Eat MORE?

 

People striving for a healthier lifestyle psych themselves out. I'm one of those people.

 

I'm fat.

 

It's no secret to me or anyone else around me. Oh, I don't doubt that I have beautiful features. My teeth are lovely, my eyes sparkly, and I have nice finger nails and a good singing voice. But, I'm fat. I wasn't always this way, well, no, strike that. I always remember being heavy. But I was athletic and so it wasn't as much of a problem. Then circumstances came up and my weight ballooned and then I became obese. The cycle continues from there. I was depressed and so I ate more and I would now probably be considered morbidly obese. Again, this is obvious to anyone who would see me or pass me on the street.

 

This girl isn't pregnant. Not with triplets. She's fat.

 

Like others who are on a weightloss journey you think that 'dieting' is about eating less. This really is a catch 22. See when I think of eating less I think these nightmare inducing thoughts:

 

no starbucks

no ice cream

no pizza

no cereal

no Pals

no Starbucks (wait, did I say that already?)

 

The problem with this thinking is that you are already telling yourself all the things that you think you CAN'T have anymore. Now look, I don't know about you, but telling myself that I can't ever have another black and white mocha again....EVER is something that I just refuse to accept. We look at getting healthy as restricting ourselves from things that we enjoy because those things have made us fat.

 

Look here, Starbucks did not make me fat. Ben & Jerry did not make me fat. I made me fat.

 

But Charlotte, you say, some people have hormone imbalances or glandular problems. I understand this. I agree with this I fall into this category. But having a slow thyroid isn't an excuse for me being fat and it's not the main reason ever. Having a venti once or twice a month won't make you gain 80 pounds. Having one once or twice a week probably will add on a few.

 

Eating the recommended serving of ice cream every week or so won't send you to the fat farm. Eating a pint of ice cream twice a week probably will pull out your luggage.

 

The key to success with getting healthy...

allow me to digress a moment.

 

I hate the word "diet". I know that I have talked about his before. Your diet is what you DO eat, not what you DON'T eat. I will not use it.

 

Anyway, the key to success with obtaining and maintaining a healthier lifestyle is to eat MORE!

 

What the what, you say?

 

Yes, eat MORE! Eat MORE of the things that are good for you and less of the things that aren't. You don't have to give up going out to a nice place to eat with your significant other every now and then and having and app and an entree and a dessert and a drink. In limited engagements this is ok. It helps you remember that you aren't restricting yourself from everything that you love and that makes you feel like a normal person. But doing this three or four times a week is not a great idea.

 

Eat MORE veggies and fruits (but watch the sugar with fruit), eat MORE whole grains, eat MORE protein. Eat less sugar, less carbs, less fat, less empty calories. Eat MORE times a day. Studies have showing that eating 5-6 small meals a day (every 2-3 hours) is better than eating the 3 meals a day that we were brought up on. By eating consistently throughout the day like this it stops bloodsugar spikes and your body doesn't think that you are starving it.

 

Here is a good example.

 

Yesterday I didn't eat much at all. I slept till about 10 because I was feeling under the weather and I didn't eat anything till about 1 before I went for a walk. I ate a snack after the walk and then a fish salad and some rice noodle soup for dinner. I use the My Fitness Pal app on my phone and according to it my daily caloric target is 1930 cals based on my current weight. It says tat I took in 1302 cals, but with the off set for exercise only had 966. The day before (Thursday) I took in 1681 with no exercise. I lost MORE weight between Thursday and Friday than I did between Friday and Saturday.

 

Your body needs food to live. We use food for fuel and you don't waste fuel. Think of your body as your car. When your gas tank is full do you stand there and keep putting gas in and let it run out of the tank? Hopefully not. Your body is the same way. There is no reason to keep stuffing your tank full of excess fuel that you don't need and that you don't use. Eat to live, stop living to eat.

 

This is hard, extremely hard. Putting good things into your body will CHANGE you! It will change your body and your mind and it will change the way you think about food and weight and exercise and moderation and yes, even your diet.

 

Moderation not elimination.

Eat MORE.

(good stuff)