Tracking is Helping

I am feeling kind of blue this morning and easily overwhelmed and irritated. So I am taking a minute to see the good in what I have been trying to accomplish this past week.

I have been making and effort to make a daily food plan and then do some tracking of what I actually end up eating. I am not knocking myself out over it, but I am doing it. It is helping because I can see where certain foods keep me satisfied longer, and that helps me plan better, and know what to keep on hand. I don't feel I HAVE to track, but I want to, and that is the difference.

I used to use food plans and diaries eventually to beat myself up, and they just seemed like a record of my failure. Just like the scale, which I gave up for at least a year before I could have a healthy scale relationship, I gave up tracking and counting and even planning for a while. But I see the need for it when I get grossly off track, and I also think it is a great tool to use to get to know myself and what works for me. After I while I know what meals are within my limits, and I don't have to look up nutritional content, and calculate so much.

If I fall short of planning and tracking for a day, I don't jump into the wild side of the refrigerator or anything, I just pick it back up, and try to assess the missing day as best I can. I notice the scale is going down consistently in just the past week that I have been doing this. The extra calories are not sneaking in because I am more prepared. I feel better at the end of the day because I know what really happened. I tend to be somewhat of a blackout eater at times. Especially when there is a surge of emotions. I can have a hypnotic episode in the kitchen, and not even realize what I have done.

So for now, it is taking a little extra time, but it is worth it. So is the extra blogging time. I hope I can keep this up because then I can enter into new weight loss territory. And I'd like that.