When things don't turn out quite as planned.....

So what happens when you intend to be moderate and to make healthy choices and it doesn’t quite work out that way? The reason that I am asking that question is that this is what happened to me over Easter. As you know, from my last post I was heading on up to country Victoria to watch the Stawell gift and it was all in my plan to eat my Easter treats in moderation. This is not exactly what happened unfortunately.

Some of my old patterns kicked in, especially my ‘whoo hoo I’m on holidays and can eat anything I want’ patterns!! I was quite disappointed that over the weekend I overindulged in the Easter treats and chose things that I wouldn’t normally. So on reflection, I have realised that:

a) I needed to put a bit more preparation into how I was going to handle the eating up there – especially because we stay in a Motel and there are few options except to eat out
b) I needed to be more prepared in terms of my packing and organising (I did it at the last minute, mainly due to work as well rushing off in the morning)
c) I needed to examine my ‘going away on holidays’ patterns before I left
d) I needed to let it go once it was over and done with

The last point is an important one and one that I hadn’t realised that I was still holding on to the anger at myself until I had one of my regular chats with Jen. I had spent the whole of last week holding on to this anger at myself and what happens when I am angry at myself, well, I turn to food for comfort.

So what happens when you intend to be moderate and make healthy choices and it doesn’t quite work out this way?

a) Firstly, reflect on what happened and where the snafu’s where?
b) Identify a plan for the future
c) Move on for crying out loud!!

Okay – so that’s it from me this week – I have forgiven myself now and am moving on as we speak!

Check you next time!!

Cheers,

Jodie
http://www.lapbandforthemind.com/

Happy Easter!

Okay so anyone who has a Lap Band knows that chocolate goes through the Band pretty easily, this is good but can also be challenging! Good because of the endorphin inducing sweetness, challenging to moderate the quantity that slips through the band – or that could just be me!! That is where the mind work comes in because if chocolate goes easily through the band, it becomes a question of mind power to not completely over indulge – especially at this time of the year.

Anyway, Easter is a great time of year – I love it because I get away from the city and go to Stawell in Victoria, home of the Stawell Gift – the richest footrace in Australia. I am looking forward to going to the Grampians for some bush walking and also watching the athletics – not everyone’s cup of tea I grant you but I like it! Most of all I am looking forward to a bit of a rest. Jen and I have been burning the candle at both ends getting our new products ready (stay tuned!!) and the thought of 4 days of rest and relaxation is really attractive!

So, that brings me back to the chocolate and the temptations of Easter. I love chocolate and have definitely been known to overindulge in the past. Even more than chocolate, I used to love, love, love hot cross buns but since the band has allowed me to not indulge in hot cross buns (I’m not particularly tolerant of bread) – I don’t have to worry about those anymore. Chocolate on the other hand is another matter. I don’t like to deprive myself anything anymore so I will eat chocolate over Easter though these days I am a little more discerning (in the past I have been known to eat anything resembling chocolate just for the sake of it or usually because I was starting a diet after Easter) and like to choose the best quality chocolate that I can find and allow myself a small portion each day.

So that is how I cope with the chocolate onslaught at Easter. How will you prepare your mind? What do you need to think about, what will you give yourself permission for?

Hope you and your families all have a wonderful Easter!

Giving yourself Permission!

I don’t know about you but I am one of those people that is pretty hard on myself. I set goals, I have high expectations and when I don’t reach those goals and expectations, I tend to beat up on myself a bit. This is one of those habits that I have been working to change.

Sometimes I find that I set out my day so rigidly that there is quite a big part of me that wants to dive back under the doona and spend the rest of the day avoiding all of the goals that I had set up. These are the times I usually know that I have to take a step back, look at my expectations and see whether I have set them so high that I don’t have any hope of achieving them.

It is only after years of wondering why I don’t achieve my goals that I have learned that this is a self sabotage strategy. It is really along the lines of the old ‘I have banned so many foods from my life, it is all so hard, I am going to get McDonald’s’ type eating pattern that I ran for years – is it just me or has anyone else run this crazy strategy – *sigh* it may just be me!

Anyway, after years of running the strategy of setting goals so high that I am overwhelmed with the amount that I need to achieve and then run for the safety of the doona that I have discovered that ‘giving myself permission’ can really help out. So, what does this ‘giving myself permission’ entail? Well, firstly – if I am feeling a ‘running to the doona’ moment coming on, I start to ask myself some questions – ‘what if you only achieved, X and X today instead of X, X and X?’ ‘Is it okay to only get X & X done?’ This usually brings back the focus and identifies that I have probably set my expectations too high and then things move on pretty quickly from there.

Sometimes a spell under the doona can really help so instead of avoiding it, I will give myself permission to luxuriate in the fabulousness that is my doona. In allowing myself to enjoy it, I am usually ready to move on pretty quickly. It also helps me out no end as I am much more kind to myself these days.

So, do you have any ‘overwhelmed’ strategies that you run? Will giving yourself permission to ‘run to the doona’ help you out or is there something else that in order to be kinder to yourself that you need to give yourself permission to do?

Have a good week, my friends!!

Cheers,

Jodie
www.lapbandforthemind.com

P.S. We would love to hear any feedback that you have on our Fear, the Band and your life MP3 currently available on www.lapbandforthemind.com!!

P.S. We have a new ‘Success on Optifast’ Workout your Mind MP3 coming out soon, watch out for it for anyone who will be starting the LapBand journey soon – it will be a great tool for them!!