I'm down 4.5lbs since I started Jan 2, 2009 - this also means that I'm down one pant size already! I feel good and I think it shows...so now the hard stuff starts.
I met with my dietitian Celeste this week and she's made a couple of observations right off. I don't eat enough and I don't nourish myself well enough to fuel my workouts. I have four goals that I've been working at this week and they are:
Emotionally, I'm aware that I am scared - scared of getting out of control. I have a problem with weight loss that is not talked about much. I don't eat enough calories for my active lifestyle. As I've been logging my food and activity this first month on MFD (MyFoodDiary.com), it became apparent that my food intake was consistently under my caloric needs for the activity that I do. Now I'm terrified and feeling out of control for eating. For most of my adult life I've tried to limit my calories believing that that is what has contributed to my climbing each year to my current weight. Now that I have to change, I'm scared of getting out of control. Has anyone else ever had this problem? How does one make the changes to one's internal conversation that will help turn fear into success? I'm hoping that even one person can relate since I've never heard anyone indicate this is a problem before. Thanks for any and all input...
I met with my dietitian Celeste this week and she's made a couple of observations right off. I don't eat enough and I don't nourish myself well enough to fuel my workouts. I have four goals that I've been working at this week and they are:
- Because I've been out of touch with my appetite for so long, I'm working on tracking hourly my appetite both physically and emotionally - am I hungry or emotional or tired?
- Because I've been starving my workouts, Celeste has me increasing my 6am workout carbohydrates by taking in 8 oz of fluids {4 oz juice plus 4 oz water};
- To support better caloric intake, Celeste is suggesting taking in more protein in the morning which increases my calories and takes a bite (pun intended) out of my hunger later in the day. We are increasing my morning protein to about 20g at my 7am breakfast by adding things like soy milk or yogurt to the meal and to about 5-10g at my 10am snack;
- Again because I'm so out of touch with my hunger and satiety cues, I'm to monitor how full I feel at the end of each meal - am I hungry? over hungry? over full? or satisfied? The funny thing is that I could not give ANY answer to the question of what does hungry feel like except in the extreme - like "I feel pain in my stomach, a headache, or I feel faint". These are apparently feelings of over hungry...who knew!!!
Emotionally, I'm aware that I am scared - scared of getting out of control. I have a problem with weight loss that is not talked about much. I don't eat enough calories for my active lifestyle. As I've been logging my food and activity this first month on MFD (MyFoodDiary.com), it became apparent that my food intake was consistently under my caloric needs for the activity that I do. Now I'm terrified and feeling out of control for eating. For most of my adult life I've tried to limit my calories believing that that is what has contributed to my climbing each year to my current weight. Now that I have to change, I'm scared of getting out of control. Has anyone else ever had this problem? How does one make the changes to one's internal conversation that will help turn fear into success? I'm hoping that even one person can relate since I've never heard anyone indicate this is a problem before. Thanks for any and all input...
Hi Ladybug! I saw you on my blog and thought I'd drop by. First, you are not alone in the fear! We all feel it to some degree and it ebbs and flows just like most things in our life. I did not have trouble with cals losing the weight, but once I got to my lowest goal, it was hard and scary to add back calories to find the right about that my body needed. "What?! I'm supposed to eat MORE?!" Scary stuff for sure. Take it one day at a time.
ReplyDeleteTrust the professionals you are working with and most of all trust yourself. This means being totally honest with yourself, it can be challening for sure but you will be so happy and proud of yourself for doing the REAL work (which, IMO is the mental and emotional stuff!). Take care, I look forward to your progress. :)
Hi Ladybug! I saw you on my blog and thought I'd stop by. Please don't think you are the only one dealing with the fear of not eating enough. I actually started to lose more weight than I wanted and had to start adding back calories and it was HARD mentally. "Wha??! You want me to eat more?!" It seemed such a foreign concept to me. However it's what I needed to do and by carefully logging and planning I was able to do it and work through the fear.
ReplyDeleteTake it one day at a time. Sounds like you have some great professionals in your corner that can really help and advise you. Trust them, but more importantly trust yourself and the process. It won't always be easy, but it will always be worth it. Always remember that YOU are worth it. :)
Thanks Sandrelle! Your encouragement means so much...hanging there is the thing, isn't it? There is a saying I read recently - "When going in the right direction, the only thing to do is to keep putting one foot in front of the other - the road will take you there."
ReplyDeleteHow cool is that?
Clocked 18.18miles on the SPIN bike today ~ woot! woot!