Veggie Tales

So you know that thing where people believe that if they do something consistently for 21 days straight that it becomes a habit? Well you know I always thought it was hokum, because who can keep up something for 21 days without life interrupting? (e.g. lifting weights, going to the gym, eating well, counting your WW points) Everyone slips up once in awhile so then your 21 days is nullified and you have to start from the beginning right? Well I'm starting to believe that the 21 days is not a hard rule..."what are you talking about Carol?" here is what I *believe* and when I put ** on either side of believe it's because I think something has happened, without any seemingly extra painful effort on my part and without any scientific data to back it up :P I have become a habitual healthy eater.... *gasp!!* "ok now we think you're just crazy Carol!" Tcha, me too! At first I just figured that it was just easy to eat fruit and veg, that it was a free points fill the belly kind of option, that I knew all the point values and that if I stuck to the plan that way, I'd have more points for the "fun stuff" Which I do to a certain extent... I'll never be able to stop eating pizza! But slowly we've converted our occasional pizza splurge from a medium meat lovers with ground beef, bacon, ham and pepperoni to our most recent splurge of chicken, green peppers and tomatoes... and it was still awesome!


The main reason that I *believe* the healthier eating has now become a habit is that having the one "fun stuff" meal (other than pizza) isn't fun anymore. Case in point... my evidence:

1. Went to the movies with the girls and ordered nachos at dinner before the movie. That was ok it had lot's of veg on it, it was the chocolate I ate at the movies... I felt like crud after I got home...

2. There was a work BBQ last week, had a burger (which I had planned for) but the side dish was a stupid bag of chips. After eating the bag of chips... I felt like crud. uber oogy!

3. Decided out of the blue that I wanted to have some pasta, but not pump it up with my regular ton of veggies. I felt like crud and suffered the whole next day :(

4. One day I decided to have the full fat frappaccino with the whipped cream and the whole shebang..... I felt like crud and paid for it for a few hours...

5. Went to Ribfest the rib and chicken festival and had pulled pork, a chicken breast and an ice cream cone... I felt like so much crud the next morning.. it was like a food hangover!

These incidents have only occurred in the last 3 months, but I've been following WW for the last 6 months... so well beyond 21 days and not consciously avoiding all the above items, but by default by trying to stay on my points.. I've eliminated a lot of bad food choices the majority of the time... again I am not perfect (re: the pizza obsession) It seems that my body has decided on it's own that the "fun foods" are not fun anymore, but now that I'm fully aware of that.. I'm totally cool with it! Now when I have a stoopid craving (like for a doughnut for example) I am now armed with the knowledge that not only will that doughnut be a dangerous point item, but that if I indulge like I used too (3 or 4 doughnuts) that I can cause myself several hours of distress.... and no craving is big or bad enough for me to indulge.... so one doughnut *might* happen, but 3 or 4 won't happen again! I mention doughnut because I've had a craving for a few weeks now and I've been denying myself... and the last rerun of Biggest Loser had a temptation challenge with a room full of doughnuts! It looked really gross as they were smooshing all the doughnuts to get the poker chip with the prize of the challenge

I've also noticed a few other things:

- I feel better when I limit my diet soda to one or two a day.
- I feel better when I drink at least 1 litre of water per day
- I feel better and more satisfied when I eat veggies with lunch and dinner
- I feel more satisfied when I have fruit instead of a 100 calorie snack
- I feel better when I get to exercise, If I don't I feel achy and slug-like
- I lose more weight, or keep more weight off when I exercise more than 3 times per week
- I feel more energy in general when I exercise
- I feel the good kind of tired when I get to exercise.... when I don't, I feel like a slug on a rug on drugs!

Dammit, all those fitness people were right! How can this be!!! This is not news, this is not a revelation, but this is the first time in my life that I have done the fitness and eating well combo together and for so long, that I am only now just beginning to see the light. How stupid do I feel? Well a bit, but I think my main problem, and the problem of many others is that we're not happy unless we see big results. That's probably the most prominent reason for Biggest Loser's popularity. "DUHHHH" you say? well I know it's obvious, but when I look back on my life and all the things I've tried, bought and done to lose weight, everything and I mean everything got dropped because I wasn't happy with enough results. Oh yeah the first week I'd lose 7 pounds and then all the weeks after it would be 1 or 2 pounds... This time, something seems to have clicked, I know I still bitch and moan about only loosing 20 pounds in the last year, but that's just the fat girl aching to be skinny already! I realize that a lifestyle change has to be made, it's not going to happen overnight, it's not going to be easy and it's probably not going get me to my goal weight within the next year, but dammit, I never want to be 250 + pounds ever again. There is no reason for me to choose to fail, when success is an option. I want success to be my only option... let's just take that little checkmark box and the word FAIL off the page totally! Even if it takes me years to make it to goal, I don't want to go back to where I started..... ever....EVER!

I want to reshape my vision of myself from a tired cranky pants person to an active happy athlete/runner.

ps... gave in to the doughnut craving... wasn't really worth it, didn't taste as good as I remember...... it's just mind games that your body plays with you!!! Proud to say that I didn't eat a ton of doughnuts... just one.. and it was for research purposes...I swear! LOL
 
ps ps... on the downside, because I went to Ribfest this week, my weight is up *sigh*  figures that as soon as I'd track my weight publicly that I'd have to post a gain right away... Next week will be better!  Mainly because Ribfest will be done on Saturday LOL