Monday, November 23, 2015

Day 28: this is the way the diet ends, not with a bang, but a whimper

While I realized that I stopped diet blog a few days short, I didn't realize that there would be anyone who would notice.  So, I was a bit surprised when I heard that there is at least one reader who wondered what happened next.  So, this one's for you, Curtis, at least as much as I can remember.

And now I must confess, the last few days were not smooth sailing.  I continued to eat dark chocolate on day 27.  I realized that large quantities of red cabbage are not happy-belly-making on day 28.  I then deserted the entire plan 12 hours early on Friday night, once again with popcorn and cocktails, which is sort of the way I started.

So, what have I learned?  I'm not really sure.  Stubbornness can get me pretty far, but if I'm focused on the rules and not the true spirit of the plan, I don't really make the progress that is needed.  I still eat too many snacks, and have issues with portion control.  I still keep things in the house that I know that I struggle with.  While I lost some weight, it was only 4 pounds, most of which have probably returned in the past week or so.  While I know that I should avoid gluten, I keep eating it, pretending that it's not really an issue.  I did confirm that gluten is only part of my problem; I seem to have a bigger FODMAP issue, and I need to start seeing what else causes problems.  So far, red cabbage and sunchokes = bad; leeks, mushrooms, and onions = fine (this is a big relief).  I did learn that eggs and veggies are a great breakfast and if I prepare them in advance I am less likely to have coffee shop breakfast of latte and pastry.  I realized that I don't really need snacks in between meals, and I can run for a long time without fuel once fat-adapted (which takes me a few weeks).

No big news story here, but I definitely obsess too much over what I'm eating / not eating.  I think a focus on mindfulness would be a better alternative for me than overly restrictive diets that just cause me to obsess further.  Perhaps a 30 day mindfulness challenge is in order for the New Year.  For now, however,  I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving with friends and a long weekend.

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