MY INNER CHILD IS A GRABBY BRAT

Yesterday's trip to the grocery store took place in the company of a grabby, easily distracted child, and our conversation went something like this:

"It's cold and icky ... soup would be good! Too lazy to make it ... maybe I can find some canned soup that would be okay ... ugh ... no ... hey! The deli counter has hot soup! Look at that ingredient list ... ugh ... no."
"Hey! Olive bar! Gorgonzola stuffed ... oh, 60 calories PER OLIVE? Yikes."
"Free samples! Wait ... what the hell IS that? If I can't identify it, I probably shouldn't eat it ..."
"Ice cream! No. Keep walking. You do not need ice cream."
"Lean Cuisines! It'd be so eassssssssssyyyyyy ... never mind the fact that they are filled with CRAP and don't taste all that good."
"Mmmm, peanut butter chocolate bars. Stop it. You had a giant hamburger AND onion rings yesterday."
"HALLOWEEN CANDY! PRETZELS! CHOCOLATE COVERED NUTS! DIET COKE!"

(In other words, not unlike this.)

How I managed to get out of there with nothing more than spinach, carrots, apples, pears, coffee, and bottled water, I shall never know. And on the way back to the hotel, I passed several fast food places, and suddenly my inner Homer Simpson was whispering, "Mmmm, hamburgers! Soft serve! Donuts!" seductively in my ear. I don't even like fast food. I like it even less having read this article, which is making the rounds. Seriously, why would you want to embalm yourself by eating this crap?

(By the way, click on the links and read some of the comments ... WOW, people really get up in arms about attacks of their favorite indulgences. And predictably, the comments sections attract their fair share of the "Nyah Nyah Fatty" people ...).

Oh, and while we're on the subject ... if the story about how indestructible McDonald's food is doesn't turn you off your feed, how about this photo and accompanying story about the meat slurry they use to make Chicken McNuggets?

There seems to be some question about whether this is actually the substance used to make McNuggets, but nevertheless,I don't think I'll ever be able to look at strawberry frozen yogurt again. Now there's a deterrent for you --- next time you're craving stuff you know you shouldn't eat right then, just tell yourself, "IT'S MADE OF MEAT SLURRY"! I don't know about you, but those are two words I do not want to hear in the same sentence. And I don't care to put anything known as "slurry" in my mouth.

There is something about the combination of cold, dismal weather, and living away from home in a one-room, confined space that really ramps up my cues to comfort myself with food, especially food that isn't good for me. I want to eat too much and I want to eat too much of the wrong thing. Today, coming sulkily from the gym (where I was ROBBED! ROBBED, I tell you! of my dry sauna reward by the fact that the damn thing isn't working) I passed the Bake Shop of Amazing Gigantic Cookies, and immediately the grabby child who, apparently is always with me, started yelling, "Cookie! cookiecookiecookiecookiecookie! COOK. IE!" I didn't buy one right then, but later I was sneaky and bought several to take to rehearsal. That way I was able to sample a tiny bite of a couple of different kinds, without eating a whole giant cookie, and gave the rest away to the cast.(I gave up both my afternoon snack and the treat I'd planned for dinner in return).

I got in my workout, and a lot of running around in rehearsal, and so all is well.

In the comments section, Kristine remarked that she would like to see a post about "how not to give up". It's tough to do this full time, day in and day out. In order to lose weight and keep it off, you pretty much have to commit to working on it daily (sometimes every minute) for the rest of your life. You're gonna get tired of that, sometimes.

Here's the thing: every day, we are bombarded with cues to eat. We are hamstrung by habit, emotion, and the stupid little things that happen to trigger us. We are attached by advertising and commercials carefully and expertly designed to tempt us. It is a constant barrage.

One thing we can and must to do to offset the effects of this barrage is to create our own Super Magic Sparkly Pink Deflector Bracelets (or, if you're a guy, you can have navy blue. Or camo. Whatever works). In other words, you need tools to counteract those cues. You need to be able to answer when your inner child screams for cookies. And you need these tools to be powerful, and close at hand. Just as you are constantly reminded to eat by these cues, you need reminders to eat appropriately, or not to eat at all. They need to be visual. Write a list of reasons you want to lose weight and keep it in your purse or wallet or pocket. Keep a book of response cards close at hand. Make a bracelet or a necklace. Put a sign on your desk. Heck, make a "Healthy Eating" shrine with photos and charms and inspirational sayings. Look at these first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. Look at them before you eat anything, and every time you are aware of receiving a cue to eat. It may sound like a lot of trouble, but given how heavy and relentless the attack is, you need to counter it just as intensely.

And that is one way you keep going. Answer the cues. Every single time.

Comments

[FitChick]

Hi! Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed reading your article and I will def be back! Thanks again

[slicklikerick]

mmm...meat slurry

[Cindy]

Lindsey, I love your comment "I've decided that it will be hard."

To me, accepting that hey, some things ARE tough. Some things we really have to work at, and there is never going to be a time when we don't --- that removes a huge burden from my shoulders. Being able to recognize "Oh. This is what this is!" allows me to make a plan to deal with it, and succeed. Good for you!

[Cindy]

Thanks, E! One of my friends is a bariatric doctor, and we talked about what he called the "check mark effect", that dieters will see a long decline in their weight, and then, at about the six month mark, it starts to go back up. It seems that six months is the point at which we "put up or shut up". I found it useful to be armed that information; and now at the three-year mark, I think there are probably regular opportunities for that "check mark effect" to take hold. You can read Dr. Dean's guest post here:
http://100lbs.typepad.com/the_next_hundred_pounds/2008/11/dr-dean-havron-talks-to-us-about-bariatric-physicians.html

Fran, thanks for the insight. It seems like our bodies and minds both scheme against us, but there are ways to outfox them!

MS, your WW leader is very wise to tell you to take measurements. Did you do that at the beginning? It's not at all uncommon to lose inches even when the scale isn't moving.

Natalie, congrats on your 30 pounds gone! Thanks for the book rec. I believe in renewing sources of inspiration regularly!

Suzanne, congrats on the 5K (I'm jealous ... still no running for me). Doing Pilates and yoga always make me feel leaner, too. Yaaay! (Then I look in the mirror and see no change ... the solution is not to look in the mirror)! Slip-ups to the food plan don't matter as long as you keep coming back to the plan. Perseverance!

[Suzanne Fleming-Atwood]

Great blog, Cindy! Brava again to you for your smart choices.
All is going okay here. Today( Sunday) is definitely a re-commiting day. I have two weeks left in the month and I have some catching-up to do in terms of weight-loss/sticking to a food plan. Yesterday, I woke up, did 22 minutes of Pilates. I did the local Race for the Cure 5K Walk. Eating was all-right, but those darn gold-fish and a cheeseburger with mayo definitely made it a non-weight loss day. Today, because of the Pilates yesterday, I feel "leaner"--despite the said food choices-- so I'm going to try and keep up with that. I woke up early this morning and did Jillian Michaels. Today I'm going to write out a food/exercise plan for the rest of the month. I REALLY need to plan for Halloween b/c I'm a Halloween candy junkie. I need to buy some high quality dark chocolate or some other treat that is just for me, so I don't get into the kid's stash. It is SO tempting.

[Natalie]

Cindy, I have been reading your blog for well over a year, and it has (with Dr Beck) helped me lose, and keep off, about 30 pounds. But I am still struggling with my inner brat, and so I have started reading "Shrink Yourself" by Roger Gould. I think I recall you saying you are not an emotional eater, but his book is really interesting because it identifies that the craving and "phantom hunger" you talk about in this post is something deeply linked to emotions / memories etc. Maybe you won't find it helpful, but it is at least really interesting and adds another layer to our understanding of why this can be SO DAMN HARD. Thanks again!

[Lindsey]

Your blog is one of my favorites and I love reading each day. It is nice to have someone feeling the same struggle as I feel.

Right now I am thinking it is hard to lose weight because the baby is so small. However, if I wait till he is a toddler, I know it will be hard because of his food. I will be tempted to eat his leftovers.

So, I have decided it will be hard. It will be hard to get the workouts in. It will be hard to eat right. However, it will always be hard and your blog shows me that everyone has their excuses of why it is so hard.

[Monster Soprano]

Good morning,

Thank you for the excellent blog. I did not lose this week, I stayed the same. I spoke to my WW Leader and she told me to take my measurements because to her, I look different, so, I will check in a month if the tape is smaller. After losing 106 lbs, I also have to accept that my body is fighting back. I also made a plan to try to not use any of my flex points this week and to drink more water. I really struggle at water because, as a new mom, I just hate going to the bathroom. Also, made a commitment to try to avoid as much salt in my diet as possible. I think there is salt from food that eat that is sneaking itself in. So, that is my commitment to myself!

[Fran]

The reason why it's a constant struggle is that when we were younger, we got those blankety-blank fat cells and they're still with us. When we're overweight, they're fat and when we're thinner, they are too. But they always want to be fed. Just heard a Web cast about obese children, and either Dr. Cooper (Kenneth--as in the guy who invented the word "aerobic") or Dr. Ratey (who believes that exercise is like Miracle Gro for the brain) say that.
We can do it.

[E Cloudy]

You are part of my daily "read", along with newspapers.
I took your advice and read Why We Overeat by David Kessler. An eye opener and just the thing I needed to get me off my butt and committed. I have added Linda Spangle's "100 Days of Weight Loss" to my arsenal also, because in the last few years I tend to quit after a few days or weeks. I am also trying something else. I am thinking of my journey to regain my body as if my body were the house of a "hoarder". Don't know if you know the show I am talking about. So here is my out of whack and control eating and exercise routine, or a house filled to the ceilings with junk. The only way to clean up my life, or clean out the house is to keep at it, every day. A little bit a day, the more I do, the quicker I will get there. Some days will see more progress than others. But in the end I know I have to keep going, to reach the goal. This is really truly a mind battle we must fight and win at the beginning. Keep on going, you have motivated me greatly. Thank you.