Diversions

There was a great post from The Fit Shack in Anna's carnival.

JoLynn says;  "We know though, that if we eat when we aren’t even hungry, or eat non-nutritious foods rather that going for the healthy choice, that we will be sabotaging our own best interests." and later she continues: "...if we could eat in moderation, then we likely would not be working to lose weight."
On this weeks show Anna and I both try and get behind why we overeat. I've thought about this a lot, because if I am miserable I will eat, but on the other hand if I am celebrating and happy - I will eat.

I genuinely dont think there's any deep underlying cause to explain why I overeat.

I think its quite simple and indeed quite justified:

I love food.

Full Stop.

So just like when a child really enjoys doing something, and wants to repeat it over and over again (remember the Postman Pat ride at the seaside anyone?) the best way to stop the repetition is to put in place a diversion, or indeed a set of diversions.

I'll give these some thought. Some are obvious like going for a walk, or a bath etc. But I find I am most likely to stray really spontaneously - within a couple of seconds - without a thought almost.

For example I will just pop into the larder and before I've considered it - eat a biscuit. Or in the office someone will offer me cake or chocolate and really quickly I've eaten the darned thing! Yes, yes I know these moments are not even as enjoyable as eating slowly!

I'm working on it, and this mornings diversion from the larder is...

this blog post!

(and its worked)

Comments

[JoLynn]

Hi Heather,

I'm so happy that you used my suggestions to divert yourself, and it worked! :) I can truly relate to what you wrote: "But I find I am most likely to stray really spontaneously - within a couple of seconds - without a thought almost."

This is why I have found that I need to have a list of diversions ready for those times when all of my logical thinking flys out the window (because I want ...fill in the blank... food). If I have diversions planned out ahead of time, then all I have to do is direct myself to that list (or the jar, like I wrote about in my post). It's good to come up with your own list because you know what diversions will work the best for you. ;)

Of course, if you're actually hungry, that's a different matter, but I use the diversions for when I just want to eat "something" and I'm not hungry. 9 times out of 10, that "something" is not going to help me lose weight, either!

Thanks very much for writing about my post, I hope that others can benefit from it, too, as well as benefiting from your experience with it. I wish you continued success with your weight loss!

JoLynn

[Heather Gorringe]

JoLynn
Thank you for your comments. Of course interesting that you mention hunger. Its a very difficult thing to relate food to hunger I think. But I'm working on it...