A New Year Starts With A New You...

One thing I have found in my efforts to eat right and be healthy is that the "other" food has a very powerful pull both mentally and physically. Not only do I crave these foods like mashed potatoes, bread, doughnuts, hamburgers, cookies and pretty much anything I see but I also find myself dreaming about stuffing my face with these foods too. I mean sitting on the floor of my kitchen and gorging myself until I am smiling and dazed in a food coma. Don't get me wrong, obviously, from this brief description, one can see that food has a serious attachment to me and I to it. Psychologists might say that's not a good thing but honestly I don't care about that; right now I just take it a day at a time and practice patience and perseverance.
The strong desire to eat the foods that are so not good for me is largely responsible for why I am writing in my blog. I figure if I get it out in the blogosphere then I must be accountable for it. It's hard when that bad food is sitting in the cabinets and in the fridge next to my healthy fresh food. I feel like all I've eaten in the past week resembles weeds and almost always is green. Right now I am eating all fresh, if I don't prepare it then I don't eat it. A few life savers that I have found when eating extremely healthy is the herbs, spices and natural things to flavor the meals. I would say some of the saving graces food wise would be: oatmeal, it probably is the single greatest thing that has kept me going strong and not giving into temptation. Oatmeal with cinnamon and honey, sometimes a little banana, goes a long way to making you feel full. It also helps to curb bread cravings. Eggs are really good too. I cook them my favorite way, over easy. I feel like I'm eating more if I have just two that way. Cherries are like God's gift to me as a dessert; I kid you not. Delicious! In some ways I'm just tricking the mind but in others I'm just not allowing myself to give into temptation, not even a little. Not even a bite. One bite leads to a mouthful and that mouthful leads to a stomach full and so on and so on.
The reason I have to go so drastic in the beginning is that I must retrain my brain and my body to work together to create a more healthy, fit lifestyle. It's not about starving myself or getting skinny quick. It's about making the right choices that will affect me for the rest of my life in a positive manner. I am still eating, I am not starving myself, my body just wants to tell my mind that it is. The delayed gratification as opposed to the instant gratification will pay off in leaps and bounds in the end. Being healthy and fit is what it's about. I'm creating healthy habits for a healthy lifestyle.
Of course it won't hurt to see the payoff either but I'm not banking on that as my main motivation. Sometimes you have to forget about everything else. Who cares what anyone else has to say or think, bottom line is, you have to do it for yourself. If you don't, no one will. I am lucky to have very good (and helpful) support of a few good friends. That also keeps you from being overwhelmed. I am entering my second week/8th day, I have made it through one week, and now we get even more serious as I dig in the trenches and get settled for what will be a very interesting (and healthy) year...