I was out of town last week, and tried my best to continue being calorie conscious. This morning I am back to counting as best as I can because I have had such good success. I did weigh myself this morning, and it was right where it has liked to be. Not bad for a week out of town and not counting!
In case you didn't read the Spring thread, I am counting calories to try to stay in the recommended amount to maintain weight for my size and activity level. And it's hard! 2000 calories leaves me hungry, and I've lost some excess pounds in the process. Most days I hit around 2300 and I feel better. I'm not even "dieting", and I am shocked at how hard it is, and surprised at how great the results are.
At this point, after two weeks, my body is fairly well "reset". I can often feel just a little hungry without having my brain harangue me to eat immediately, and it has learned to eat enough to satisfy but not fill up, or to fill up and then wait long enough to digest fully. It really puts you in touch with what your body is asking for, and not what your brain is begging for.
But reverting back to old ways is so easy, which is why I am continuing.
I've dropped dairy, at least for a while. I had a mocha for the first time in a long while-- with plain milk rather than half-n-half or cream. It's amazing how bad it made me feel. I know I have a lactose sensitivity but thought I'd learn enough of the intricacies of how my body reacts to get away with yogurt and most cheese, etc. But that day I felt so bad I remembered how bedraggled I felt before I discovered how many food allergies I had and how much better I felt when I eliminated them. It's time to throw off dairy and see if that affects my motivation levels, which are often in the pits.
Which is the weight I feel because of anxiety, and which is the weight I feel caused by my body trying to kick off food it doesn't like? I'm hoping to find out.
This morning I had a bowl of quinoa, plain, "lite" coconut milk, raspberries and 2 tsp brown sugar. It was pretty tasty, and I didn't really miss my yogurt and frozen berries. I can't have quantities of any milk substitutes, so eliminating dairy is about eliminating all those foods that rely on it, and this morning I had my coffee black. Coconut milk is often indigestible, but a few tablespoons on my quinoa wasn't too much. (AND, the total for breakfast is a tiny bit less than what my usual breakfast was. Those tiny reductions start adding up!)
I don't have a particular goal for this season. I'm hoping to see 130 one morning, but I look good and feel good and it is not too difficult to maintain this weight, so I need not to obsess that it's still a bit heavy for my frame. Whatever. I'm doing great. I need to keep doing great-- that is my challenge.