I have been following and using my own program tools for some time. Some of the most basic tools seem so simplified.  You might read about one of the tools, like the hunger scale, and think, “Well, duh.”  But the point is that you DO these things.  Reading about them is inspiring, but not going to produce any result for you at all unless you actually do it.  So, I have been using the tools with my focus on shedding a few more pounds before the end of the year.  My entire focus has been on the number on the scale.  But recently something amazing happened.  My thinking shifted.

My old pattern was to overeat, either at mealtime or by snacking constantly after dinner. I would end up with an acid, sick stomach that would plague me throughout the night.  There was also the guilt, beating myself up over what I ate and wondering if I would ever be able to “get it together.”  Because I had always “dieted,” I had a list of foods that I did not necessarily like; but I would eat these because they were “good” food.  Small wonder I would reach for joy food after a disappointing dinner of salmon and Brussels sprouts.

But working with the eating tools in my program, suddenly I was starting to pay attention to the foods that not only worked well in my body, but foods I actually enjoy eating. Eating to 2+ and stopping is my new style of eating . . . . . . most of the time.  Do I occasionally still eat beyond that?  Of course I do.  I find that when I do, I am still stopping within reason.  I might have stretched it to 4+, but in the bad ol’ days, I would eat to 7+ to 8+.  I have a new awareness of where I am eating to on the hunger scale and do not reason to beat myself up mentally if I eat past my goal.  This is how I’ve been working the food end of my weight loss (with a ton more work on the mental end!).

Then that amazing thing happened – my thinking about my journey entirely shifted. Suddenly I realized how happy I feel about HOW I am feeding myself.  It felt so wonderful to eat without guilt and not feel the need to overeat until I felt uncomfortably full or even ill.  There is an amazing sense of control over how I feel physically in relationship to food.  I still have an occasional evening when snacking happens.  But my attitude has so changed that the snacking does not even feel as “driven” as it used to, and I am totally aware that something is going on with my choices at that moment.

Three months ago, I would have told you the most important change I needed to achieve was to lose more weight, especially the 20 pounds I had re-gained after Jim passed away. But here is the real shift:  That is not the most important change to me now.  The important, critical change is how I feed myself.  The number on the scale just dropped way down in importance.  I am so delighted at what is happening in my life in relationship to food, it is mind-blowing.  So my new focus is completely on feeding myself WELL.   I am finally free to eat in peace and with joy.  That, my friends, is the most amazing result I’ve ever had.  The last bit of feeling driven to overeat has left the house.  Peace.