Thursday, January 13, 2011

Is there such thing as "food withdrawal"

Hello World,

Today is day 5. Almost one week! Sorry I haven't been writing in the past few days. I've been so busy and just plain tired. This past week has been final exam week and it's been stressful because as you know there's a tremendous amount of pressure on teachers these days to produce data that shows the students as being proficient. I haven't bent much though through the stress as far as cheating. My students were playing Jeopardy and the winners and the runner-ups got extra credit points added back to their final exam grade and candy. Jeopardy started last Friday and went until yesterday. In this short amount of time, I ate maybe 2-3 peices of bite size candy such as Snickers or Twix. I was so proud of myself because in times of stress I could go through much more than that.

I feel scared at the moment because I have to break a routine. Usually when I'm exhausted or tired, I go right for the comfort foods: Chinese, pasta, pizza... I suppose all of the carbs. Now, I am becoming very conscious of NOT going after these things, but at the same time I feel extremely fatigued. I feel like I'm going through withdrawals from the normal foods that I eat! I have such urges sometimes that I have to distract myself by doing something else or think of something gross so it averts my want for the food.

I never realized how much I was eating until I really started paying attention and actually saying no. I am very nervous, however, because this weekend Josh and I are going to South Florida to visit with Jay and Demetrio. I'm so scared I'm going to eat so badly and drink. I already promised myself that I wasn't going to drink through this process, but I'm going to be with all of these boys. What happens if I revert back to these old ways and I ruin everything I have worked so hard for!? I know I shouldn't worry about it and when the time comes I will make the right decision, but what scares me is in the past, I didn't make those good decisions. I don't want to make those mistakes again. All the support is welcomed :)

4 comments:

  1. You can do it! Just remember what you're aiming for. Check out my blog, too. I just posted about having 4 days off in a row (because of the snow). We went to the bar Monday and Tuesday and I didn't drink the 2nd time because I used so many points the first day. Save your points for the night you want to eat/drink most. Don't deprive yourself, because you'll end up over-eating at a later time. Just work out and drink lots of water! Plus, who wants a hangover 2 days in a row? My fiance was so jealous of me Wednesday morning when I was feeling great (because I drank 4 huge glasses of water, while he drank about 7 beers.) :) You'll be SO proud of yourself Sunday night. Good luck!

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  2. I know exactly how you feel. It is normal to worry about falling back into old habits and ruining the hard work you have put into this journey. But, what I have learned is that when I stress about it, is when I actually decide "what the heck, I'll just do better next week!" And I feel completley overwhelmed (& disgusting!) at the end of the night.

    I started my weight loss journey in 2008 and have lost 50 pounds, it does get easier but it never really gets easy. You can't think of the comfort/bad foods as totally off limits (because I swear saying you "cant" have things makes you want them even more!! lol). It's all about portion control. You can eat and drink whatever you want....as long as you do it in moderations. Again, I know easier said than done.

    So, this weekend when you are faced with temptations, just take a minute to think about how hard you've worked this past week and how proud you will feel at the end of the weekend for sticking to your guns about living healthier. That is always more than enough encouragment to do it again the next weekend!!

    Good luck & I can't wait to follow your journey!! :)

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  3. 2 things - 1) your kids really enjoyed Jeopardy! and 2) I think that giving in a teeny bit to impulse is not only ok, but healthy. The alternative is that you'll add even more stress to yourself because you're too restrained. Though im not dieting for weight loss, I also have to be thoughtful about my food choices right now, so I can totally empathize with wanting to give in to an awful day by stuffing your face with pizza.

    If you have a couple of drinks with friends, don't feel too guilty. You're celebrating another successful teaching week! In fact, tie one on for me because I'm really missing it. :)

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  4. It's Rolfe, btw. And I just realized that may have been more than 2 things. Guess that's why I don't teach math.

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