Monday, October 22, 2007

Best. Diet. Ever!

As anyone whose read my blog very long knows, I worry a lot about weight.
I've tried lots of diets, done weight watchers, you name it. And yet I still struggle with weight. I'm kind of used to it. It's something that's been an issue my entire life.
When I was pregnant with my son I could not stop eating. I was constantly hungry. And, I ate all the time.
This time round things are a little different. I've noticed something very odd about my eating habits - I'm hungry from 10 am -2 pm.
If I don't eat then it's quite possible I will not eat the rest of the day. I didn't plan this. In fact, it's rather inconvenient because 5 out of 7 days I am at work and I either have to bring my lunch and plan ahead or I spend a lot of money on food.
Regardless, my food intake is bizarre. I usually eat a piece of toast when I get up, and then I start eating again at 10. I usually have some cheese or yogurt. Then sometimes a bagel. And, then I have lunch. I try to make it kind of big (like a cobb salad from Lettuce Eatery - YUM!) because I'll be done for the day. If I have soup at night it's a milestone.

Honestly, I've always thought people who say "I'm just not hungry" were lying. My sister is often quite content with a bowl of peas for lunch. Seriously. And then a healthy dinner. She's very thin. And, she'll tell me that she's not hungry. My mom will say "I forgot to eat lunch" and I've always kind of thought that was a little weird. For me forgetting meals has never been something I would do.
It's like following Weight Watchers when they say to stop eating when your stomach is full. I never followed that advice because honestly, in my mind that is a LOT of food.

And now, suddenly, I get it. It's like something has triggered my brain to realize when my stomach is full. I've been trying to get this trigger for the last 29 years. And suddenly it happened.

Part of me thinks this is a pregnancy thing. Part of me hopes it isn't. My mom said that maybe it's a mindset that I've been working on developing. Or, perhaps I'm so worried about gaining 87 lbs in this pregnancy, like my last, that I'm subconsciously monitoring my food intake.

Whatever. It works for me. I haven't gained much yet. And, I'm hoping this sticks. Now - and after.

9 comments:

Amy said...

Awesome Laural!

I hope I can get to that mindet at some point too. You know I've tried a tonne of things too. Very frustrating sometimes.

LoriD said...

Awesome... as long as you're getting all your nutrients for the day!

AndreAnna said...

I agree with Lorid - as long as WHAT you're eating is good, nutritious food, eating less is a good thing and I'm glad you are feeing so good!

Anonymous said...

Lettuce is the key to all of this! Bwah hah haha ha!!

Bea said...

Pregnancy broke my trigger. I struggle with my weight now, and I have absolutely no strategies, because all my life I've eaten whatever I wanted - and what I wanted was never much. When I was pregnant it was amazing to be able to go to a restaurant and actually eat the whole entree. Sigh. That particular ability never went away.

Anonymous said...

I love it when that happens! In my opinion it happens when I am on a pretty even keel emotionally, so my usual trigger (emotional eating) is not as strong. I feel so powerful when I can just say "no" to food.

Go with it!

Anonymous said...

teach me!!

i have issues with this...i ALWAYS think i'm hungry!

Mighty Morphin' Mama said...

Good for you!
I am retraining myself in this. There was a time when I worked out a lot and ate very clean, very small meals, usually 4 to 5 times a day. If I overate or ate fatty/salty food I would feel violently ill and get headaches. Over my last 2 pregnancies I apparently retrained my body to over-indulge, ugh. So now I am having to retrain the good habits. I hope you are able to hang onto them after, it should definitely be a habit by then!

Teena in Toronto said...

Alas, I've never been the "I forgot to eat" type. I'd like to be that way for a month :)