EEK! I’m Sabotaging Myself

I read this article yesterday morning, Sabotaging My Own Weight Loss; it’s a part of a series of Ashley Wisneiwski’s journey to weight loss. This particular article highlights the constant battle that I think a lot of women, me included, have: the “ups” and “downs” of our weight loss strategy. There will be days and weeks where I do extremely well on my “diet” (use that term loosely), but then there are times that I just throw caution to the wind and say “screw it!” I know as I’m committing these “diet” sins that it’s bad, I also realize that I’m going to regret it the next day. But somehow I rationalize it with the fact I’ve done so well on my eating plan, or ran 5 miles that day or just flat out had a tough day. Whatever the reason, I take a nose dive into sabotaging my eating plan and hate myself for it the next day.

Friends of mine joke me because after having a treat I feel the need to go exercise it off. Somehow compensating for the fact I’ve been bad. But it never makes me feel better; I just sit in a big pot of stew of regret. In Ashley’s story, her husband was the influence that made her realize she was doing this to herself. I have known all along that my mindset is not conducive, but I’m not sure how to change it. Like I said, I’ll do really well for a couple weeks and then BAM; all at once I’m back on the old eating pattern. Don’t get me wrong, my previous eating habits are not terrible. They don’t consist of eating out daily or anything like that, but they still aren’t ideal.

There are a few vices that I have, I really love Chinese food. I could eat it every day! I also enjoy all treats: cookies, candies, chocolate, pies, cakes, cheesecake, etc. They are every bit of their name TREATS! J I also enjoy wine. Craving these items isn’t necessarily a problem unless you’re diabetic or an alcoholic but my issue is moderation. I’ve told someone this before, I do not have that trigger that’s supposed to alarm you when you are full or have had enough. I just keep enjoying! That is when I need someone to say, ‘hey you’re sabotaging yourself!’

I felt relief when I read Ashley’s post because it made me feel like I wasn’t alone. It’s somewhat comforting to know that. So if there is anyone else out there reading this that identifies with our pain, please know that you too are not alone. I’m not sure the remedy that can fix the sabotage, but maybe the support of knowing others go through it too will help! Especially during the holidays…