Review:
In Part 1, we talked about distinguishing between physical and emotional hunger because for weight loss we want to feed one while distracting the other.
In Part 2, we talked about losing weight slowly and steadily rather than trying drastic measures that can back-fire.
In Part 2, we talked about losing weight slowly and steadily rather than trying drastic measures that can back-fire.
In Part 3, we talked about supporting your health and energy by moving around a lot and incorporating walking or other exercise.
In Part 4, we talked about different eating patterns and why I settled on a moderate pattern of eating whole foods and home-made probiotic foods.
Okay, now we get back to the hard part--eating healthier and/or losing weight in the real world, which includes events and circumstances that trigger emotional responses.
Let's imagine you're walking on a sidewalk. Except, the strap/lace/heel of your left shoe just broke and the shoe wants to fall off. You'd do something about that except, your arms are full of packages. They aren't terribly heavy, but they're all shapes and sizes and make an unwieldy burden. You'd put down the packages and deal with the shoe except, this is a very busy sidewalk and there's a crowd of other people moving briskly past you in all directions. In fact, you're at an intersection so the people are jammed up waiting for the light to turn green. If you step off the curb, your shoe will fall off. If you just stand there, the guy at your right elbow will jostle you and the packages will go flying. What will you do, WHAT WILL YOU DO?
So what, you ask, does the above goofy scenario have to do with your desire to get healthier and/or lose weight? Well, life is a messy business. It was messy before you decided to change how you eat and life isn't going to change just so you can follow your perfect plan for ancestral eating. S*%# happens!
But you're human. You get a promotion, or hit a nice pot at the casino, and you want to celebrate. You get laid off, your son/daughter/grandchild seriously messes up or suffers a tragedy, and you need comfort. You find out your credit card has been hacked and you're furious. Or, maybe nothing has happened for days and you're bored out of your skull. That's a pretty good list of reasons to slide on your eating plan, isn't it? Isn't it?
Or maybe it's not that dramatic. It's just that you go to the buffet and, yes, there are plenty of healthy options but your eyes go straight to all those tempting (think unhealthy, fattening) foods. Decision point: what do you REALLY want? Because if you want to eat for better health and vitality with gradual loss of any excess fat, you will look at the junk foods as if they are plaster figurines and you will walk past them to the real food. You will feel free to fill your plate several times with salad (oil and vinegar please, not dressing) and whole fruit and cooked vegetables and 3-5 kinds of meat. You will walk out of that buffet with your head held high and triumph in your eyes. Or ...
Yes, it's about you. You will be tired, you will be busy, you will suffer emotional highs and lows and you will be tempted. But you won't notice those things so much if you are obsessed with the life you want to have next month and next year.
What will you do? WHAT WILL YOU DO?
I hope you enjoyed this little series focused around the decision to eat for improved health. Possible topics of discussion are endless and I'll be as surprised as you when I select the next one. :-))
'Til then, think of ancestral eating as your new hobby and have fun learning about it and practicing how to make it work for you.
Special note to binge eaters: I didn't talk about us in this post because I've decided to write a self-standing one on the subject. I'm not sure when yet.
In Part 4, we talked about different eating patterns and why I settled on a moderate pattern of eating whole foods and home-made probiotic foods.
Okay, now we get back to the hard part--eating healthier and/or losing weight in the real world, which includes events and circumstances that trigger emotional responses.
Let's imagine you're walking on a sidewalk. Except, the strap/lace/heel of your left shoe just broke and the shoe wants to fall off. You'd do something about that except, your arms are full of packages. They aren't terribly heavy, but they're all shapes and sizes and make an unwieldy burden. You'd put down the packages and deal with the shoe except, this is a very busy sidewalk and there's a crowd of other people moving briskly past you in all directions. In fact, you're at an intersection so the people are jammed up waiting for the light to turn green. If you step off the curb, your shoe will fall off. If you just stand there, the guy at your right elbow will jostle you and the packages will go flying. What will you do, WHAT WILL YOU DO?
So what, you ask, does the above goofy scenario have to do with your desire to get healthier and/or lose weight? Well, life is a messy business. It was messy before you decided to change how you eat and life isn't going to change just so you can follow your perfect plan for ancestral eating. S*%# happens!
But you're human. You get a promotion, or hit a nice pot at the casino, and you want to celebrate. You get laid off, your son/daughter/grandchild seriously messes up or suffers a tragedy, and you need comfort. You find out your credit card has been hacked and you're furious. Or, maybe nothing has happened for days and you're bored out of your skull. That's a pretty good list of reasons to slide on your eating plan, isn't it? Isn't it?
Or maybe it's not that dramatic. It's just that you go to the buffet and, yes, there are plenty of healthy options but your eyes go straight to all those tempting (think unhealthy, fattening) foods. Decision point: what do you REALLY want? Because if you want to eat for better health and vitality with gradual loss of any excess fat, you will look at the junk foods as if they are plaster figurines and you will walk past them to the real food. You will feel free to fill your plate several times with salad (oil and vinegar please, not dressing) and whole fruit and cooked vegetables and 3-5 kinds of meat. You will walk out of that buffet with your head held high and triumph in your eyes. Or ...
Yes, it's about you. You will be tired, you will be busy, you will suffer emotional highs and lows and you will be tempted. But you won't notice those things so much if you are obsessed with the life you want to have next month and next year.
What will you do? WHAT WILL YOU DO?
I hope you enjoyed this little series focused around the decision to eat for improved health. Possible topics of discussion are endless and I'll be as surprised as you when I select the next one. :-))
'Til then, think of ancestral eating as your new hobby and have fun learning about it and practicing how to make it work for you.
Special note to binge eaters: I didn't talk about us in this post because I've decided to write a self-standing one on the subject. I'm not sure when yet.
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