Newbie/Promises to myself

Hi everyone! ::waves enthusiastically:: I just signed up this morning and am still trying to figure out how to use the site, etc. I have a lot of unique challenges in my weight loss journey including limited mobility due to a chronic condition effecting my hip, a broken shoulder on the same side, food allergies (nuts, including nut oils and nut butters and lemons) and a history of anorexia in high school and then bulimia later in life. I also live in a multi generational household which includes my grandparents, my mommy (she's a widow), my college-age son (I'm divorced, his father remarried and is nearby) and my sister (scrawny, has a boyfriend), so I cook for five other people daily.

I decided that joining an online support group would be safest for me considering my history and give me some ideas on how to do this the RIGHT way. I'm just a baby (38) so it's kind of sad that I'm in such pitiful shape, but there it is, right in the open. Honesty is important to me and I will start with myself and make sure there are others to call me on it if I try to be dishonest with myself. Sounds like the beginnings of a plan, no?

I am bad at following "rules", so I have made the following promises to myself. I find these promises to myself to be necessary, if only to remind myself of the basics while still refusing to make "rules".

I promise I will keep a food journal, both online and in a notebook lest I forget while away from the computer. Everything that goes in my mouth besides plain water or medications will be written down, no matter how big or small, no matter how on or off target it may be.

I promise I will pay attention to serving sizes and limit myself to that amount or less. I will use a smaller plate to make it look like I have more food than I really do on that plate. If I do not finish that food, I will save it for later grazing rather than tossing it out and "starting fresh" with a new plate full of food later in the day as a "snack".

I promise I will eat a well-rounded, nutritious breakfast every morning rather than a piece of pie or cake and a few pots of coffee loaded with CoffeeMate.

I promise if there is a dessert item in the house, I will have only one serving per day, at the most. If I have that piece of cake in the morning, I will not eat another piece at lunch and/or dinner.

I promise I will adapt my cooking to use a combination of low-fat and full fat ingredients so that I am not eating all low-fat foods, which I loathe, but am still cutting my total fat intake.

I promise I will adapt my coffee creamer recipe, or purchase a coffee creamer, to be low-fat and sugar-free. Many of my daily calories come from my copious amounts of coffee creamer, so if I cannot do this simple thing, I must drink my coffee black or not at all.

I promise I will become more creative in my cooked vegetable seasonings instead of relying almost exclusively on garlic and butter, salt and pepper. I will still prepare it that way for my family, but I will remove some of the vegetable for myself BEFORE the butter hits it and use different seasonings for myself.

I promise to stop nibbling late at night. If I MUST have a late-night snack, it will be a salad with balsamic vinegar on it rather than bleu cheese salad dressing.

I promise to not forbid myself foods if I am craving them. If I MUST have chocolate, I will have it. I will limit myself to one mini chocolate or dark Hershey's Kiss - just enough to stop the craving. I will not binge on them.

I promise to exercise by walking/limping through/around the park at least four times a week. If for some reason I cannot do this, I will march or walk in place in front of the TV for as long as I safely can do so.

I promise to actively seek out a varied support network, both online and in the real world. I will avoid or gently verbally chastise "food enablers" and those who assure me that men like "thick" women. Curves are sexy, but bulges are not! Death to the bulges!

I promise that if I mess up, I will not beat myself up over it. I am only human, and we are all fallible. I will use it as a learning experience and come away with a (hopefully) better idea of who I am and what exactly I'm thinking when I open my mouth to put food in there!

~Morgorond~

Mon. Oct 6, 12:15pm

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