On loving yourself lean

"Making an allowance reflects that there will be a large variety of foods to choose from over the Christmas period and that it's perfectly OK to eat a few treat foods over this time and enjoy time spent with friends and family. Having a few treat meals and different foods and enjoying time with friends and doesn't cause the Christmas weight gain, it is the self destructive thoughts and behaviours around this different food and not making an allowance for yourself that cause the problem. Underlying issues of restriction, rebellion and "discipline" can really backfire on the person wanting to stay lean over the holidays.

This is completely different from overindulging until you hurt and making the excuse that "it was Christmas time". Making an allowance will make you feel good about yourself - ironically by giving away "control" you find true control because you're holding the reins. Making an excuse and trying to grit your teeth and "stay strong" is a soul destroying, self esteem crushing venture"

Bugger, can't seem to turn off the bold or italic functions and here I was thinking I was really smart. My question to you all is did you make an allowance for yourself over Christmas or did you try and "stay strong".

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I chose to "make allowances" and enjoy some Christmas foods. I didn't try to "stay strong" - I just ate what I felt like and didn't train for four days. I gave myself what I needed for Christmas, some time with family and friends, a few slices of cheesecake and plenty of rest. Now I wonder if anyone is imagining that doing such dreadful thing would cause them to wake up as a complete fat heifer five days later......

The answer is "no". As a bit of an experiment and a testimonial to the fact that long term success is about your internal locus of control and respect for one's self I weighed myself on Christmas Eve and then I weighed myself this morning. This morning after all that indulgence and supposed lack of discipline, I am 1.5kg lighter.

There is a place for logging food and being particular with your nutrition, but there's also a place for learning to be more intuitive as well. The balance between both methods is entirely up to you. The thread that draws it all together is the concept of being able to "love yourself lean". The cornerstone of living lean for the long term is bolstering your self worth.

To sum up - start to learn to trust yourself. You just may find that you're not the 'broken' individual you thought you were.

Balance!

I must say that this last week has been a baptism of fire for me in the art of adaptation - balancing work and downtime has been much harder than I had ever anticipated and I'm only a week into the live one on one training!

Firstly there has been the early morning starts - most days I need to be at the gym before 6am to prepare for the day ahead - this, mixed with late nights watching the Olympics (my excuse being that it only comes around four times a year) has not been conducive to me feeling good, so I have learned the hard way and fallen into bed at 8pm the last few nights, sleeping through until 8.30am on our Public Holiday. My RPM class on Wednesday suffered and I've got uncharacteristic DOMs today - lesson learned - it's all about me - make sure you get enough sleep!

Secondly there has been the demonstration of exercises for me at what I call about 10% of my normal capacity - demonstrating any core stuff has been dicey and any sort of pushing movement is very difficult due to my shoulder - on the whole, the shoulder is much better but I'm still thinking another cortisone may be required - otherwise off to the orthopod.

Thirdly there is the actual getting back into the groove of teaching clients face to face - sometimes I feel that I communicate much better via the pen, so it's taken a bit of practice to start feeling more at home with the one on one option.

Fourthly there is that feeling of neglecting my own training - I've been pretty particular about getting my own stuff in and I'm hoping that Louise (physio) gives me more clearance for some strength training to balance out the 4 RPMs and two runs I am doing right now. Cardio queen indeedy :)

I've been really embracing a recovery protocol post RPM and yesterday enjoyed sauna, steam and Monsoon shower. I feel so much better when I take the time just to chill out by myself. I believe they call it "restoration for introverts".

Just another day of paddling.

Sometimes those days that aren't particularly exciting are the most challenging to any good weight maintainer. Today I have been dealing with feelings of uncertainty now that DH is back ...what next? We think we know what should be happening but putting those plans into action is something else all together. Even though our goal is to move back to Brisvegas we are open to Melbourne or Perth or an overseas posting as well. Plus I have been feeling extremely bored in Woop Woop all day. What does this mean to me in "maintenance" - learning to deal with the feelings rather than stuffing down them down with a visit to the fridge! It's not easy with the fridge in full sight all day, but I deal with it by trying to keep busy and eating a wide variety of foods, especially those that take a long time to chew. Humans have an innate need to chew which is why seeing a protein shake on my menu is rather rare - I'd rather have a good munch than drink down all my calories in one fell swoop.

Anyway back to feelings - they often determine our response to events that impact on us. I am learning that it is regulating these feelings and keeping my emotions in check that keeps me on the straight and narrow. Not that I avoid feeling things, I just try and keep it all in perspective.

I went for an hour long walk this morning and had a low intensity day. Tomorrow I am going to attempt a two (yes, you heard right!) hour aerobic base building session on the bike. I'm looking forward to this, plus a nice long stretch afterwards.