Weight Loss: Are You a Human Garbage Can?

What to Do with the Leftovers?

Okay, tell me if you've ever done this: It's Monday late
afternoon. You decided yesterday that starting today you were
going to 1) eat right, and 2) start to get regular exercise, and
3) give up all your bad habits. So, you're picking things up
around the house and starting to notice all the little bits and
pieces of leftovers from the past weekend. Namely, cookies here,
and small bits of candy there. In my house today I noticed I had
three large shortbread cookies (I'm overly fond of shortbread
cookies with icing), several bags of the candy that resemble real
rocks which I keep saying I want to put in a jar, but I haven't
found just the right jar (for display, you know), and the
leftovers from the latest summer picnic, which in my case is
about five pounds of fruit salad - not bad in itself, but I can
only eat so much fruit salad.

And Then There's the Wine

Of course, I had to buy some wine at a tasting on Saturday (I
always buy it, don't know why I think those wine tasting's are
such a great deal - they always entice me to buy), and now
there's an open bottle waiting.

So, my thoughts are, "Do I eat this, or not?" "Do I throw it away
and WASTE it?" "Oh, my, dear no. That's not a good idea," I
think. Oh, I just remembered there is also an entire plate of
large cinnamon rolls (Cinnabon style) I made Friday night.
They'll be stale soon. That's not good. It'd be such a shame to
throw them all away, and I only ate one.

And so it goes. Do I talk myself into eating up the last remnants
of the weekend, thus going into Tuesday and possibly Wednesday
with the taste of weekend indulgence still on my lips, or do I
decide, really decide, I've had enough? It's time to eat better,
like I just said, last night. Remember last night? It seems so
long ago now ...

What if We Just Start Tomorrow?

It's interesting how easily we talk ourselves right out of what
we had decided yesterday was such a good idea. So what's wrong
with just starting tomorrow? What's wrong is that tomorrow never
comes. It's always today, right now. You'll never reach that
elusive tomorrow. Yes, the date on the calendar changes, but you,
standing where you are, right here, right now, are still here, in
the present. You can't live in the past, nor can you live in the
future. You can only live in the moment.

Decide Right Now: What Do you Want?

So if you want to decide, then decide right now. What do you
want, really want for yourself? Do you want to continue to
indulge yourself at every turn, or do you want to exercise just a
bit more discipline and see if you can get into better shape?
It's not about what you'll miss out on, it's about what you will
gain. Better health, more energy, endurance. You'll feel better,
you'll look better. It's all about what you'll gain, but in the
immediate moment, it's so easy to think only of right now. Yes,
but right now this would taste so good, wouldn't it, and there's
always tomorrow.

I've found that when I make a mental shift, a real shift, not
just a decision but a true change in my thinking, then I follow
through, and not until then. All the times I try to talk myself
into doing things that I don't really want to do, are not
successful. Probably they're not successful because I don't
really want to do them.

How do you get yourself motivated and stay that way? I start with
a list. List all the reasons you want to lose some weight. Think
in terms of a mini goal of five or 10 pounds. Make it a one month
goal, not a lifetime goal. It's fine to have long-term goals, but
if you really want to learn to change for good, then you need to
make it something you can live with. Incorporate real change into
your lifestyle and you can indulge at a holiday party without it
making any difference; without it throwing you off the deep end.
When you go on vacation you'll come back maybe a couple pounds
heavier, but it won't matter. You'll have eaten what you wanted,
you'll have had a wonderful time, and not stressed yourself over
whether you're gaining weight.

Why I want to lose Weight

What's my first mini-goal? (1 week to 1 month). What's my
longer-term goal? (1 month to 1 year)
How strict must I be for this to work? (Pre-planned or legalized
deviations works very well for many people)
Sometimes, especially if you use a plan that incorporates
"legalized cheating" then you'll end up with some leftover food.
Get used to getting rid of it. Give it away, throw it away, it
really doesn't matter. You're not doing yourself any favor by
eating all the leftovers. So what if the cinnamon rolls go stale?
I ate one and really enjoyed it, and that's what's important.
Others also ate some cinnamon rolls, and even if no one had any,
did I make them to eat them all, or did I make them because I was
in the mood to make cinnamon rolls? Does eating them all myself
make any sense at all?

Sometimes I feel a little guilty making goodies and then giving
them away because I think I'm not making it any easier for others
to stick to their plans, but then I remember what I do in that
situation, and I have to assume others are adult about how they
decide to take care of themselves too. If I decide I'm going to
eat in a more healthful manner, and someone brings something
unexpected, it's not difficult in most all circumstances to
simply say, "No, thanks. I already ate," or take some on a plate
for later.

Since I don't go on "restrictive" diets, then I can incorporate
pretty much anything into my day's food plan. I just eat it, when
I'm hungry. I find it so much easier to base my eating on whether
I'm hungry, than on whether something is there. Just because
unexpected people show up, doesn't mean you use them, does it?
Honestly, do you think anyone is upset when you leave a bit more
for them? I don't think so.

The Case of the Missing Wedding Cake

When I was a teenager my mother remarried and I offered to buy
the wedding cake. I had an ulterior motive though. My favorite
bakery, Beaverton Bakery, was where I intended to get the cake,
and I knew by ordering far more than would be necessary there'd
be lots and lots of leftovers for me to gorge myself silly on
after the festivities. Ha.

What happened instead is a blur. I don't know really what
happened to the cake but I do know I not only didn't get any
leftovers, I never even had a piece at the wedding. I tend to get
caught up in the people and don't usually eat at parties, so I
paid it no attention, and much to my dismay someone else had
bundled it up before I got there to do so. Alas, I was never to
taste that cake at all. Such a disappointment - it must have
been, I still remember it now and that's been more than 24 years
ago now! LOL.

Food memories stick with me for a very long time. That day is my
prime example of how I would not have minded one little bit if
more people had said, "No thanks, I just ate," and passed on the
cake. I just wish I'd been a little more alert in setting aside a
hunk for later.