Am I hungry?

I was chatting with my wellness coach Beth yesterday and she gave me a really great tip I just had to share with all of you. If you're not sure if you're hungry, ask yourself if you could really go for a crisp green apple. If the answer is yes, go eat something. If you're not really liking the idea, then you're not hungry. Because if you're genuinely hungry, you're not so picky.

The fruits of my slug week (no exercise, no accounting the food) were a whopping eight-pound gain! I freaked out yesterday morning. How could I gain that much in a week? Beth and I worked it out. I wasn't really overeating, but my food choices had changed. A few more sweets and higher fat food choices here and there, less fiber, a lot less water, eating later into the evening. It all added up. Beth pointed out that since I was feeling so bloated and a bit stopped-up that I should not think that all of the weight gain was fat. Once I get back to drinking all my water and get the fiber up again, then I should lose the extra pounds pretty quickly.

This was my first major back-sliding event. I had told myself that back-sliding was not allowed, but Beth thinks I'm being too rigid. I still want to break 300 lbs. before I have to go back to Kazakhstan. I'm not sure how I can find a way lighten-up on myself and still stay on track. I have to find a creative way to regularly reward myself that doesn't require just checking out on my weight loss efforts.

This last week was a very full week. Dealing with jet lag, remodeling our bathroom in a week, keeping the kids active, plus all the regular household duties. I let my husband's driven nature keep me from factoring in some fun. I also suspended taking all the vitamin supplements I had been taking (I left them in Kazakhstan and hadn't bought fresh ones yet). I just let the transitional week take control over my life. It ends here and now, and I'm back in the driver's seat.

So, I'm off to get my sweats and new walking shoes on. And while a Lemon Zest Luna Bar sounds really good right now, a green apple doesn't, so I'm not really hungry. I gotta get out of the house!