Yeah, I have no idea what to write about tonight. It's a cold and rainy night and I spent the evening in my robe and slippers, listening through my music on iTunes trying to make a playlist. Ahhh good times. Dinner was tea and salad, a Smart Ones dinner (Rice & beans) and a gardenburger sandwich (yeah 'cause I'm random like that). OOh! I just realized I did have a small triumph today. They had yet ANOTHER potluck at work today and I portioned out my choices and stayed under 8 points. (probably less but I rounded up on the potatos)
Because I knew we were having that this morning I didn't bring a lot to eat for the rest of the day and had a yogurt and my current favorite snack: Jello Sugar Free Dulce Du Leche cups (1 point). Started adding a little exercise back into things. My friend Laurie stopped by and we went for a short, mini-walk in the wind and rain. And then had chiropractor on the way home. One of the things I do at the chiro is some traction on my neck and for this little magik move I have to kind of reverse wall-sit. Facing the wall and standing with knees bent for a count of 10, times 10. And that's been helping the leg muscles.
So, because I don't really know what to blog about I went to look at the weight watchers website and found an article on cravings and because it's Halloween week and there's candy all over the place....
Decode Your Cravings - Article by Sandra Gordon (summarized by your's truly)
Apparently 97% of women and 68% of men experience cravings, according to a study conducted at Canada's McMaster University in Ontario.
Shockingly (sarcasm alert) there are any number of different opinions on what causes cravings. Some think it's because we crave nutrients. There are psychological components to cravings - for instance if you are too restrictive (i.e. don't think about a giant hot fudge sundae with whipped cream, nuts, cherry and a big old glob of hot fudge on top......try not to think about it.....yeah....) you probably need to start adding little things that you enjoy in your diet. (May I suggest 100 calorie snack packs? You get to eat the WHOLE bag. )
Cravings can be emotional - triggered by stress, anxiety, guilt, anger.... (hello read my blog back a month or so ago...search for the title "anger") Feelings like this can lead to craving foods that cause us pleasure (see the mouth watering I got by just typing that description of the sundae). Cravings can come from positive emotions too: see eating at a party....
So, #1 to curbing the craving is identifying where it's coming from. Then try:
Distracting - go for a walk, read something to take your mind off it.
Fake it - find the lowest calorie version of what you crave...(100 calorie snack packs??)
Feed it - if you can't get away from the craving go out and feed it....just order from the kids' menu
Dig deeper - get to the core of where the craving is coming from. Chances are you won't have gotten rid of it by just pigging out...but if you can figure out what your triggers are you are probably better prepared for the next time there's a big vat of pea salad (or whatever you crave...hey don't judge!).
Yeah, I am a big fan of digging deeper. Eating for pain control or for boredom or "just 'cause" is always a symptom. And until we can get rid of the thing causing it we're just going to have to keep shopping for drawstring pants. (not that there's anything wrong with that)
One day. One pound. One step at a time.
~N
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