Sure.

I had to really pay attention to negative self-talk for one. Catch myself in the act of verbally abusing myself or being defeatist and say "that's nonsense. This is how it really is." And counter with positivity. Like, counter "I'll always be fat" with "No, I'm consistently taking the right steps in my WOE and health. If I keep at it, I'll get there. I didn't gain weight overnight. So if I'm patient, and stick to it, I'll have lost weight before I know it." Or counter "I still look so huge" with "Are you mad? Look at that "before" pic and then look at you now! Every day you are getting healthier. You've come a damn long way and if you keep it up, you'll go farther and farther still. You are winning! And you look amazing!"

Also, I had to retrain my behavior toward food. When feeling what I thought was hunger, I needed to pinpoint if I was indeed hungry, or thirsty instead. If drinking water didn't resolve it, then I asked myself: Why did I want to eat? Was I was bored, sad, lonely, angry, or disappointed? What was I trying to fix/comfort by eating? Once I consciously recognize what's going on and identify it, then I short-circuit the emotional-eating habit with distraction. Do something else, anything else. I retrained myself to either go do something productive or something I enjoy: sip tea, read, check email, exercise/take a walk, do chores, text a friend, fiddle on Pinterest, crochet, or watch something. Anything but camping out in the kitchen staring longingly at the carbage. I caught myself every time and redirected the thought path. Over time, a new healthy thought-path is created. Your knee-jerk reaction soon becomes a default healthy behavior. It also helps to remind yourself what that post-carb-binge feels like physically and emotionally. Remind yourself how much that sucks. It really ISN'T worth it. Think about all the positives and benefits you enjoy that you'll be giving up. Remind yourself WHY you chose to eat healthy in the first place. For me, I wanted to feel better, be a better mother, not embarrass my husband any longer, and get off the path towards a miserable, diabetic/morbidly-obese future like the one I've watched destroy my Mother's health and quality of life.

It makes it easier, too, for when the food demons circle round- because those little jerks will, to set things up ahead of time so that you have a path of least resistance to follow. Don't bring that carby *kitten* in the house! If you live with carbivores like I do, put their junk in a closeable cabinet. Out of sight really can help you forget it's there. Also reminding yourself that it isn't yours can help, too. And: Plan, plan, plan! Pre-planning or pre-logging your day or outing is a must and always have on-plan snacks on hand at home or work. Over time these habits, once they become your normal, will give you momentum to carry on, despite hiccups that life throws at you, because you become so used to your new lifestyle that the positive thought pattern and the routines are effortless. It's actually easier to keep on keeping on with what you've been doing.

So despite whatever terrible nonsense life tries to give you, you can legitimately Keep Calm and LC On.

HTH.

baconslave wrote: »

Sure.

I had to really pay attention to negative self-talk for one. Catch myself in the act of verbally abusing myself or being defeatist and say "that's nonsense. This is how it really is." And counter with positivity. Like, counter "I'll always be fat" with "No, I'm consistently taking the right steps in my WOE and health. If I keep at it, I'll get there. I didn't gain weight overnight. So if I'm patient, and stick to it, I'll have lost weight before I know it." Or counter "I still look so huge" with "Are you mad? Look at that "before" pic and then look at you now! Every day you are getting healthier. You've come a damn long way and if you keep it up, you'll go farther and farther still. You are winning! And you look amazing!"

Also, I had to retrain my behavior toward food. When feeling what I thought was hunger, I needed to pinpoint if I was indeed hungry, or thirsty instead. If drinking water didn't resolve it, then I asked myself: Why did I want to eat? Was I was bored, sad, lonely, angry, or disappointed? What was I trying to fix/comfort by eating? Once I consciously recognize what's going on and identify it, then I short-circuit the emotional-eating habit with distraction. Do something else, anything else. I retrained myself to either go do something productive or something I enjoy: sip tea, read, check email, exercise/take a walk, do chores, text a friend, fiddle on Pinterest, crochet, or watch something. Anything but camping out in the kitchen staring longingly at the carbage. I caught myself every time and redirected the thought path. Over time, a new healthy thought-path is created. Your knee-jerk reaction soon becomes a default healthy behavior. It also helps to remind yourself what that post-carb-binge feels like physically and emotionally. Remind yourself how much that sucks. It really ISN'T worth it. Think about all the positives and benefits you enjoy that you'll be giving up. Remind yourself WHY you chose to eat healthy in the first place. For me, I wanted to feel better, be a better mother, not embarrass my husband any longer, and get off the path towards a miserable, diabetic/morbidly-obese future like the one I've watched destroy my Mother's health and quality of life.

It makes it easier, too, for when the food demons circle round- because those little jerks will, to set things up ahead of time so that you have a path of least resistance to follow. Don't bring that carby *kitten* in the house! If you live with carbivores like I do, put their junk in a closeable cabinet. Out of sight really can help you forget it's there. Also reminding yourself that it isn't yours can help, too. And: Plan, plan, plan! Pre-planning or pre-logging your day or outing is a must and always have on-plan snacks on hand at home or work. Over time these habits, once they become your normal, will give you momentum to carry on, despite hiccups that life throws at you, because you become so used to your new lifestyle that the positive thought pattern and the routines are effortless. It's actually easier to keep on keeping on with what you've been doing.

So despite whatever terrible nonsense life tries to give you, you can legitimately Keep Calm and LC On.

HTH.

Thanks for that! It's amazing how you can already know something but it somehow resonates more when it comes from someone who has already been there.

A very comforting read - we are all in this together, with same cravings. I always make the birthday cakes for our family but no longer feel the need to lick the bowl!

GaleHawkins wrote: »

elitedaily.com/life/culture/stop-self-sabotaging-hard-work/979211/

This is a struggle for most all mankind it seems. I am dealing with this in another area of life. This guy who has many talents is leading in a way (on the business side) that is guaranteed it will cause things will blow up. He then wants to blame others. It is hard to build a volunteer organization when the head is self sabotaging.

The article helped me see this morning how I do the same in many areas.

THIS!!!! Great article for all! Beautiful point..we DO deserve to be happy and healthy! Thanks for sharing!

Merrysix wrote: »

I really wanted to eat the birthday cake they had at work today for a co-worker, and am stressed out over lots of things, but I know where birthday cake leads me (craving more and more cake, more this and that, and pain in my joints and feeling terrible), so I had a protein smoothie instead, and now I am leaving work and going home to have dinner! I have a fun exercise session planned tomorrow and I know I won't go and feel terrible if I load up on the carbs! But it is a work in progress. I can go a month without feeling cravings and then they descend like a dark cloud. But giving in only makes it worse, and makes the cravings last longer (like 3 months instead of a few hours or at worst a few days!) I had a great exercise session this morning, wouldn't be able to do that if full of dumpy carbs!

@Merrysix Sometimes a compromise on this is to flip your cake upside down and only eat until you get close to the frosting. Avoid it at all costs. Most times, a piece of frostingless cake is only 20+ carbs, depending on size and type of cake. I can fit that in on a more indulgent day, and as long as I avoid the frosting, I don't end up with crazy cravings or gastro-distress. It's up to you to know if that would be a gateway thing, but I wanted to provide an option for future struggles.