Small Triumphs

Last night I triumphed over my nighttime eating. I know this will still be a daily (or evening) struggle but I fought the real hunger pains and went to bed without eating after dinner.

I have recently read that the whole eating before bedtime causing weight gain is a myth. However, I also believe that I am most likely to oversnack or eat unhealthily in the evenings after dinner. I am just weaker at that time. And there's no work distraction. Plus, there's the whole treating myself for the day's accomplishments thing. I don't eat EVERY night, but I do snack after dinner most nights. And while lately I've been getting a handle on my portions and I'm eating healthier overall, I simply don't need the extra food at night. And I feel if I can get completely out of the habit of eating late at night, I will save myself thousands of unneccesary calories over time.

I also have to remember that to lose weight, I have to feel a LITTLE hungry sometimes. When I eat enough to stay satisfied throughout the day, I maintain my weight. The only way I'm able to actually shift any weight is to allow myself to feel hungry sometimes. Not the kind of hunger where I start seeing burgers and fries in the cloud formations but just a peckish kind of hunger where it would be nice to eat, but I can ignore the slight discomfort. I HAVE to feel that way at least a little to lose weight. And its okay to feel a little hungry.

Anyway, so despite feeling a bit genuinely hungry last night before I went to bed, I didn't give in and eat and when I got up again I had my first loss in a few days. I'm close to getting into the 150's and it feels really good.

Oh, I had an epiphany over the treadmill last night, btw. While I was walking yesterday, I kept thinking about what I should put on the blank wall in front of my face as a distraction while I'm walking but I couldn't come up with any ideas other than that I don't like walking with my back to the room. I just hate having my back to the room - which is why my desk is sitting in the middle of the office facing out. While I was trying to fall asleep last night, a light bulb went off and I realized I CAN TURN THE TREADMILL AROUND. Genius, huh? Sometimes my brilliance scares me.