Day 4-Friday

[Outback Jess]

Today is day 4 for me. I woke up with a headache again. A little of that inital excitement is gone... you know that feeling of taking control and feeling good about your choices. I come here at this point to aid in momentum. Getting that flywheel turning at first in anything new is always hard. Shifting the way I eat, my relationship with food, using strict discipline in my food choices and paying complete attention to every detail in this induction phase is a huge flywheel to turn... I remind myself, once the big wheel is moving, keeping it moving will be much easier. At the heart of momentum is self discipline. So, I am on my way

[ghelen]

Re: Day 4-Friday

hey OutbackJess- it's my day 4 as well. That was a very motivating

post. I know you can do it because you sound like you are in a very good mindset. We have to just take it one day at a time and hopefully before
we know it, day 14 will be here and we'll be feeling better than ever.
I will look forward to your day 14 post when you tell us all how much
weight you have lost.

[RachelnLa]

Re: Day 4-Friday

I can so relate to that excitement and then it teetering off. What do you do to keep that excitement? Weighing and measuring once a week to see your continued success. Trying new recipes really helps me. Reminding myself this WOE is forever really helped me to settle into my new lifestyle. Right now I'm concentrating on getting all my carbs in, trying new foods and seeing how they affect me, trying new recipes, see how clothes fit, how I feel about myself, how my body has changed, etc.

Living in the moment is important. I stopped thinking about how I would do things when I got to a dinner/party/function and started concentrating on the people, the conversations, the reason for the event, etc. This kinda swung my focus off of food. I do not want food to rule my life. I want it to be in it, but not consume my every waking moment. In the south, everything is centered around food. Heck, you cannot go visit a neighbor without them asking if you want something to drink or sample a new food they cooked. ack! I want to think of food as fuel for my body and not a requirement for an event.

I'm also trying to find ME in all this. What do i like? What are my hobbies? What is something I want to try and just never did!? I went from a wife, full time mom, working full time mom... I never had time for me. Oh, yeah, I use the computer a lot, but that's because it's easy to access when the kids are doing the things they love. I started reading more, visiting with friends, just getting out! I use to think I didn't LIKE doing those things. now I think my weight kept me from enjoying them. I'm rediscovering myself all over again.

Make sense?

[Outback Jess]

Re: Day 4-Friday

Wow, gals thanks for your encouragement. We are lucky to have this place to speak out, speak up and encourage. It's later in the day now, and I have just been sitting and reflecting on things, and I can feel that I have been in limbo this summer trying to rest up from a full year. i work with children in public schools, not as a certified teacher, but as a educational entertainer. I teach kids how to build charcter in a fun and entergetic way. Then I flip off that hat and I run the children's department in our church. This summer found me more worn out than ever. I think my "well" of inspiration, fun, energy and ideas had run too low. I have been walking around not "hearing" any thing in my head and heart for this new season approaching. I have heard me complain to myself, and be unhappy with things, while I just kept on eating way too much. Now today, as the big fly wheel begins to turn, I sat quietly and I started to "hear" ideas pop again and I felt like I was going to run on some new oil, some new ideas, some new motivations. I owe this moment in time to the new place my body is heading right into!!!!

[Outback Jess]

Re: Day 4-Friday

Rachel,
You make sense, really good sense. Just think, as you find yourself and take this journey, you can pass it along to your children, teaching them to find themselves. I love to use my life and all of it's ups and downs to teach my child, who is 15 all about living.
She is watching me closely right now. Finding and knowing ourselves, actually empowers us to live far more on purpose, with purpose, we can then teach our children how to live on purpose, for purposes that are in their heart.

Food blinds us to so much, and then we get stuck only seeing it, not the real life out there.

[Outback Jess]

Re: Day 4-Friday

Another thought, now that the juices are flowing. Doing Atkins is "having purpose" it is doing something on purpose for the purpose of health and life. It gets us up and moving, and that is what creates that momentum I was speaking about, and it beats sitting around stuck in our food, the old foods that robbed us of energy, the old depression, that took away the energy to break out of these cycles....Every where I turn on these b boards, people are living life, and expressing such joy in reclaiming their lives...
That is a great purpose to live for, on purpose (of course)

[RachelnLa]

Re: Day 4-Friday

I see myself reclaiming life too and it feels good! Hey, even skinny people have problems LOL But I want to be in control of my body! I think of it as a temple... others see how I treat it. It's a reflection of what I think about myself. I want to be GOOD to myself. I often put others first.. i should be putting myself there too! Taking time for myself is important and those kids learn this. They learn many ways - conversation, visually, hands-on... just as I preach to my sister that her kids need to be exposed to different foods even if SHE doesn't like them or they will never learn to like them.. I need to expose my children to healthy eating and exercise too. I have so much to learn and share.. and I want to!