So that was Christmas. And what did you eat?
The decs are down, the ‘fridge full of white space, the cupboards empty. So now we start again.
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So Christmas is done, January is here and hearts tend to sink because we no longer have an excuse to engage in our favourite pastime: eating. Thinking about food. Then eating it. Thinking about it again. Well why not. Food is wonderful. We are programmed to enjoy eating. The reward centres in our brains light up when we eat because it’s all about survival. That’s partly why dieting is so difficult and why so many of us end up putting the weight back on. Our brains don’t take kindly to denial because for most of human existence food was frequently scarce.
If like me you gave yourself licence to eat over Christmas you may well be fearing what now lies ahead. Can you pull it back and start reducing again or have you blown it? The weight slips on so easily yet is so incredibly tough to shift.
Of course if we didn’t over eat at Christmas we wouldn’t be facing this concern but who wants to live like that! Food is glorious, Christmas food particularly so. It’s dark outside for most of the day and if not cold it’s uninviting whereas inside it’s warm and there is food. There is so much food.
Yet soon as it’s over we’re expected to go on a diet, detox, do dry January or Veganuary. I will do none of these things. For a start I hardly drink at all. I wish I did! Easiest way to drop a few pounds/kilos is to give up alcohol. But I pretty much gave it up years ago as it just gives me a headache and/or heartburn so I can’t see the point. A pity. I love the taste and the effect but my body rejects it. If you do drink it’s a short cut to losing weight if you can give up or cut down. Alcohol is empty calories; they fill you out without filling you up. Going vegan or vegetarian may help too but there’s no guarantee of that. A lot of food aimed at vegetarians is full of sugar - more empty calories.
I don’t believe in detox diets either. If your body isn’t detoxing naturally you’re in serious trouble. If your liver is functioning as it should be you don’t need to detox. I’m not in favour of fads nor lose-weight-quick schemes. I’m in this for the long haul. My aim is to eat normally without being obsessed with food and to maintain a healthy weight, the right one for my age, height and sex. To get there I need to lose one more stone (14 pounds/6.35 kilos).
I gained just four pounds over Christmas which I was quite pleased with because I didn’t stint at all. I am hoping going back to normal,ish, eating will do the trick. I want to take those four pounds off slowly and then go for the last 14 I need to lose. So my goal for the year is 18 pounds off, one and a half a month. Doesn’t sound much? It is! The closer you get to goal weight the tougher it gets. As if your body fights you all the way.
But it’s important not to see yourself as fighting your body. Your body is the only one you’ve got and isn’t it better to be friends with it instead of hating it as so many people do? I’m convinced liking if not loving your body is much more likely to bring successful weight loss than feeling you’re at war with it.
Your body will appreciate healthy eating and exercise. Your head working in harmony with your body. When you go for a walk, run, gym session, dance or do any physical activity say to your body, “This is for you. This is for us.” Don’t see exercise as punishment and do NOT starve yourself as penance for indulging at Christmas. Get off the merry-go-round of binge/starve/binge.
January is the month when diet pushers urge you to try this, buy this, buy that, buy buy buy. But losing weight doesn’t require you to buy anything, no not even gym membership. Eat for necessity but much more importantly eat for pleasure. Years ago a friend who’s vegetarian told me she and her husband really enjoyed being vegetarians. That had never occurred to me before. She sticks with it because she enjoys it. There’s food for thought for 2022. See your weight-loss regime, however you choose to do it, as something to enjoy not endure! Good luck. More soon.
Hi Laura, I enjoy your writing. I read an article that you had written several years ago, and I find myself in the same situation. I would love the opportunity to connect with you. I don't know if you are on Instagram, but I do not have twitter. I just know you went through something very difficult, but you came out on the other side. I would love to hear more of your story. For me, mine story is just beginning.