The biggest traps are always the one surrounding diets. I've found my way in and out of a few lately. Wanted to share and maybe you can identify yourself!
Doing LEAP has shown me that there is a whole new world available to me. That world, at first, was kind of small. The first few phases of the diet were very restrictive as I eliminated reactive foods and went through the "Immuno-Calm" phase. I had a few choices of what I could eat, and that was all I could eat. I kind of liked that. I found that having too many choices in life got me into trouble in the first place. LEAP got me back on track, reined in my cravings (and then obliterated them) and helped me kick off my weight loss, which I had had trouble with for so many years. Then I got to add things in week by week. By the end of month 3, I could "challenge" some of my yellow foods (although this does not mean color, I might have confused my family by challenging bananas & eggs first, haha). I also found lots of snacks that fit my LEAP needs. Like....LOTS of snacks. And that was when I tripped and fell into...
The Convenience Trap
If you've read my "Food for Thought" entry you know all the great things I found. Popcorn, chips, fruit snacks. I even made cookies that tasted like cookies (trust me, my earlier attempts with limited ingredients and "homemade eggs" were not exactly edible- even though I admit in my desperate state I ate them anyway). So excited was I to eat like a "real girl" (insert Pinocchio voice here) that I focused on those snacks and went a little overboard. In the beginning of LEAP, my snacks were fruit and nuts. LOTS of fruit. And here I was grabbing single size servings of Popcorners (still love 'em ... stay with me here) and fruit strips and dishing out Plentils at night and suddenly I realized I had not had a real, genuine piece of fruit in...well, in days. And that bothered me a lot. I had to check myself before I wrecked myself and became a fast-food junkie (even on healthy food!) - I still want to stick to the "source" when I can, and have the majority of my food in its natural state. I have my snacky-snacks but now I treat them like treats and don't have more than one kind a day to make them feel more special. Let's face it - fast food is more convenient than cooking at home, but it's certainly not as GOOD for you as a home cooked meal! Same principle. I didn't have too much time to celebrate seeing my way out of that trap when I fell into another one...
The Lazy Trap
After getting over the flu, which took the better part of two weeks, I was determined to get out and run. It had been a while, since it had been so darned cold and I really (really) hate the cold. And then I was recuperating and simply couldn't exert the energy. And then, when I could have, I made excuses. It was still too cold. I had so much work to catch up on (even though I only actually missed ONE day of work due to the illness). I would see people running along the road as I drove by and felt that little pang of guilt but shooshed it away with a "crazy person!" snort. Once I got out and ran on the freakish 50-degree day we had recently, I realized that I had fallen into the lazy trap big time. And I ran my way out of it. Thankfully this time it was just a few weeks - not months - of that trap. It's one of the most dangerous ones for me, because lazy is easy. If it wasn't there wouldn't be so many treadmills open at the gym. I consider a few weeks of lazy (following my illness mind you - oops was that an excuse) progress. Because I got out of it faster than I had before. And that, friends, is progress. Until I stumbled and fell into
The Size Trap
I wanted to find out who I should call, to let them know I am the only person I know who gained 3 pounds while having the flu. There had to be a number somewhere. Anyway, one of the myths I have debunked is that you cannot gain weight eating healthy food. And when you combine eating too much with not exercising...well, I am no rocket scientist, but I figured this one out rather quickly. But the trap I was in was new to me after being on LEAP so long. Because after I lost the initial 30 pounds, I fell into a steady pattern of maintenance. And that was A-OK because it allowed me to catch up mentally to where I was physically, which I needed. But once I saw that scale go up 3 pounds, I panicked. Like, legit panicked. I tried on my size 8's (they still fit) and then, because I am me, I tried on my 14's (they were still too big). I started to obsess about getting those 3 pounds off. And I got scared that I was going to gain all my weight back so I weighed myself daily (bad idea - bad, bad idea.) As soon as I started to track my food and eat healthy portions of my healthy foods, my body responded. I went over my healthy rules to live by - enough water? Nope. Exercising? Nope. So I accepted the fact that I was wearing my actions- literally, wearing those 3 pounds - and I allowed myself to breathe and realize it was a temporary state of being and that my body had NOT let me down thus far. I started doing the math, and the 3 pounds came off. I love this kind of math, because it is reassuring. I do not want to be the girl who packs her scale when she goes on vacation. Been there, done that, not fun. Being in the size trap automatically comes with a free pass to...
The Woe is Me Trap
Man, did I feel sorry for myself before I got on LEAP. The only thing I can compare it to is a long distance relationship (me and my romantic heart had several over my younger years). Picture your boyfriend getting on a bus. You know he is leaving, you don't know when you'll see each other again, and you just want to hang on to him as long as you can. Now, replace the vision of the handsome boyfriend and insert a vision of a chocolate chip cookie, and you will know how I was feeling about doing LEAP. Dramatic? ME? oh yes. Yes, very much so. Instead of looking at all the things I COULD have, I looked at my red & yellow foods - the no-no foods. There was a lot of woe-ing going on. I thought about my trip to Disney - 4 months into the future - and what I couldn't have and how all the fun was going to be sucked out of my happy place. Woe. After LEAP, I would get the woe's from people who felt sorry for me. They made me feel woe-ish when I wasn't feeling it myself. "I feel so SORRY for you!" they would lament as their fork dove in for another hunk of chocolate cheesecake, their eyes droopy with sympathy as I stuck my fork into a piece of cantaloupe. I actually enjoyed that cantaloupe, and didn't need the sympathy, but my protests of "I'm fine, I am enjoying this" seemed to go unnoticed. Food simply doesn't equal fun to me anymore, and though there are times a little woe sneaks into my day, I am OK with the cookie getting on the bus. With a one-way ticket. :)
Got Traps? I may be in one right now - I'll let you know when I get out. The wonderful thing about LEAP is how my mind is evolving along with my body. I know that I am making better choices for me, and I feel great. I have one of the greatest gifts: clarity. My mind is different (I swear, the bad foods were fogging my mind. For realz.)
Think about it - really think about it - as to what kind of trap you may be in right now. Every day is a new day, a chance to start over.
Lamentations 3:22,23 “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning, great is your faithfulness.”
New every morning. A chance to start over. A mulligan. Take it! It's never too late to realize you're in a trap, and to get the heck out of it. I usually laugh when I look back (usually) and realize how I'd been hoodwinked - often by myself - but there's always a way out - a better way.
Find it!
