It Works !!!!

So I ate out for 11 days
Every Meal
4 of those days were on a cruise ( where food abounds )

And I did not gain even a pound

Here are some common diet rules that I FLAUNTED
1. No carbs only protien
2. High energy work out
3. Eat at home
4. no Fast food
5 Eat first thing in the morning t okick start your metabolism

I ate mostly carbs , no work out only walked a lot , ate out all the time and frequently fast food

And I still gained nothing

I am wondering if these simple rules are really the key

The simple rules of

1. Eat when hungry
2. Stop when full
3. Walk a lot
4. Stay busy  and fill your mind with things that are not food

Now that I am home - I am finding its hard to resist all that chocolate

But I will

Zen while traveling

So we are on our way to vacation and I am typing this post from my phone
On the plane
Traveling has usually meant a problem regarding weight gain

But here are my policies for this trip and I think I have a good shot at not gaining anything despite being on a cruise

1. Eat only when hungry
2. Eat slowly
3. Stop eating when full
4. Record everything I eat in my phone app I am using - currently using the free app called" Lose it" so I and my friend can buddy up
5. Walk a lot

Seeking joy in things other than food : Day 3

Wow - I did really well on eating today
Breakfast : Oatmeal
Lunch - Stir Fried Veggies with brown rice ( 1/2 Buddha's feast from PF Changs )
Snack - Whole wheat English muffin with tea
Dinner - Spinach Salad with Chicken Sausage

More importantly with NO feelings of deprivation AND I did all 7 activities to seek  joy in things other that food   !

So here are  my planned items of joy for tomorrow

1. Wear something pretty
2. Take a walk
3. Read Agatha Raisin  and the Fairies of Fryfam
4 . Play with R
5. Watch Wallander with DH

Seeking joy in things other than food : In practise

I am finding this tool really really effective

But what realy makes it effective is taking a few minutes to remind myself to think of it

Here are 5 joyful things for today that are not related to food

1. Wearing a new bright red dress to work

2. Wearing boots

3. Jumping on the trampoline with R

4. Taking a walk

5. Going to the Candy cane celebration at R's school

6. Wearing perfume - I pulled out an old favorite J'adore today and its making me happy everytime I get a whiff of it

7. Watching "How I met your mother" with DH

Seeking joy in things other than food

Food is becoming so central to how we live, celebrate and pursue pleasure-

We "meet for lunch and dinner".

We discuss things over "coffee and cake"

We invite our friends over "for brunch"

We "send over a casserole" to comfort

We develop rituals over food (DH and I have tea rituals and desert rituals everyday )

Consider our  celebrations

From the chocolates at Valentines, to the Thanksgiving feast to the Christmas dinner

I think one of the primary reasons we are so much fatter now than we used is because we associate food and only food with pleasure

So here is a challenge for you

Can you think of 5 things you will do today that will give you pleasure that do not involve food

Here are my 5

1. I will watch Dexter with DH
2. I will re-read an old favorite - Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam  -
3. I will play with R
4. I will sit by the fireplace
5. I will use perfume

The two things that are critical for wieight- loss

We had our weight watchers team meeting yesterday and she repeated one of the most valuable advice I have ever heard on weightloss

The first thing is to start on your journey

And the second is  to go on

It is really the easiest thing to give up ( as I well know ) .

In our culture there is an almost constant of "eat this""( or " dont eat this " which is really the same thing as it also serves the purpose of putting "food first" in our mind )

But the important thing is to remember that the journey to weightloss is made up of staying on the mindful of our choices constantly

To ask ourselves before we pop that tootsie roll in - do I really want this ?