I think I may be reaching some sort of complacency phase in my diet. Partly this is because my hard-line approach makes a lot of decisions pretty straightforward, so I often don't have to think very much about any given choice. Is it a between-meal snack? Then no. Does it use processed flour? Is meat or grain the main ingredient? Then no.
But then I've also started relying on certain 'feelings' that I'm choosing to interpret as my body beginning to starve. Tiredness, mainly, and a feeling of being run down. Then I'll take the opportunity to add a little something to a meal; even a second entrée in some cases, telling myself that this way I can be sure I'm getting enough nutrients.
That doesn't happen very often, maybe once or twice a week; but it's the thought process that concerns me. I can feel myself potentially making excuses to just eat more. And because most of my eating decisions are made almost automatically these days, I'm concerned I might just automatically start responding to hunger as a symptom of starvation, by eating a lot.
But overall, I seem to be doing OK. I still need to get used to the idea that my current diet isn't just an expedient for weight loss, it's the way I actually want to eat from now on. So, we'll see how that goes. I'm definitely in some kind of relatively easy phase; but I'm still expecting very hard times up ahead.
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Hope you don't mind me commenting! :)
ReplyDeleteI think your worries about you "making excuses" for yourself or getting into a state where you'll start slipping in your diet plans and goals are very valid worries.
You might consider looking up what your BMR is, and counting calories in order to give you a date-driven additional "signal" to help you decide if your body really does need the nutrients in the extra entre or if it's just got the munchies.
The idea is that you should never let yourself eat less than your BMR in any given day. If you're counting your rough calories throughout the day, and you know that you're below your quota, then you can be positive that the signal you're getting from your body really is a legit cry for more food.
If you know you're way over your BMR, then you can question your body's signal with a little more confidence. :)
For example, my BMR is about 1300 calories a day. Meaning, I should eat more than this in order to stay out of starvation/tiredness/irritable-mode. I try to eat between 1500-1800, and try to exercise so that I have a 200-300 calorie deficit even if I end up eating more than this. This is my strategy for my own health/weight goals, and this totally doesn't have to be your strategy, but it's another option.
Maybe your tiredness can actually be explained by how many calories you're not taking in rather than missing nutrients? It's just a thought. :)
It sounds like you're making really great nutritional choices now, and CONGRATULATIONS on losing weight and meeting your goals. :)