This is my trap, my nemesis, my white whale: I start out the day with a plan. It's a GOOD plan. It has the perfect blend of meals, snacks, exercise, hydration, protein, carbs... The plan is flawless.
Then someone leaves doughnuts in the lounge with a sign that says, "Enjoy!" And the plan, which will bring me long-term happiness if I consistently stick with it, is overshadowed by the pink box of rainbow-sprinkled instant gratification. Now, if I were better at intuitive eating, I would ask myself, "Do I want a doughnut? If so, why? Will having the doughnut meet that need? If not, what else can I do that would meet that need? If so, can I be happy with just one? If not, why?" Intuitive eating means asking a lot of questions. I do try to ask myself these questions, and I try to be OK with eating the doughnut if that is really what I want and it will bring me happiness because, after all, it's just an effing doughnut. Life is short. Eat the bloody doughnut and move on.
But I am very focused on my plan. I am very focused on the SUCCESS of my plan. And when I do something that interferes with the plan, I figure it's a lost cause because it is no longer a perfect plan. It is flawed. There's no hope of saving that plan anymore. It is ruined. So, if the plan is ruined anyway, why stop at one doughnut? I rarely reach the stage where food loses it's tastiness. The second doughnut often tastes just as good as the first, and the third or fourth equally so.
Of course, this is completely illogical. I recognize that. After all, I may do a DAILY meal plan, but my body doesn't know what day it is. It doesn't know that at midnight we start over and what I did yesterday no longer counts and today is a new day with no mistakes in it, Anne Shirley. My body just knows calories in-calories out. So, logically, eating that second, third, and fourth doughnut isn't just kicking today's plan in the face, it's also kicking tomorrow's plan and the next day's plan. As I'm writing this, I am realizing this.
Part of my renewed efforts at my healthy lifestyle include a written plan. This is how I started on
Isagenix, and it brought me much success. It was when I tried to just wing it that I lost my grasp on the goals. So, I've made my week's meal and exercise plan. It is printed out and on my phone. When I have a lapse in judgment, or my intuitive eating questions tell me that yes, I do want that danish, I will have the danish and then continue with the plan. Granted, if I am being honest with myself, I think I will find that I need the danish RARELY. Danish is probably just a metaphor for "Talk with the boy about why he didn't call to cancel dinner with you until late in the day," anyway. But between the intuitive eating questioning and the renewed efforts to not let one danish turn into 40 because "why not? the day is ruined anyway," I think I will see some significant improvement in both my mood and my measurements.
Then someone leaves doughnuts in the lounge with a sign that says, "Enjoy!" And the plan, which will bring me long-term happiness if I consistently stick with it, is overshadowed by the pink box of rainbow-sprinkled instant gratification. Now, if I were better at intuitive eating, I would ask myself, "Do I want a doughnut? If so, why? Will having the doughnut meet that need? If not, what else can I do that would meet that need? If so, can I be happy with just one? If not, why?" Intuitive eating means asking a lot of questions. I do try to ask myself these questions, and I try to be OK with eating the doughnut if that is really what I want and it will bring me happiness because, after all, it's just an effing doughnut. Life is short. Eat the bloody doughnut and move on.
But I am very focused on my plan. I am very focused on the SUCCESS of my plan. And when I do something that interferes with the plan, I figure it's a lost cause because it is no longer a perfect plan. It is flawed. There's no hope of saving that plan anymore. It is ruined. So, if the plan is ruined anyway, why stop at one doughnut? I rarely reach the stage where food loses it's tastiness. The second doughnut often tastes just as good as the first, and the third or fourth equally so.
Of course, this is completely illogical. I recognize that. After all, I may do a DAILY meal plan, but my body doesn't know what day it is. It doesn't know that at midnight we start over and what I did yesterday no longer counts and today is a new day with no mistakes in it, Anne Shirley. My body just knows calories in-calories out. So, logically, eating that second, third, and fourth doughnut isn't just kicking today's plan in the face, it's also kicking tomorrow's plan and the next day's plan. As I'm writing this, I am realizing this.
Part of my renewed efforts at my healthy lifestyle include a written plan. This is how I started on
Isagenix, and it brought me much success. It was when I tried to just wing it that I lost my grasp on the goals. So, I've made my week's meal and exercise plan. It is printed out and on my phone. When I have a lapse in judgment, or my intuitive eating questions tell me that yes, I do want that danish, I will have the danish and then continue with the plan. Granted, if I am being honest with myself, I think I will find that I need the danish RARELY. Danish is probably just a metaphor for "Talk with the boy about why he didn't call to cancel dinner with you until late in the day," anyway. But between the intuitive eating questioning and the renewed efforts to not let one danish turn into 40 because "why not? the day is ruined anyway," I think I will see some significant improvement in both my mood and my measurements. 
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