Finally, my week of Thanksgiving feasts is over. I always enjoy these meals, but I also tend to overeat. As I have already said, I think I have done pretty good this year: not a single dessert, not a single white potato, essentially no bad carbs. I did, however, eat some fatty foods, which I am sure I paid for, and I did overeat some. It is over now, and it is time to move forward.
A recent post on South Beach Friends Forum by my buddy Mark has made me stop and think. Mark asked the question, “What do you do when you hit that wall???” You all know the wall he is talking about. The one where the weight loss stops, or slows, and the motivation goes down the drain. I know this wall all too well, and fortunately, I have not hit this wall (with staying on the diet) this time. I do know where Mark is coming from though. I have hit a wall with regards to exercise. I keep telling myself I am going to start again, and I keep talking myself out of it when the time comes to do it. I think it all goes back to the decision. The decision is what gets us through it all. Sometimes, the decision can be influenced by outside influences though. For me, I got sick and felt like I couldn’t exercise. After a few weeks of that, the habit was broken. I think Mark might be able to trace his troubles now back to a couple of things: slowing weight loss and getting out of his daily habits. I’m not trying to speak for you Mark – just thinking this out.
All this being said, I am still not sure what the answer is. I think I have not lost my motivation on the diet because I see the health benefits it has given me, and I know the path I was going down was disasterous. Why then, do I not have the same motivation for exercising? Maybe I haven’t realized (or have forgotten) how important it is to my health. For me, it seems to help if I go back to the basics. The basic steps for getting a healthy body include both diet and exercise. It doesn’t have to be four miles a day of walking or a hundred push ups. Two miles a day of walking, five days a week, is sufficient. I have to quit looking for an immediate benefit to the exercise and start looking at the long-term benefit. This isn’t about today – it is about my health in 30-60 years. I also have to quit making excuses. It is time to refocus on the goal. If I intend on achieving my weight loss and health goals, I have to use every resource available to me – including exercizing.
Mark, I don’t know the answer for you, but I suspect if you will look at the two paths ahead of you, you will find one is easy, but it keeps you right where you are at. The other, while harder, takes you to the place you really want to be. Remember the decision you made some months ago and get back on the right path. I am here with you, so no matter how hard it is, you aren’t alone.
My South Beach Diet meal journal for yesterday is as follows:
- Breakfast – One serving of Uncle Sam cereal with a cup of ff milk and one small turkey sausage.
- Mid-morning snack – One apple and three tablespoons of natural peanut butter.
- Lunch – I have no idea what the portions were, but I had turkey (white and dark meat), green beans, baked sweet potato, cauliflower salad, cole slaw, baked apples, and several hot peppers. I also had a few whole grain crackers, one of which had cream cheese and pepper jelly (I know how this sounds, but it is great). I think that is it.
- Mid-afternoon snack – I don’t think I had anything, but I am not sure.
- Supper – A few slices of ham and cauliflower salad.
- Mid-evening snack – One cup of ff, plain yogurt with butterscotch Jello pudding powder and flax seed mixed in.
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This entry was posted on Sunday, November 30th, 2008 at 8:44 am by South Beach Steve.
Filed under: Articles, Daily Dining, Exercise, General
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