DAY 33

Don't eat for emotional reasons.
Do you eat when you are stressed, bored, angry,
guilty...or any other emotion?
Eating will not help you with these emotions,
in fact it only makes matters worse.
There is nothing wrong with negative emotions.
They are Gods way of indicating there is a problem to
go to him for.
Do you think you can't tolerate negative emotions?
You can! Just like hunger, a negative emotion is not an emergency!
When you are tempted to eat when not hungry or, when it is not
on your plan ask yourself, what am I feeling? Use the
techniques learned about overcoming cravngs.
Tomorrow we will discuss working on problems behind the feelings.

Chicken Wing Study

Source: www.youtube.com

Brian Wansink and CNN's Dr. Gupta explore the idea that people eat with their eyes and not with their stomachs.

DAY 32

Prepare for Travel
About a week before your trip create a diet strategy.
Remind yourself of it every day before you leave.
It is unrealistic to expect that you will be able to
keep to your diet as closely as you would at home.
But this choice is up to you. The important thing is to decide ahead of time
will you keep to your diet strictly, allow yourself a few hundred more calories per day,
or allow yourself a treat per day or per week?
Using any one of these strategies might cause a small weight gain
but it is better to plan and be prepared for this than be too strict, blow it and give up.
Write in your diet notebook the things you will allow yourself and the things you will
not indulge in. Drinks? Desserts? Grandmas cinnamon rolls?
Write up some sample eating plans with what you know might be served and stick
as closely as possible to them.

DAY 31

Decide About Drinking
This is your choice depending on what your diet says.
There are many reasons to limit your drinking
one being alcohol contains empty calories.
Another reason is that drinking weakens your resolve to stay on
your eating plan.
Choose today what you will do.
Limit your drinking to one a day?
One a week?
Eliminate alcohol all together?

I put this picture here just to break up the monotony of my boring blog. I seem to only have time to put the steps in these days! Well, how have I really been doing on this journey? I've had "setbacks". When I gained a few pounds I told Tyler I mostly feel bad because I already told my blog that I lost 5 pounds! He wisely replied

"Isn't that what your blog is all about, being honest about what this struggle is REALLY like?"

So.... right around DAY 20 I gained a few pounds back. I basically quit doing the "program" and ate too much. I did not plan on what I would eat. I am proud of myself for realizing this is a process and forgiving myself and getting back to planning what to eat. I listen to The Beck Diet on CD. It helps me to realize as i listen to this lady on the cd tell me about her life commitment to this and to all her experience in counseling hundreds of overweight people , that there are thin people all over who limit what they eat all the time...for the rest of their lives. I like imagining myself in the future (Not too distant cuz i only have 8 pounds to lose to get to my healthy goal wt) just living out my days as a thin person who still does this program! This is a different thought than the solutions I used to go after. I would throw myself into something with the thought that this is the answer to how this is gonna be EASY. No more work!! That is the biggest lie. It will always be work. I choose to take this one day at a time trusting God to strengthen me to live and eat in a purposeful way that pleases Him. It is for Him and for the purpose of living a glorifying life of service to Him. Knowing that this is long term helps me to keep going and not quit when I blow it. Blowing it is part of the journey.

DAY 30

Stay in Control When Eating Out
Plan to eat out.
Today you'll create a plan for eating out and set a date to implement this plan at a restaurant some time this week.
* Choose a suitable day and place.
* Go with a friend.
* Plan in advance how much you're going to eat (its fine to eat 25% more than
you usually eat)
* Plan what to eat.
* Plan to deal with sabotaging thoughts.
* Plan how you'll tolerate cravings.
* When your food arrives, portion off the food you can eat.
* Assess your success.

DAY 29

Resist Food Pushers

*You're entitled to work toward your goal of losing weight as long as you're not
maliciously trying to make someone feel bad.

*It's okay to disappoint others. Disappointment is a normal part of life. Their disappointment most likely will be mild and fleeting.

Make a plan of what you will say if someone offers you food that you do not plan to eat.

"No, thank you, it looks delicious, but I'm fine."