committment
I had a combination of practice and mindful tactics, measures of accountability and support. I am ready to face this time. The black dog is back in his Kennel! Unlike A year ago, I eat now addressing is not a diversion-the “designated the question” as Martha Beck calls it-because I worked on major issues.
This is pretty baby steps for now, I reckon. You’re still awake?
Disclaimer: My pal Lainey has always bemused when I put a Disclaimer on my blog, but I gotta show his email that I receive from people insists, “you’re doing it wrong”. So I’m surrender that this is the action plan I came up with based on what worked in the past, combined with what I learned from my smart ways. I’m giving a red hot go (a week down) and review at the end of the month. Yee-HA!
I’m Shauna Reid, Scotland-dwelling Aussie.
What’s New Pussycat?
I’m Shauna Reid, Scotland-dwelling Aussie.
What’s New Pussycat?
I’m Shauna Reid, Scotland-dwelling Aussie.
What’s New Pussycat?
I’m Shauna Reid, Scotland-dwelling Aussie.
What’s New Pussycat?