Cravings!

Hotel Chocolat Salted Caramels, if you must know ;)

On Christmas Day, I decided to allow myself some biscuits and chocolate, after three and a half months without.  I quite enjoyed it, didn't eat a ridiculous amount, and overall felt good about the whole thing.  That is, until the cravings set in the next day!

Three days of sugar cravings!  I listened to the 'Craving Buster' meditation I have every day, which definitely helped.  Still, it was a real eye-opener to the addictive nature of sugar.  Probably, at the outset I had the power of enthusiasm and novelty on my side.  Certainly, I was surprised how hard it was to stay off sugar after just one day back on, and how long the cravings lasted.  In the meditation there's a line about 'the cravings will pass, and you can handle a little discomfort, can't you?'  Yes, I could, but three days is not my idea of fleeting!

By the fourth day, though, the cravings had abated, and it became easy again.  Before that, I'd even stopped using the hypnotherapy app on a daily basis, as I no longer felt the need.  And I think I may be able to do that again, now the cravings have been tamed.  Scary, though, how powerful sugar is!  And I shan't be dipping my toe back in the sugar pool so lightly again, that's for sure...

Perception

Yesterday, my MIL was over for a visit.  She's been pretty stressed out, and has put on some weight, so I told her about my weight loss through hypnotherapy.  I said I'm down to a size 10 (that's an American size 6) for the first time in over a decade.  She said something about hoping I wasn't planning to lose any more weight and looked concerned when I said I wouldn't mind losing a little more. 

Perception is a funny thing.  Looking at my belly while sat on the toilet this morning, I thought 'I really need to lose some more weight'.  I don't think I look slim, let alone skinny.  Then, I did a weigh in and I have dropped a bit more:

58.1k (128lbs)

When my MIL asked why I would want to lose more weight, I found it hard to put into words.  I think for the amount of exercise I do I still look rather flabby rather than defined.  And yet, I know I'm now just under my 'ideal weight' according to my general doctor, who I'm sure is happy to have someone within two kilos either side of that.  I'm going for a health check on Wednesday, in any case, so it'll be interesting to see what they say then.  I'm hoping to pass with flying colours :D

A New Plan (and New Jeans)

Yesterday, I did a weigh-in.  Once again, I wasn't feeling great about it, but I did it anyway.  And the results were... a little disappointing.  I'm up about half a kilo (one pound).

Weight - 59.2k (130lbs)

What I put this down to is the fact that I've been eating a lot of dried fruit and nuts after dinner.  I'd go so far as to call these binges.  Now, as I'm doing everything else fine (working out daily, with a range of different workouts: weights, step, static bike, pilates, yoga), it's not too dreadful.  Still, a pound every couple of weeks could quickly add up.

And I'm having no luck stopping these binges with the hypnotherapy apps that I've got.  I don't know if this is because there isn't an app specifically for bingeing, or if this is based on stuff that is too primal for hypnotherapy to reach (an idea another psychotherapist friend raised).  Either way, I realise I need a new plan to take this into account.

I don't want to stop eating and enjoying fruit and nuts (which I could probably manage with some of the craving buster apps).  So, what I'm going to try is to make up a plate with treats after dinner, and have just that plate.  That way, I have my treat, but have it in a controlled manner.  I tried this last night, and it worked, so fingers crossed.

On a more cheerful note, I went shopping for new jeans yesterday, a size down from the last ones I bought.  It feels good to be wearing jeans that fit me again, and knowing that they are a smaller size than I've worn for several years :)

How Deep Can I Go?

Crystal Visions Tarot

Did a weigh-in yesterday, and was pleased to see that I've dropped again, if only slightly:

58.5 k (128 lbs)

Overall, I've been incredibly happy with the positive changes I've achieved listening to these hypnotherapy apps.  The only thing I notice is that I still eat more than I'd like just before bed, even if now it's nuts and dried fruit rather than chocolate and biscuits.

Talking with a psychotherapist friend this morning, she said her ex had looked into hypnotherapy, but felt it couldn't deal with complex issues rooted in early childhood.  That may well be what's happening here.  My mother used to breastfeed me to get me to sleep as an infant, and perhaps it's that memory of something sweet and soothing as I drifted off to sleep that keeps this habit so tightly hooked in... Makes me worry about breastfeeding my baby to sleep :(

Nervous Weigh-In

I've been feeling a bit worried the last week or so.  For one thing, I've fallen asleep during my hypnotherapy sessions a few times, as the baby hasn't been letting me sleep all that well.  And my elder son's health problems probably haven't helped, either.  I thought it might not have been as effective, because of that, as well as not getting enough sleep being bad for weight loss.

Still, I have stayed away from chocolate, biscuits and cakes, though I've eaten rather more nuts and dried fruit than I'd like.  And I have exercised every day, alternating between static bike, step, weights, pilates and yoga.  Altogether, though, I was worried that my weight loss would have stalled, or that I might even be gaining weight again.

So, it was with some trepidation that I stepped on the scales this morning, and was very pleasantly surprised to see: 
58.9k (129.9 lbs)

Morale Booster

Courtesy of Onelifewell.com

Last week, I weighed myself but was only down 0.3k, which I figure is within the margin of error of a bathroom scale and the natural fluctuations of a body over the course of a day.  It felt a bit disappointing, which made me think about why I'm making the changes I am. 

A big part of it is for the health benefits, as I saw fat laying down around my belly - very unhealthy!  Another part is wanting to be a good role model for my children, as they say eating sugar is particularly bad for the developing brain.  And then there's the part where I'd like to look good naked, especially given how trim my partner is.

To help when chocolate cravings hit, as well as still listening to hypnotherapy meditations daily, I've been reminding myself that even if I don't loose a pound, it's still a great thing to not have eaten chocolate, biscuits or cake for nearly six weeks.  Still, it has been a bit tougher this week, perhaps because sweets are more omni-present in the run up to Halloween/Christmas.

It helped my morale when today's weigh in had me under 60k for the first time in years!

59.8k (131.8lbs)
BMI 21.7

I'm still not sure whether to try to avoid chocolate entirely over Christmas.  There's one part of me that enjoys this healthier eating, and another bit that thinks "But it's Christmas!"  We'll see...

Slow And Steady

Another week or so has gone by, and I decided to do another weigh-in.  I've still been using the hypnotherapy for weight loss apps every day.  And while I didn't feel I'd done as well with my eating, having eaten an awful lot of nuts a couple of evenings in a row when stressed and tired, I have at least stayed away from sugary stuff.  I also did yoga once, on top of my regular rotation of weights, cardio, static bike, step and cardiopilates.  So, I was hopeful when I got on the scales:

60.8k (130 lbs) 
BMI: 22.3

Mindifi + Weigh-In

Well, I've been listening to hypnotherapy apps every day, mostly the Mindifi one for Weight Loss (available for iPhone and Android), for about three weeks.  And for over two weeks of that, I've eaten no junk food!  When I've wanted a treat, I've eaten a couple of dates, and some nuts.  I've also been exercising daily still (well, that hardly ever changes).  So, today seemed a good time to do a weigh-in:

61.6k (135.8 lbs)

I feel really good about this.  Not only because I've lost weight, but more to the point because I'm eating healthily.  Already, three people have commented on me looking slimmer, and I notice that the fat around my stomach is starting to come off.  That was one of my main motivators to start eating better again.  My weight wasn't actually too bad, but I could see that a lot of it was round my middle, which they say is the least healthy kind of fat.

I have been tempted a few times, but I hope I can keep this up as a general way of life.  Will definitely keep listening to the hypnosis apps!

Hurray For Hypnosis Apps!

Been listening to hypnotherapy apps on my iPhone for about the last 10 days, and it's been really helpful.  I think it's like they say with exercise or meditation more generally: better to do 20 minutes a day than an hour once a week.  So, with that impetus, for the last 7 days I haven't eaten any chocolate or biscuits, for the first time in at least a year.  And the last time was just because I couldn't eat that stuff due to morning sickness.  The last time I truly quit sugar of my own accord was at least two years ago.

This morning, my DH said he thought he could see I'd lost weight, so I decided to jump on the scales.  And yes, I'm down to 62.1k (just under 137 lbs)!  I believe this will be maintainable long term, I sure hope so!