Jamilyn's 30th Birthday Wish page 17

[Judg]

Good luck with it, Jamilyn. I lost 8 pounds every 3 months on that system for almost two years. It adds up. You don't impress the people who think faster is better, but it stays off this way, which is a much more important victory, the way I see it.

[Jamilyn121]

Yes Judg, I agree..

Okay so I had my first Weight Watchers meeting today and I am impressed! They are still missing the mark on a few things such as the idea that fat is BAD.. But, they also really push the fact that you need to eat whole foods, no processed stuff. Some of the information made my eyes cross and so I just let it fly over my head, and some of it was great. Overall, the sense of support and accountability was there and that is why I joined. I have seen that I just can't do this alone, I need some help. If Weight Watchers is what it has to be for now, then I'll do it. There were several women there that were my age as well. So I'm hoping to break into the group and make some friends out of this thing! AND my leader is Gluten Free due to Celiac's disease. So, I'm pretty excited about that.

[Judg]

That has always been the strength of Weight Watchers, I think: the face-to-face accountability. And the fact that they are not a fad diet. Glad you're able to adapt it to make it more primal.

[Jamilyn121]

Happy Monday everyone!

It always cracks me up after being good on Primal for a few days, how amazing my mood shifts. You'd think I would like this feeling enough to stay in control all the time. Duh!!

Anyways, the girls and I had a really great weekend of visiting my family and hanging out. I stayed pretty primal throughout our welcome home party for my Brother and his family. I did indulge in some tasty treats, but I was proud of how I handled myself. Stuck mostly to the meat and the veggie tray. Did indulge in a few beers, but at least I did it consciously, and not just as a habit.

I have also figured out that I have been eating wayyyy too much. Now that I am following (sort of) weight watchers, I am tracking what I am eating. I have really been overdoing it on the fat. I'm sure no human needs as much oil and butter as I have been enjoying on a daily basis. So the past couple of days, I cut that back a bit and still feel very good. Not really hungry in between meals, still in a great mood, still have the urge to go climb a tree outside my office... I'm not there yet, my mind still thinks I am much lighter and more in shape than I am. I have a feeling that actually climbing that tree right now could seriously injure me or the tree..

On another note, I had a really interesting epiphany this morning. Last night, I indulged in a few cocktails for no really good reason. I woke up feeling fine but still was starting to get on myself about the drinking. Telling myself the same old thing, "It doesn't matter if he is drinking, you don't need to do it if you don't feel like it.." Then all of a sudden, a lightbulb went off. I am reading an amazing book called The Power Of Habit. This book talks about how many things we do on a daily basis we do out of habit. It takes a cue, then you do your routine, then you get your result. I thought about what had happened yesterday evening. I knew immediately what my cue was. I had started thinking that I needed to clean the basement. This is the area that is unfinished and where we store EVERYTHING. It is an absolute mess and bugs me on a minute to minute basis. Every single time I start thinking about going to clean it, I get this strong urge to fix a cocktail to enjoy while doing it. I mean EVERY TIME. I had never really noticed that before. It had become a habit that if I wanted to go clean the basement, I wanted to grab a drink first. **I know this is insane and sick but it is very true*** The result that I get from that routine is avoidance. I get to get distracted by my husband watching something good on TV and we make having a cocktail a social event, thus distracting me from actually getting any cleaning done at all. So how do I fix this? I asked myself this morning. I need to take that same cue, and change my routine to form a new habit. So this week, I am dedicating 30 minutes every single night to going downstairs, turning on my Pandora radio, and cleaning something in the basement, without anything but my lovely seltzer water and orange slice. So I still have the same cue, still get a yummy drink, add some awesome music, and put a time limit on my work so that I cannot be overwhelmed with hours of work.. The result wont be the same (avoidance), however I can still have that fun TV time with hubby if I want because I only have to do 30 minutes of work. That is one bad TV show that I can skip a night. I think this revelation is the beginning of something very important in my life.

Oh yeah, and back down a couple of lbs. today. Does anyone want to do some sort of group challenge (doesn't have to be weight related) to get through the holidays? Let me know

[ecks]

I'd love to see peoples different holiday treat recipies. that'd be a fun theme for december

[Jamilyn121]

Ooh Ecks, I like that one.. Also, I was thinking some accountability for me is always helpful. I would love to get through Thanksgiving with minimal damage.. So maybe we all could post our goals for the holiday season and events and then follow up with what happened. For example, I LOVE thanksgiving because I get the potatoes, sweet potatoes, a warm roll, and stuffing and then pour gravy on it ALL!!! LOL, so this year one of my goals is to have the sweet potatoes with butter and then do stuffing with gravy and skip the roll and regular potatoes. Still gives me some of what I love while avoiding such an excessive amount of junk.

[ecks]

Made the BEST gravy with my buddy on the weekend. Outside of some white wine I would say that it's paleo/primal (I'm one to argue that wine is paleo to a certain extent). You should look up some paleo gravy recepies. Also while you're at it, try making stuffing out of cauliflower... works like a charm (just grate it down, mix in onion, spices, and some fat that would pair well with the animal you are stuffing, send it up the ass end of said animal, cook and enjoy )

[Judg]

That strategy sounds absolutely fantastic, Jamilyn. And you're right, you will be able to use variations of it in so many contexts.

Says the woman currently engaged in avoidance behaviour...

[Jamilyn121]

Says the woman currently engaged in avoidance behaviour...

Bahahaha

[Judg]

Busted. But I started on what I was avoiding, so I feel better now.