Be the Tortoise, Not the Hare

Hi Joey! I read an article once about breaking bad habits that emphasized reinforcing a new, incompatible habit to replace the old one. It relates it to training animals. "If you have a problem with your pet eagle landing on your head the most efficient way to stop it is to reward landing on a mat at your feet, rather than struggle with extinguishing head landing." So in order to stop sneaky eating in bed, I need to find an alternate behavior to enforce. And if right now that means trading sweet and salty treats for healthy treats, I am all for it!

Mandy, my weekend was good! I had a great long run on Saturday, and a quick short run on Sunday, which resulted in what I believe is the most I have ever run in one week before. I'm pretty proud of that. I took yesterday off and will head back out this afternoon for a run. Boyfriend's nights are Sunday through Thursday. Sunday was PERFECT, I didn't eat anything, and instead was crazy productive around the house. Last night, well.... Boyfriend and I had a discussion that didn't go as I had wanted it to, so I decided we would just not talk anymore until he left for work (which is NEVER the right decision). And then I was sad. So I did end up eating ice cream (in a coffee mug) and Cheez-its (from a small bowl). Good news is that I didn't eat up either treat, even though there was only one true serving left of each. Small victories? I'll take them, I guess.
 
Small victories are great, good for you! Focusing on the negative helps nothing and often hinders you, keep focusing on the positive small victories and they will become bigger and better!
 
Hi, my name is Laura and it has been five days since my last binge! At least as far as eating goes.... Let's not talk about the last time I drank too much ;-)

I've been MIA for quite some time. Since I last posted I have run three races - a crazy overnight relay, a half, and a five mile turkey trot. Running races is part of me. It's what people know me as. But racing in New England has a season, and when that season is done, so is my exercise routine. And when I'm no longer eating as a way to properly fuel my body for a run, I am eating to cure boredom and anxiety and whatever other emotions I am feeling. This isn't working for me. I want to learn how to implement Hunger Driven Eating. Writing about my eating habits helps.

Also, I missed you guys. I've been secretly keeping up with some of you, and want to be able to offer my encouragement and companionship again. So here I am!

For anyone new who is stumbling upon this oh-so-unexciting diary, here is the overview:

28 year old female. Somewhere near 5'8". Currently resting at 153 pounds. I'm not here to lose weight, but to work on a healthier relationship with food. I binge eat when I am alone, and my number one priority is to figure out a way to change that habit.

And I've got some super strong legs but sad little arms, so maybe one of these days I'll also develop the ability to do a push-up.
 
Last night I had an interesting experience. Do you ever get towards the bottom of a bag of chips and justify eating the rest because there's "not enough for two servings?" I do that *constantly*! Well this time, I was dumping what I wanted into a bowl and when I discovered I had only left a tiny bit in the bag, I took some OUT of my bowl.

Whoa.

That might have been a first. And then I brought my bowl with me to the couch, along with the closed up bag, and said if I really wanted more then I could have more. But once I had finished my bowl I realized I was totally satisfied. So there was, in fact, "enough for two servings" in that bag.

I've been reading books that talk about how not allowing yourself food or labeling it 'bad' makes you want it more, and how you have to listen to your body because it will tell you when you've had enough much more successfully than your guilt-ridden emotional brain will. This may have been the first time I consciously implemented this strategy, though.

Also, they were pita chips, and Boyfriend was whining about how loud I was crunching. But normally that wouldn't stop me from eating more.
 
Laura F said:
Well this time, I was dumping what I wanted into a bowl and when I discovered I had only left a tiny bit in the bag, I took some OUT of my bowl.
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YAY! That is great :) Good job with the will power!

And I agree about completely denying yourself. Everything is OK within moderation - that what I am trying to remember. The moderation part can be hard but I do what I can. Working 2 jobs definitely helps with my temptations because I haven't been bringing chocolate or chips to work this week. I had a whole bag last week, but it took the whole week because I put it into sandwich bags as soon as I brought the bag home.

Hope today goes well for you too :)
 
icychic said:
Working 2 jobs definitely helps with my temptations because I haven't been bringing chocolate or chips to work this week. I had a whole bag last week, but it took the whole week because I put it into sandwich bags as soon as I brought the bag home.
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That is such a great method, sorting out individual servings immediately! That way it's your rational mind telling you how much to eat and not your hungry mind, haha. I like to do something similar with desserts. If I bake cookies I almost always freeze them after wrapping them up in individual servings. If there is a batch of cookies on the counter I'll eat ten, but I won't pull ten cookies from the freezer to eat!
 
Hi Laura! Glad to see you around again. I'm still working at implementing those intuitive eating skills. The back is letting me start up my running/walking again. I'm hoping this will be able to be a permanent fixture from now on. I wore my running shoes today to the office yto keep it on my mind. I'm sure harsh winters are a real challenge. Even though it doesn't get or stay too cold, the short days means running with a headlamp on for me. I wake up in the dark and it's dark when I get home. Just imagine how much more productive spring will be if we can manage some victories this winter. Good luck!
 
Thanks for saying hi, Q!!! And I'm happy to see you've been able to get back to running! I'll have to live vicariously through you for a while, as we just got our second snow storm since Saturday and walking outside in snow boots is still mildly dangerous. I've only worn a head lamp for running during my crazy overnight relay races. There was something very exciting about it.... I felt like a bad@$$. Also, I felt a little gross, because I wasn't the first person to run with that particular headlamp that night ::shudder::
 
We have highs in the 70s this week, but it was in the 20s last week. The headlamp is a cheap dim one that puts out enough light to keep me from wiping out on a pine cone in the road. I ran without it last time because there was a full moon. All the coyotes were howling and a hoot owl was close enough that I saw his shadow in the moonlight. It felt awesome!
 
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