Changing Habits- Update on Day Five

Have you ever had a day when you had to drag yourself out of bed?  That was my morning yesterday. I just couldn’t get my body moving. Koda and I even delayed our walk until mid morning, because I had little energy. It seems my body was trying to tell me something.

I know I’m making changes. We are such habitual creatures. Over these 21 days I know that I’m creating new habits with a new eating and exercise plan and that changes in how I feel are to be expected. I just want them to be positive changes!

The biggest thing I’ve noticed over the last week is that I have less energy and I’m not hungry. Yet, I still think, “Hmmm, it’s noon, I should eat lunch”, or “Time for a snack”. In the past, I’d go get something to eat- even when I wasn’t hungry! From that, I put on additional pounds from food that my body didn’t need.

It’s really interesting to me to see how little we actually need to eat to stay alive and thrive. When I look at my food diary at the end of the day and see about 12 pieces of fruit or veggies all day, it seem like so little. Don’t believe me? The next time you reach for something to eat, ask yourself,  “Am I really hungry, or is this just a habit”?  It’s really quite freeing to make conscious choices that will improve our health and  self image.

While I don’t expect that after 21 days I magically won’t ever crave another chocolate chip cookie, I do expect that I’ll be conscious of the habits that I used to have, in addition to the new ones that I’ve created. I’ll make healthier choices  without thinking twice about it.

Last night was a big test for me as I attended a party at a friend’s home. There was an amazing spread of food from appetizers to main dishes to an entire dessert buffet. Interestingly enough, with all of this food, my fruit salad was the only thing there that was either a plain fruit or a vegetable. Everything else was some gourmet dish with cheese, sauce, etc. It looked very yummy, but at the same time, I was surprised that with 50 dishes there, I could eat only one.

Part of me felt deprived and another part of me felt grateful for the fruit. As I sat with friends who were eating a plate of brownies and cheesecake, my taste buds were yearning for what they had. Who knows, maybe after a period of time I’ll no longer choose to eat sugar and dessert items, but tonight the variety of food looked great.

I feel like this experience has made me more of an observer of myself.  I’m watching what I’m doing and paying more attention to how it makes me feel. It’s as if I’m learning and seeing things for the first time.

I’m still happy I’m doing this, but the weight loss is going much more slowly than I anticipated. In the last 5 days I’m  only down one pound!  It feels like such a sacrafice to just eat fruits and veggies. I miss grains and fish. I’m also really tired, so I’m not sure what’s going on there either. I’m normally so full of energy and I just don’t have it this week.

For the first time in recent history, I took a nap yesterday afternoon. I just couldn’t keep my eyes open! I’m going to do a bit of research and see if this is the plan for me. I don’t like feeling so down and sleepy. I’ll keep you posted. Yawn…..