No Room to Obsess

Posted by Theresa on October 03, 2012 7 comments
This comment was posted from Eva, on a an August. post Newcomer:

I finished my last group session with Julie about a month ago. During the course, and for the past month, it has been mind boggling....not even primarily because of the weight loss, which there has been (of course I don't know exactly how much), but mainly because for the first time since I was about 10 years old (52 years ago), the obsessing and painful struggling for so much of the day stopped.

The "rules" are so simple that there just isn't much room to obsess. A few days ago things became more difficult. I found myself eating a bit too much cheese (pretty much the only transgression during these months), and obsessing and craving a lot more again. When the cravings hit I eat protein, drink water, etc, but it makes me tense, and so I signed up for a refresher session at the end of the month.

Is this usual? To get hit with strong cravings? I have also thought that maybe the cravings mean that I am coming out of a plateau into a losing time, and this is simply my body freaking out and thinking it is starving and that maybe it is actually a good sign.

Anyway, I would welcome any words of wisdom and experience from others.

Thanks!
Eva

7 comments:

  1. Theresa10/03/2012

    My experience has been that when I have cravings and I stay with the program, weight loss follows.

    When you're craving foods, your mantra should be "I want to not want it" and remember while you're craving it is your mind wanting you to go back to how you used to eat, but your mind is learning that is no longer your truth. Keep strong with your new truth, treat cheese like a condiment, and know this will pass and you will be rewarded soon.

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    1. Anonymous10/05/2012

      Thank you Theresa for doing this. It is so important not to feel alone! A couple of clarifying questions...please excuse the detail, but I find that when I am certain of what I am doing it all gets much easier:
      1) Re "cheese as a condiment". In our group Julie said to someone that having a cheeseburger was fine. I don't eat cheeseburgers, as I don't eat beef, or fast food, and when I asked if a chef salad with cheese in it was okay she say yes, but not every day. Is that what is meant by a condiment? That it is not the central protein of the meal?
      2) In terms of "I want not to want it"..it's not something she said in our group and I find it a little confusing because Julie said, and I have heard often before, that the unconscious does not hear negatives, so wouldn't the unconscious just hear all the wanting?
      I did get some help from an unexpected place yesterday. I was watching TV and an ad came on with a man standing in front of a fried food stand, or pizza stand, or some such, saying "We Americans don't let anyone tell us what to eat", the point was to take prilosec so that you could eat anything you wanted to and medicate yourself and it would all be okay. It was so insane, and such a perfect representation of the way that a part of my mind has functioned, that it cracked me up, and was like shining a flashlight on the craving monster.
      Eva

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  2. Anonymous10/04/2012

    Beautifully said. I try to keep those words in my mind......"I want to not want it"

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  3. Theresa10/05/2012

    I'm writing a long reply to your question about cheese, which I'll post shortly.

    If something you hear from one of us confuses you, then disregard it and stick to what you remember Julie telling you.

    It's great to discover the insanity in ads. It's even greater to discover you're not as crazy as food used to make you be!

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  4. Anonymous10/05/2012

    Thank you so much for your response about cheese. It was exactly the information I needed!
    Eva

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  5. Anonymous10/08/2012

    Hi Theresa,

    I have tried to get set up as a contributor, with no success. When I click on your photo, and try to send an email, I am told I need to join and verify. I'm then sent to a verification page, and enter my google information, but I just go round and round incircles. Is there some easier way to do this?
    Thans,
    Eva

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    1. Theresa10/09/2012

      I'm sorry you couldn't email me, this blog tool has it's issues and I'll try to figure out what's going on there. Meanwhile, send me an email here: alohatac@gmail.com and I'll add you as a contributor.

      Delete

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