Things at work have been very busy this week - with the announcement about my going to another branch for a year and the subsequent work hand off (and the mad scramble to get some major deals closed before I go) I'm feeling pressure and stress, but surprisingly not feeling the need to put food in my mouth to combat the stress.
Is it a change in the mental patterns?
I'm not sure. Whatever it is, though, seems to be working in my favour.
I'm drinking what still feels like gallons of water and I'm sleeping like the dead most nights (well, until I wake up in need of that 3 AM pee anyhow!) and I would have to say that 90 percent of the time I've got my "thinking about food all day" thing under control.
On that call on Wednesday night - the emotional eating one - the speaker (who is also my coach) reiterated the fact that we should all be eating until 80% full.
There's a Japanese phrase for it "Hara hachi bu" - and when I went looking for some more information about it I found out (courtesy of Wikipedia) that the Okinawa Diet (I remember hearing about that one and decided that it would probably be too hard for me to manage on my own) is partially based on this premise.
This is something I have been noticing for the last week or two. In the evenings when I have my shake I usually find that I still feel hungry when I am done drinking it - but I am done, so I stop consuming for the night. Within about half an hour I no longer have that "still hungry" sensation. This leads me to believe that I am actually satisfied with the amount of food I have consumed and that the sensation of still being hungry is actually (for me) all in my head.
Last night, being Saturday night (and the "finish work early" day) I cooked dinner (and had my other shake for lunch) and then apportioned it all out into 4 dishes so I could eat one and then freeze 3 for lunches. Just an aside, this is also how I have healthy, yummy and nutritious food for lunches, and is not a new practice for me. I sat down and ate my dinner and dutifully had my water... It was a slow and mindful meal - and at the end of the meal noticed I was still feeling "still hungry." Then, like clockwork, about 30 minutes later I really didn't feel "still hungry."
That was my "light bulb" moment (the one some people call their "Ah-ha!" moment) that second when I realized that it is OK to actually eat until I'm not "full" but that stopping where I did, would still leave me feeling SATISFIED.
Guess what? I LIKE feeling satisfied!
Oh - and yesterday I actually had 2 different people at work tell me that they have NOTICED that I am slimming down - and congratulated me on the progress I am making. I can't see my collar bones yet, I can't QUITE fit into my jeans yet, and I'm nowhere near fitting into my magic red dress... but DAMN, I'm feeling good!
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