Is anyone reading this still suffering from 'Monday-itis'

29^th January 2013

All the flowers of tomorrow are the seeds of today.  Anonymous

As I’m not looking for fast weight loss, I’m allowing myself a little more flexibility and indulgence so yesterday for lunch we had a fish finger sandwich, I had mine on my crusty bread baguette, I took all the doughy bread middle from the crusty bit to lower the ProPoints because it’s only really the crusty crunch I enjoy it was delicious and I ended up leaving some of the crusty roll.

For tea I wasn’t hungry as such just fancied some cheese so I cut three small pieces from the cheese I’d bought yesterday and just ate them on their own, savouring the flavour – delicious.

Today the main thing on the menu will be eggs as we have a lot of them to work through and because I got a bit excitable with my shopping trip at the weekend, I now have a pretty house and an empty purse!  So it’ll be consuming cupboard/freezer food for the next few weeks and only buying essentials.  Good job I like food shopping because it means I already have quite a stash to go at.  I’m thinking boiled eggs and soldiers today; I haven’t had those for ages – nom nom.  You can’t beat simple foods and I’ll have 3 eggs for 5pp.

Okay so who suffers from 'Monday-itis'?  What you ask?!  You know it's Monday morning, you take a look in the mirror and you feel fat and frumpy. You decide 'that's it, today I am going on a diet!' and you mentally make a note of all the foods you will stop eating from today; all the foods that you can't have, shouldn't have and won't have because this time you are really serious!

So you start the day off with porridge or some other healthy breakfast, you have your piece of fruit for morning tea and a salad sarnie for lunch; by which time you are obsessing about a chocolate bar (the chocolate bar that you’ve told yourself you CAN'T HAVE!).

You sit eating your salad feeling deprived and unhappy that you are missing out on a chocolate bar, instead feeling like a deprived hungry person nibbling on your sarnie.

At some stage between then and the next 48 hours you start to feel miserable and/or angry that you are missing out; you are getting snappy and grumpy - What do you do? Of course, you overeat!

But you don't just eat one biscuit, you eat the whole packet or you go and buy that chocolate bar and the cream cake which just happens to be strategically placed next to it...and then...you feel really guilty, bad, naughty - you feel like a loser with no willpower; you eat more, you binge and say "stuff it", I'll start again on Monday!

Does this sound like you? Then you’re not listening to me!  I keep telling anyone who will listen both in my meetings, on my blog and on my Facebook page and group that you don’t have to do the deprivation diet and you sure as hell don’t have to do the guilt!  This ‘diet’ mentality sucks and it will never be successful long term.  You need to give yourself permission to continue to enjoy eating the foods you like.  Take a sensible long-term approach to weight loss that includes healthier eating and moving more.  

Losing weight steadily and enjoying the journey is way more fun than eating food you don’t really want to eat because it makes you thinner!  I rarely eat what’s termed as ‘diet’ food, I may grab the odd low fat thing but on the whole I eat good food, tasty and delicious food.  I’m just more aware of portion sizes and also of the true value of food.  I’ve learned to cook and how to make food taste how I like it to taste and a lot of this I’ve learned thanks to Weight Watchers, I tailored their plan to suit me and that’s the only way to make it successful.   Because weight loss is very personal, no two people are the same so why would their diets be the same, my mate can eat chocolate like you wouldn’t believe, I only have to have a bit and I feel a little sick, whereas you show me a KFC bucket and I’m on it, my mate will eat a piece and a few chips and stop! 

YOU are the expert in you!  Don’t let anyone TELL YOU how to eat/behave – make that decision for yourself, take all the information you can find then shift it and adapt it to suit your lifestyle and personality.

Most importantly remember, you are not alone; there are plenty of others in the same situation and there’s help and support available if you need it. All you have to do is seek and ask for it.

Even more importantly - if you don't have a weight problem, have never had a weight problem and are naturally thin - DON'T think you have any clue what it's like for someone who does because trust me YOU DON'T!  Keep your opinions to yourself!

On that note my luvlies, have a delicious day and remember to always Eat Gorgeous xx