Still not a doctor. Seek a real one before beginning a weight loss or exercise plan.
How was your week? Did you survive the never ending plans to eat more food? I swear the summer (and the fall and winter) seem like one never ending table of scrumptious snacks. Everything is about the food. The cookouts, graduation parties, firework picnics and strolling the boardwalk all have one thing in common. The food!! Everything we do seems to surround us with more and more food. And we all know that if you say "no, thank you," it comes across as rude. We can't not eat and we certainly can't just stay inside all summer and avoid every social gathering. So how do we not give in to all of the special occasion food?
Simple.
You may not like the answer, but it's true. It's time to admit that the special food you are striving to avoid and always feel compelled to eat ISN'T ACTUALLY SPECIAL AT ALL.
Here's the deal. Everything can't be special. If everything is special, then nothing is special. Think back to your 21st birthday celebration...the one where you got dropped off in the bar district downtown, got "tricked" into drinking a goblet of Jaeger at the first stop, puked in a trash can (and on your friend's leg) and talked to the seals outside of the National Aquarium for the rest of the night. Remember that night? Or one like it? I don't know what I ate. I don't know if I ate birthday cake. And not just because I was foggy from that demon syrup*.
But because none of the food was actually special.
What about that amazing wedding? Remember that passed hors d'oeuvres tray you kept stalking? I don't. I remember that the bride entered to Metallica. I remember that I made my Mom get jiggy to "No Diggity". I remember that the bride wore green (and rocked it, HARD). But I don't recall what was served. I'll never forget the wedding that charged for diet soda, but I don't recall what I ate, considered eating or wished I hadn't eaten. At any wedding, ever.
Because the food is just not that special.
We use the concept of "special" like a crutch to charge whatever delicious delicacies we want, and charge them we do. Right to our tuckus. And then we wonder why we can't lose weight. Let's skip the cycle of sad gluttony followed by self-loathing, shall we? Think about how much faster you'll reach your goal if you skip the lies and get real. In hindsight, I've been lying to myself for more than thirty years. Once I moved those obstacles out of my way, it took 16 months to lose 98 pounds and finally reach my goal weight. (While I was writing this, Facebook posted the above photo from five years ago. I added photos of me today. Truth!)
Get real with yourself. Getting my Mom to dance to No Diggity will always be hysterical to me. And in thinking about it right now, I smile and feel happy. That moment of eating the second piece of grandmama's armadillo-shaped groom's cake will most likely never make it to long term storage in your mind. So don't waste your time thinking about it. Realize long term goals mean more than nursing that special crutch ever will.
So this summer, when you are faced with the special circumstance of being able to eat a husky portion your neighbor's famous truffle pie, remember the truth.
Living in the moment, being with those whom you love and love you back, and living your own "talking to the seals" stories are important. Eating more cake will never even come close to making the memory list.
Too much tough love? Are you guilty of making everything special as a crutch to soothe yourself (I am!)? Follow your plan, remember that each step is either a step towards or a step away from your goal. You've got this!!! Now go have a great week!
Did you miss any of my tips? Need a refresher? Click Weight Loss at the top of the page and see what you've missed. Or just subscribe and join the Gouldylox family!
*I will never understand how people think that Jaeger tastes like something you should ever ingest. Also, not all of that happened at one wedding. And no, I didn't attend the wedding where Truvy helped serve that red velvet groom's cake. But that "take a whack at Ouiser" scene still makes me cry, every time. :-)
Find Kelly on Google+. Official disclosure/disclaimer statement can be found here.
How was your week? Did you survive the never ending plans to eat more food? I swear the summer (and the fall and winter) seem like one never ending table of scrumptious snacks. Everything is about the food. The cookouts, graduation parties, firework picnics and strolling the boardwalk all have one thing in common. The food!! Everything we do seems to surround us with more and more food. And we all know that if you say "no, thank you," it comes across as rude. We can't not eat and we certainly can't just stay inside all summer and avoid every social gathering. So how do we not give in to all of the special occasion food?
Simple.
You may not like the answer, but it's true. It's time to admit that the special food you are striving to avoid and always feel compelled to eat ISN'T ACTUALLY SPECIAL AT ALL.
 |
| I think this is the outdoor tank that housed the seals at the Aquarium in Baltimore. The mayor and mermaid were most definitely not there that night. |
But because none of the food was actually special.
What about that amazing wedding? Remember that passed hors d'oeuvres tray you kept stalking? I don't. I remember that the bride entered to Metallica. I remember that I made my Mom get jiggy to "No Diggity". I remember that the bride wore green (and rocked it, HARD). But I don't recall what was served. I'll never forget the wedding that charged for diet soda, but I don't recall what I ate, considered eating or wished I hadn't eaten. At any wedding, ever.
Because the food is just not that special.
We use the concept of "special" like a crutch to charge whatever delicious delicacies we want, and charge them we do. Right to our tuckus. And then we wonder why we can't lose weight. Let's skip the cycle of sad gluttony followed by self-loathing, shall we? Think about how much faster you'll reach your goal if you skip the lies and get real. In hindsight, I've been lying to myself for more than thirty years. Once I moved those obstacles out of my way, it took 16 months to lose 98 pounds and finally reach my goal weight. (While I was writing this, Facebook posted the above photo from five years ago. I added photos of me today. Truth!)
Get real with yourself. Getting my Mom to dance to No Diggity will always be hysterical to me. And in thinking about it right now, I smile and feel happy. That moment of eating the second piece of grandmama's armadillo-shaped groom's cake will most likely never make it to long term storage in your mind. So don't waste your time thinking about it. Realize long term goals mean more than nursing that special crutch ever will.
So this summer, when you are faced with the special circumstance of being able to eat a husky portion your neighbor's famous truffle pie, remember the truth.
Living in the moment, being with those whom you love and love you back, and living your own "talking to the seals" stories are important. Eating more cake will never even come close to making the memory list.
Too much tough love? Are you guilty of making everything special as a crutch to soothe yourself (I am!)? Follow your plan, remember that each step is either a step towards or a step away from your goal. You've got this!!! Now go have a great week!
Did you miss any of my tips? Need a refresher? Click Weight Loss at the top of the page and see what you've missed. Or just subscribe and join the Gouldylox family!
*I will never understand how people think that Jaeger tastes like something you should ever ingest. Also, not all of that happened at one wedding. And no, I didn't attend the wedding where Truvy helped serve that red velvet groom's cake. But that "take a whack at Ouiser" scene still makes me cry, every time. :-)
Find Kelly on Google+. Official disclosure/disclaimer statement can be found here.
