Turn Left

My journey back on program has not been easy nor has it been perfect. I have several weeks where I'm doing great and then BOOM - not so great. Sometimes it's just a one time thing and other times it lasts a day or two. When I eat non-key foods, like carbs and sugars, my body wants more of the same. The key is to not eat those foods and eventually they stopping calling your name.
Little Mean Girl is always pointing me in the wrong direction!
Sunday morning I poured hot frothed milk into my coffee and discovered the milk had gone bad. I jumped into my car and backed out of my garage to get milk at a nearby gas station, as the grocery store wouldn't open for a few more hours.

I maneuvered the quick turns within my neighborhood toward the main road and that's when Little Mean Girl, one of my inner critics, started talking.
Turn right! You can get milk AND something sweet to have with your coffee!
"Oh no! Not this early in the morning!" I thought to myself.

Time seemed to slow down as I approached the main road. The battle with Little Mean Girl was less than a minute, but as I waited for an opening to make my turn, the inner dialogue kept repeating over and over like a dusty needle caught in a groove of a vinyl record. My mind was caught in a loop and I was having difficulty clearing the dust.

The traffic thinned out and provided an opening for me to turn. I pushed past the loud sugar calls and turned left.

It felt as if I was going against the laws of gravity to make this turn, but I did it anyhow.

I only needed to push beyond that moment and to set my trajectory toward the destination I where I wanted to arrive, to silence the calls of sugar and carbs.

Each time I hear these calls, I need to repeat this process:
  1. Turn down the volume on Little Mean Girl.
  2. See the choices and the consequences.
  3. Set my trajectory to where I want to arrive.
  4. Take the correct turn.
  5. Repeat.
  6. Repeat.
  7. Repeat.
The other side of this turn is sweet success, which is far sweeter than anything Little Mean Girl has to offer. Nothing tastes as good as sweet success!

What about you? What do you do when you hear the calls of sugar or carbs?

12 comments:

  1. It took me "crashing and burning" quite a few times after "completing" maintenance to FINALLY come to the conclusion I CANNOT EAT SUGAR. I went to a refresher in April because I needed "permission" from Julie to quiet those sugar cravings down. She looked right at me without me telling her what I had done, and she said "You DO know you are one who can no longer eat sugar, DONT YOU???" I walked away from that refresher knowing I CANNOT change my trajectory. NO OPTIONS. The "right hand turn" for me is NO LONGER going to happen.

    And I am so relieved.

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    1. You've got this Jennifer! Unlink Biggest Loser contestants, we will succeed because we are staying the course regardless of the obstacles that come our way - we may get stuck - but we get back in the grove as soon as we can and set our sails toward our destination once more. Never giving up is key!

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  2. I went to a refresher yesterday and Julie said it could take a week to get all sugar out and quell cravings. Stay strong

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    1. Thanks for your support Shelly!

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  3. Today I gave into the cravings (I'm two months in) and I'm feeling so awful about it. Does this mean I need to go to a refresher ASAP or have others been able to get back in the river? I can tell my body hates what I did to it, but have I completely de-programmed myself? I've still got quite a bit of weight to go (I'm down two sizes but want to go down another 3 before maintenance) so would love your advice. Thank you!!!

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    Replies
    1. Andrea, pick yourself up, shake it off, and get right back on program. You had a rough day, let it go and resume key eating for dinner. No, you did not de-program yourself!

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    2. Thank you! I'm actually looking forward to getting back on track because my body does not feel well at all!

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  4. Good for you Andrea! Your body thanks you too!

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  5. Anonymous5/09/2016

    Do you know if the dried vegetable chips are ok (key) on the program as a vegetable?

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    Replies
    1. Dried foods are not on program, so no dried veggie chips.

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    2. I made the mistake of buying some of those dried snap peas and found myself craving them the next day. I called the office and they said they were not on program. I should have known better!

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  6. A few summers ago I learned this the hard way too Crystal! I kept wondering why I hadn't found these great things eons ago. I also kept getting cravings for them.

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