I am proud to say that changing the way I eat resulted in weight loss for me, in fact 20+kg. I achieved this more than a year ago. But what I am finding challenging at the moment is maintenance. Not just challenging, but really difficult actually.
The last few months have seen us so busy that I have resulted into snacking quite a lot and also ‘rewarding’ myself with food. Let me explain to you exactly what I mean.
We have a massive, and I mean massive, pantry available all the time. And the food is absolutely delicious. For me, the keto fruit and nut chocolate and cheespops are my absolute weakness. Oh, and the protein bars. Super easy to open and eat straight away. Even though I may or may not be hungry they taste so good. And going back to everything I learnt when transitioning over to LCHF diet, was to read my hunger signals and to only eat when hungry. So, for this, I certainly get an F.
The other component was eating non-compliant food, lets face it, carbs. Not all the time at all, but if I couldn’t be bothered cooking for the family, takeaway it was. And finding compliant takeaway food is really hard. So, I would say to myself, one meal is not too bad. But for me, it is really bad. It’s a slippery slope for me. And one meal, can turn into another and another and another. I am not saying this is what happened, but I certainly felt like this was a possibility.
I got brought up with the mentality that food is a reward. So, you do something good and then you get some sort of treat as a result. We have been doing so well here at the Emporium, and I feel into my childhood trap of food as a reward. And even though it was ‘compliant’ it was far too much sweeteners and snacking for me.
So, where am I at today? I have hit the reset button. I have never been one to track my food (let’s face it, I’m too lazy!!), but I am actively thinking about everything that I am consuming – food and fluids. Resetting my mindset, am I actually hungry, or am I bored, or am I thirsty? Realising again that food is there to fuel my body and everything that I do.