Fill Her Up

In the time before I started this blog as a place to record my weight loss efforts, I used to think that I only ate until I was full. In fact, I was so sure that I was only taking in the amount of food that I needed, that I would impart that sentiment to close friends. Often, I remember hearing myself saying, “I honestly don’t know why I weigh what I do; I eat less than almost everyone I know.”

While that was true in some respects – since it was common practice for me to eat only one or two meals a day – I am surprised now by the absurdity of the claim. I have a hard time thinking about how I actually convinced myself that I was eating the right amount of food given the way that my body felt afterwards.

I stuffed myself. There is no other way to explain what I was doing on a daily basis other than to use that word. But the thing is that I never knew that’s what I was doing. Now that I have a couple of months experience of healthy eating under my belt, I finally understand the difference.

Before, I would eat until I felt uncomfortable. I interpreted that as being full. What was I thinking? Laying on the couch, virtually unable to move, and having to take antacids nearly every day because I had shoveled more into my mouth than my body could possibly process was an utterly ridiculous practice that became a regular ritual for me.

I know better now. First, I know that I do not have to eat until I am full; I have to eat to fuel myself, but I never have to continue consuming to reach some satiated level. Second, I actually comprehend what ‘full’ means, whereas my prior definition of the term would have more accurately described the feeling following an outright gorging.

I am so glad that I have learned this lesson. It is frightening to consider where this particular misunderstanding in my relationship with food would have eventually led had I not finally gotten myself to this place of progress. How much more would I have gained? What other signals would I have ignored to keep myself from facing the truth? Thankfully, these are questions I will never have to answer.

It feels good to eat, yet to walk away from the table without being full. It is such a different feeling compared to before when I stuffing myself to a near bursting point. I know that now that I have gained this knowledge and come to understand the vast difference in consuming between the two lifestyles, there is no way I could ever go back to the higher quantity of food, nor consequential discomfort. Besides, I think antacids taste sort of unpleasantly chalky.

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 8 glasses of water throughout the day
- 1 banana
- 2 Mandarin oranges
- 2 cups of garden salad with sweet onion dressing
- 1 soft shell taco with ground beef, grated cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and salsa
- 10 cheese flavoured rice crackers
- 2 cups of spinach salad with cherry tomatoes, dried cranberries, grated cheese, and a balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing
- 3/4 cup low fat piña colada yogurt

EXERCISE:
- 1 hour and 35 minutes of walking completed in 3 outings ( 25 minutes long, 40 minutes long, and 30 minutes long)
- 4 sets of 5 push ups
- 4 sets of 15 lunges for each leg
- 4 sets of 15 squats
- 4 sets of 30 stomach crunches (2 straight, 1 right, and 1 left)