GSP's journey away from emotional eating

[Grumpy Space Princess]

I've been here for quite a while now, and I decided it was well past time for me to start an official diary!

I've been trying to lose weight since... hmm. FOREVER. It's only recently started to actually come off in the past couple of years. I've mostly lost through walking an average of five miles per day. At first, it was only walking--no diet changes. Now I try to eat healthy, minimally processed food whenever I can. I've also added things like weightlifting, yoga, and pilates to my exercise regime.

Using the thread helps keep me accountable for the exercise portion of it, so I intend to use this to keep me accountable for what I eat. Especially needed after I went overboard with the sweets over Halloween! No use dwelling on that, though. What's done is done.

Another thing I've been doing is keeping a charm bracelet. It started out empty, and I've been adding a charm for every stone I lose. Can't take credit for the idea, as I got it from a book I read, but it's been pretty useful so far. It's always there, so I see it when I reach for something. Makes me stop and think about whether I'm actually hungry or just bored, tired, angry, sad, etc! I also intend to treat myself to new charms to celebrate important achievements in other areas of my life--not just weight loss. In the past, I have always rewarded myself with food. I want to break myself of the habit of using food in that way. I still allow myself treats, but I don't want food to be my go-to reward/comfort. It's nourishment and necessary and I need it to survive, but I don't want to need it to cope.

Anyway! Today so far, I have had:

Breakfast:
1 banana
10 grams 3 nut butter
1 pint water

The 3 nut butter is pretty good--has cashews, peanuts, and hazelnuts. Ordinarily I have something a bit more substantial for breakfast, but I don't like my stomach to be too full when I do pilates. Off to do some exercise now.

 

[PrincessSparklePants]

The food reward - totally with you love! and rewarding yourself per stone is a great idea Well done love! Subbing x

 

[Grumpy Space Princess]

Thanks!

Post workout: oats, coconut milk, and cinnamon.

Lunch: black bean and butternut squash burrito
salad
1 pint water

Snacks:
Grapes
2 clementines
handful of almonds + walnuts
20g cheese
1 pint water

Dinner:
Crispy quinoa cakes
rice
more salad
and yet another pint of water

 

[PrincessSparklePants]

Glad to see you upping your liquid intake too It really does help keep you hydrated and help the losses!

 

[Grumpy Space Princess]

It really does! I have reminders set in my phone to prompt me to drink water. Otherwise, I just forget.

Today I got absolutely ravenous when I was out running errands. Ended up going to Caffe Nero and having a calorific cold blended drink... complete with cream. And a big cheddar and pickle sandwich. I shouldn't have let myself get so hungry before I started looking for something! Just put it all into MFP, though, and it's all within my calorie limits. Just a bit over on the fat limit.

The rest of the day was okay. Leftover crispy quinoa cakes for lunch, will have lowfat mushroom risotto and salad for dinner. Had some nuts and dried fruit for a snack. Haven't had quite enough water today, so will be having some more of that as well.

 

[PrincessSparklePants]

Well done love count it as a naughty treat if it helps xx

 

[Grumpy Space Princess]

Lots of water today, plus oats/coconut milk for breakfast, mushroom risotto/salad for lunch, lentil wrap/salad for dinner, and almonds/Oddities/caffe latte for snack. Currently at 1341 calories and no idea what else to eat! That's a novel problem for me.

Edit: Oh, also. Weigh in today. Same as last week. And the week before. I'm not too upset about it, though, considering how many sweets I had over the weekend! And always better than a gain.

 

[PrincessSparklePants]

Bah! After being naughty it's always better to not have a gain - well done hun! x

 

[Grumpy Space Princess]

Thanks, PSP.

I have a new weakness. Dried apples. They're just so moreish! Do you ever find foods that you really, really like the texture of, and that texture prompts you to keep eating them? More than the taste, I mean.

Pretty good day today. All within calorie limits, plenty of water, and the unhealthiest thing I had was a protein brownie after lifting weights. Not a storebought one--I make these at home in batches and freeze them. Hemp protein, ground oats, dark chocolate, eggs, peanut butter, and a bit of sugar. They're surprisingly tasty.

My biggest problem lately, which is possibly tmi, is the dreaded chub rub! Ugh. Really starting to annoy me during workouts. Picked up some chamois cream stuff, so going to see if that helps.

 

[PrincessSparklePants]

Oooh sounds lovely! And they must be low cal too! xx and ouch, I know what you mean! Chaffing hurts like hell!

 

[Grumpy Space Princess]

The brownies aren't what I'd call a treat, but they definitely taste nice after lifting weights.

Have had a lazy weekend, eating mostly tinned soup and veggie burgers and drinking tea, as I'm coming down with a cold. I never manage to stick to my food plan when I'm ill,even though the healthy stuff would probably do me a world of good. I just want whatever is the quickest and easiest!

 

[bridesmaid]

Hi grumpy space princess,
Love the name subscribing if I may?

B X X X

 

[PrincessSparklePants]

Oh sweetheart that sucks! Hope you're feeling better now and that it hasn't progressed after a careful weekend.

I always overdose on Vit C when I feel a cold coming - full punnets of satsumas, oj, tabs etc. It doesn't take it away but it takes 75% of the symptoms IMO.

 

[Grumpy Space Princess]

Hi bridesmaid. Of course you can! The more the merrier. And thanks.

Thanks, PSP, I am feeling a bit better today. Was able to do my full 5 mile walk this morning with no problems, and think I'll be up to lifting weights this evening. Going to stick to half of what I usually do. Leaving out the pilates for now, though, as I want to continue resting up a bit. Will bring that back in when I feel all mended. I did manage some yoga (nothing else, though, aside from sleep and sitting around) on Saturday, and it helped my nose feel a bit clearer! haha. And the stretching helped my achey muscles as well.

I like lots of hot drinks and soup when I'm ill. Anything warm, basically! I have some vit C + zinc tablets that I take as well. No idea if it makes a difference, but it makes me feel pro-active, at least--like I'm doing something. My dad always tries to convince me to eat a raw chilli pepper when I tell him I have a cold, because that's what he always does. They have lots of vit C, apparently. I like spicy food, but can never quite manage a raw chilli on its own!

Hope you are both well. xx

 

[PrincessSparklePants]

Well done lovely Don't push it, don't want you wiping yourself out totally xx

 

[Grumpy Space Princess]

Feeling much better. No more sniffles, no more sore throat. I'm noticing that I bounce back from colds a lot faster now that I'm eating well and exercising and such!

Also, the chamois cream appears to be working on the chafing. Walked 2.3 miles further than usual today, according to my fitbit, and no issues at all.

I've been reading about intuitive eating and mindful eating. Basically learning to pay attention to what you're eating, and recognising the different types of hunger. It talks about mouth hunger--when your stomach is full, but your mouth wants to eat more. It's really interesting so far, but I keep forgetting to pay attention when I'm actually eating! Old habits, I suppose.

 

[Grumpy Space Princess]

Blah. Feeling a bit discouraged today. Weighed in. Still the same. I've recently added more weights to my dumbells and converted my desk into a standing desk, so we will see if that helps. My daily calories are almost always between 1600 and 1800. MFP has my limit set at 1690, so I try to fall around 1700 most days. I know it'll come off when it comes off, but losing 4-6 lb, stagnating for a month, and then repeating is getting frustrating. I have yet to reach any of my mini goals. Maybe I need to aim lower, or maybe I need to work harder. Can't see how I can, though, considering how much time I already devote to exercise.

Sorry for the pity party; just needed to have a moan to people who have been there!

 

[PrincessSparklePants]

Well done on the extra walking glad the chaffing has stopped.

I think we all have days where we really can't be faffed with it. It really can be monotonous - but I guess it can be said about all life and we have to put the effort in No help really there was I? Sorry! But lots of moral support!

 

[Grumpy Space Princess]

Thanks for the moral support, PSP.

Have been really busy lately! Haven't found a spare minute to post until now. Went off plan a little bit at the weekend, but not too badly. Doing my best to not beat myself up about it and just move forward like it didn't happen, because it's not like I can change it, and feeling guilty and bad about myself only leads to more comfort eating. Nope. Not gonna let that happen!

Hope you're doing well, and thanks again. xx

 

[PrincessSparklePants]

Anytime hun This time of the year has a bad effect on comfort eating I think xxx I'm not too bad ta, hope you're ok xxx