More Triggers

The longer I do this, the more I try to analyze the behaviours that brought me to let myself go so badly. I never want to be that person again. That woman was ashamed of herself, self conscious, lacked confidence in herself, and felt like she had no control.

I've identified two more situations where I find that I care less about what I consume. When I'm angry, I either don't eat and then wait till I feel sick and then eat whatever's quick, or I want to snack. When I haven't slept well and I'm tired, I have no energy so I need to eat more or I crash. I don't think I can do much about the being tired except try to make sure I get my rest, since I really do think my body needs the extra calories to keep going on those days. I can do something about the anger, though. Who am I hurting by practicing these behaviours? It's certainly not whoever I am angry at! The only one getting punished is me, and that is not a healthy way to deal with my emotions.

I've been doing this for a year now, though. I honestly don't see myself ever going back to the way I was. It just doesn't even seem possible now. I think I would barf if I tried to eat the way that I used to- I can't handle the portion sizes and things that tasted good before, just don't now. I can make myself lighter versions of things I used to enjoy and I'm happier with them then I would be with the full fat versions. I mean, I look at pictures of French fries cooking in a deep fryer, and all I can see is an entire pot full of grease and oil and picture what that would do to my body. My Cajun Fries are awesome and I don't have to worry that I'm shortening my life by eating them!

My inlaws are visiting this weekend, and they did a double take when they saw me! My mother in law said that she is always interested to see what I look like, since they only visit every 3-4 months. It was really nice to hear her ask if I was done losing weight- definitely made me feel good if she thought it was possible! She asked me "Are you going to keep eating this food or will you stop when you're done losing weight?"

I don't plan to be on Nutrisystem for the rest of my life, but I really do enjoy a lot of the meals. The breakfasts, for example, are awesome. Where else can you find breakfast pastries like the Apple Strudel Scone or the Cranberry Orange Pastry (my two favourites) with the low calories and high protein that Nutrisystem offers? And in my opinion, they have just as much flavour as the overpriced coffee shop versions. I could definitely eat an NS breakfast every day and be happy. Some of the dinners, I've been trying to work out ways to make for myself, but others I don't think I'd have a clue. For example- I love the Vegetable Fajita and have no idea how I could make an appropriate substitute. I'd really miss my Mexican Lasagna if I wasn't able to get it anymore!

So the bottom line for me, is that I enjoy having the convenience and flavour of Nutrisystem food in my life and plan to continue incorporating it even once I reach my goal weight. I've learned a lot about portion control, the glycemic index, and about having balance in both my life and my diet. While I took control of my life and chose to follow the program and lose 85lbs (so far!), I don't think I could have done it alone. I tried and failed on my own- I've never had as much success losing weight as I have with Nutrisystem. People ask me if it was hard, and I still feel like I can honestly say no. It's all about choices, just like anything else in life, but as far as I'm concerned, Nutrisystem makes it as easy as it can possibly be with (mostly) yummy food and no counting. I highly recommend this program to anyone out there with weight to lose because you WILL accomplish your goal if you stick to it. And I must say- it feels really good to actually know that as a certainty!

I have less than 40lbs to go now to earn my 125lb bear and reach my goal weight, and I am really looking forward to continuing to write this blog as I continue my journey and focus on maintenance.

Disclosure: This post was written by me and was not edited by anyone. The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own and have not been influenced in any way. Nutrisystem Canada is providing their food and program to me free of charge for my weekly updates. I was not compensated for writing this post.