| I may still listen to the devil a little, but the angel and I are becoming friends. |
You know how you have the best intentions when it comes to your diet? How you know you're going to be this fount of strength and resolve? That was me. I was sailing along on my diet cooking brown rice, sauteeing veggies every night, baking chicken and then BAM the next thing I know I'm sitting in a movie theater watching George Clooney cry over his cheating comatose skank wife while I steadily toss a giant bag of popcorn and a gallon of root bear down my throat. Then going to dinner and consuming mashed potatoes. Oh the horror of it all! I was disgusted with myself so I did what any rational *nearly* 29 year old woman would do. I went home, went to bed, woke up, and went to a movie with my bff for life and tossed buttered popcorn down my throat while I realized at some point in my life I would totally give Harry Potter a run for his money. Rawr. Then I had chili for dinner.
So what I'm saying is this: even the most resolved people falter. Even the most well-intentioned will succumb to temptation at some point. This doesn't mean we're destined to forever be fatties. It doesn't even mean we're bad people. It does mean that we're human and we should give ourselves a break. I should be more upset with myself than I am, but here's why I"m not: I was good all week (except for the Reese's Cups I had Wednesday night, I was PMS-ing cut me some slack) so it doesn't make me the devil that I was kind of bad Saturday and Sunday. I'll do good this week and it'll be like that delicious buttery popcorn never happened.
I've been reading a lot of blogs lately where some of my ladies are beating them selves up for falling off the wagon and I think the most detrimental thing to a diet is guilt. No good ever comes of guilt. It just, for me, leads to scarfing food to make myself feel better and then I feel guilty for eating so I get depressed and then I eat and it's a vicious cycle. So unless you did some blow off a hooker's ass just before some crazy action caused her to wind up dead and so you stuffed her in your car to ditch in the desert, guilt isn't necessary. It was a cheeseburger or it was a cookie or maybe popcorn and ladies, we can handle that kind of back lash. We're doing better than we have for the majority of our lives. We're working towards a common goal and we will get there. We all have each other to stay sane and to be a support system. We can work off some buttered popcorn.
So the excited buzz of the clean slate dieting has worn off as we've managed to scuff up our slate some. The important thing, we must stay positive! Not bouncing around like a lunatic happy all the time, but positive that what we're doing will work out for us.
Your funny, uplifting post here just made me cry. It's so strange how someone says something just when you need it sometimes. Check our group email and you'll see what I mean.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. I love you! And dammit...I'm gonna just do the best I can! You're an inspiration :)
Noo! Don't cry! Aww! I'm glad I could help. I love you too lady! And the best is all we can do, so why get angry when we can't do more?
DeleteAwesome post.. I find the hardest part is finding that fine line between acknowledging my slips, saying "I can do better" and moving on, and giving myself a total emotional beating over having a donut one day... Because yeah, maybe I had a donut the other day, but I've days upon days where I didn't.
ReplyDeletePart of creating a sustainable lifestyle change is learning to navigate those days when you may not be on your *best behaviour*
ReplyDeleteThis is all part of making that change. You're right, guilt only leads to a cycle of depression and then we eat because we are depressed. Your sense of humor and the comradery of your group will help you succeed. I'm 50 years old and very much out of the loop with you young ladies, but I wish you the best and support what you are doing. Keep it up!!!
ReplyDeleteYou have to live too, ya know? I'm with Yandie it is a fine line between acknowledging slips and emotionally beating yourself up over it. The emotional beatdown never works. It's more likely to push you into eating something else that you wouldn't necessarily choose if you were in less of an emotional state.
ReplyDeleteThis is EXACTLY what I needed to read! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteNo need to be guilty ever. Eat what you want, just control the portions. I used to drive myself NUTS with starving myself and depriving myself of the things I love. Not anymore...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the inspirtation!
One thing I've done in the past was allow myself one day a week to "fall off the wagon," so to speak. If I knew that during the week that on Saturday I was going to be baking or having friends over and there would be indulgence of some kind, I was much better with what I ate during the week. Having that scheduled indulgence also made me appreciate more!
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