I read something today that really made sense to me.  I'm doing the 52 Weight Loss Missions (an ipad app) and in Mission 4, it quotes Geneen Roth, who is apparently a women-food guru.  The thought was this:

For every diet there is an equal and opposite binge.

I know, right??  It was like an "AHA!" moment for me.  Every time I try to diet, I fail.  And I think the reason is another thing said in Mission 4:

psycological self-abuse

This hits home, too!  Think about it.  It's an abusive cycle when you try and "diet."  You do well, your body feels deprived, you can't do anything but think of food, you binge, you feel defeated, you berate yourself, feel disgusted with yourself and then try and start over again, perhaps this time being even more strict, which would lead to an even worse (and equal/opposite) binge.

No wonder dieting doesn't work!

I think I have to recommend this 52 Weight Loss Missions to everyone.  I'm finding it to be a refreshing look at this whole process.  Some really good ideas.  Really motivating.

So, bottom line is, I can't really DIET.  I need to think about what I eat, but I can't starve myself or make things so restricting that I fail.  Again.

Of course, I realize this means I'm not going to lose the weight like I do when I go on a fad diet.  Those work to a degree over a very short time period, but again, the opposite binge happens to undo it all.  So rather than fast and furious, I need to take it slow and steady.  Which means I shouldn't get upset by the slowness of it. 

I will, of course, get upset by the slowness of it.  But that's what this blog is for.  A daily motivational reminder of what I'm doing, how I 'm doing, and a tool to get me through those "down" times.

Today I feel pretty good.  This morning already fell apart in my plans, but with a family of four kids, three dogs, two cats and a hubby, this is bound to happen.  I got up and rode, but one daughter needed a shower early this morning (and chose our shower ... why?  I have no idea) so I wasn't able to have my quiet meditation time after my bike ride or get in the shower afterwards (no hot water).  But, that's okay.  I still got my bike ride in.  I can be fluid.  I can work around these things.  I do miss my mediation, which is interesting because I didn't realize how much it was doing for me, so really, maybe it was a good thing, this disruption, because it has shown me that the meditation is another tool that seems to be working for me.

So, I feel good.  My muscles all ache in a good way.  I went up on weight yesterday on the bowflex.  My leg muscles are feeling the bike.  I haven't gotten on the scale, but I feel good.  And I'm not supposed to focuse on the weight aspect anyway.  So feeling good is a good thing!

This is how I feel today:

And this:



So ... off to do the rest of my day!