Where is your “go to” place??

At Weight Watchers (WW) we often talk about the “honeymoon” period. This is when you just join the program, everything is new and exciting and you are happily losing weight at a nice pace. Then all of a sudden the “diet” gets old, the weight loss starts to diminish and the meetings lose their luster. This can be applied to any thing in life.

One of my readers posted a comment about maintaining that “I Feel Good” feeling. So true - I am great at losing weight - I’ve lost “tons” but I always find a way to gain those pounds back.

I’ve been thinking. This is a big topic and I will come back to it often. Let’s take baby steps. Every one has a “go to” place. Mine is food. I go to food when I am feeling fill in the blank. Over the summer, I found myself in the peanut butter jar, very often, after dinner. I wasn’t hungry. Why was I eating peanut butter?? I brought it up at one of my WW meetings but still couldn’t find the answer. Then last Monday, while speaking with my leader about this issue she looked me in the eye and asked “What are you getting from that peanut butter???”. I had my “ah ha” moment and realized that it was “me time”. After dinner, I would send the kids up to their rooms to read a book, take a shower, watch TV, practice an instrument, whatever, just to get rid of them because I wanted “me time” and I didn’t want them to see what I was about to do! I would clear the dinner dishes, fill the dishwasher, scrub the pots and pans and then, I would sit down at the kitchen table with my jar of peanut butter. Of course, the kids would call down “Mom, are coming up?”. I would respond, half choking “I wrill bree rihhit up” (it is tough talking with a mouth full of peanut butter).

We all have a “go to” place. Think about your friends, family, neighbors. Some “go to” that 6pm glass of Chardonnay. Some “go to” the mall to purchase a new pocketbook. Some “go to” the gym and run on a treadmill. All of these places are great in moderation. There is nothing wrong with a glass of wine on Friday night, or a new pocketbook, or a run. But if you are getting wasted every night by 8pm or you are in debt and two months from bankruptcy, or you are obsessed with exercise and on the verge of anorexia, well, that isn’t so good. Or if your BMI is in the obese range and your doctor is afraid you are going to develop diabetes, well, then maybe you and I better change something.

What I need to do is replace my “go to” place with something good for me that makes me feel good and gives me what I really need (I certainly didn’t need that peanut butter). If I need some “me time” after dinner. Then I will go for a walk. It doesn’t have to be miles. It only took me about 10 minutes to have my peanut butter time so a walk around the block would suffice. Or maybe I will get on a mat and do a couple of “down dogs”, a little “chaturanga” and a “twist” to help me digest. And of course, I can always blog . . . .