You Might be an Ex-Dieter if...

You find 'diet talk' boring.

I remember when I used to get involved in conversations about diets. We would share tips and tricks, and talk about what we could/couldn't eat, how 'bad' we were, how hungry we were, our last binge, our trigger foods and our virtuous days when we stuck to the diet.

Now when these conversations come up, I no longer have anything to say.

You Might be an Ex-Dieter if...

You can walk by the junk-food aisle in the store and not want anything

Okay, so maybe there is junk food in most aisles in the store - even the produce department -  but you know what I mean. You can easily pass up the donuts, pop-tarts, chips, candy - all those things that exerted a siren call back in your dieting days.

When I dieted all those foods were 'off limits', so naturally they were what I wanted most. Now that I can have any food, any time, those foods are back in their proper place. Most of them I have no desire to eat. Those things I do still enjoy - like chocolate - I am much choosier about. And sometimes, I don't even feel like eating chocolate.

We Have Normality

Not really, but I like that line. It's from one of my favorite books. I could say which, but I think it would be fun to see if anyone knows it. If you do, please comment :)

It's been a long and busy weekend. After a hot, lazy July, it seems like everyone is cramming as much fun as they can into August. I get that. In July, the long hot days of summer stretch out ahead of you. In August the days are noticeably shorter, somewhat cooler (95 is cooler than 105, right?) and the start of school is just days away.

This weekend we had three parties. There would have been four, but we couldn't fit it in. After three days of more food (and drink) and less sleep and activity than usual, I am feeling the need for some normality. What I want most is just the right amount of good, simple, nourishing food and a relaxing, evening walk followed up by a good night's sleep.

I love the fact that there is an gentle and natural balance to this area of my life now. There is no 'have to'. No good/bad, guilt or punishment. I don't have to 'work off' the excess, or starve myself to 'make up' for stuffing myself yesterday.

I don't have to tell myself that because my body is sending me messages loud and clear saying 'All full up here. Take a break. Some sleep and a walk would be nice, though.' and I don't have to keep track of anything. All I have to do is listen and trust.

A Weigh-in I Can Live With

I really like my new method of dealing with the scale. As I mentioned way back (what, two whole months or something?) at the start of this blog, I was trying to stop weighing myself. Not just 'as often' but 'for always'. My 'plan' was to back away gradually, starting with weighing  twice a month, then once a month...then eventually not at all.

Sounds good doesn't it? Totally 'do-able'. Did I do it?

Nope. I did stop weighing multiple times a day, and I even managed to go a day or two before stepping on the scale, but I was not able to realize my goal of going two weeks between weighings.

At some point recently, I got busy (or maybe it was a combination of vacation and sharing the bathroom every morning with multiple house guests) but I started skipping the morning weigh-in. You know the one - after the bathroom, but before breakfast and of course, totally starkers.

Once or twice a week, though, totally at random, I'd step on the scale, fully clothed and with no regard to food or drink I might or might not have eaten. A number would appear on the scale a pound or two higher than my last morning weigh-in, but it had no effect one me one way or another. No matter what it said, I knew it wasn't 'real'.

This random, vague reading did  few positive things for me. First of all, it was enough to reassure me that I wasn't gaining weight. Not weighing at all can be scary to those used to keeping a close eye on the scale. There's always that fear that while you aren't looking, you'll gain a few pounds and by the time you do look - it will just be that much more you have to lose. But as long as I didn't see anything too out of line, I knew I was fine.

Secondly, I could be more relaxed about it. I'm one of those ones who, no matter what the scale says, is affected in a negative way. If it goes up, it's not good. If it goes down, that's initially good, but it ends up not good. I'm not sure how that happens, but it does.

However, with my random afternoon weighings, no matter what the scale says, the feelings I might have about it are tempered by the fact that it doesn't feel  'absolute'* the way an early morning weigh-in does. The high of a loss isn't so high, and the low of a gain doesn't feel so low.

Sometimes it even goes go down in the afternoon. But even though an afternoon, fully fed and clothed weight that is lower than a nakkie morning weight could indicate a loss,  even that doesn't affect me. Maybe I've lost weight, maybe I haven't. Either is possible. Either is acceptable.  I am perfectly content to wait for next months' morning weight-in to find out.

Content.

It's a nice word. And it's a very nice place to be.

*Yes, I'm fully aware there is no absolute and the scale, if it was a person, would require clothing manufactured from flameproof fabric.