November 21st, 2018 On Plan

November 21st, 2018 On Plan

Yesterday: I maintained the integrity of my reduced calorie budget, I remained refined sugar-free, I met my daily water goal, and I stayed well connected with exceptional support.

Good Thanksgiving Eve! This morning started without internet service. This rarely happens. I did the 'unplug the modem, wait ten seconds, plug it back in' routine a few times to nothing... just as I was starting to write this blog post from my phone (something I've only done once or twice), it came back up. Thank goodness! Well, there we go--something else worthy of gratitude!

My Aunt and Uncle arrived yesterday afternoon. We had a really good visit before and during dinner. Aunt Jean and I whipped up some 96% lean beef tacos--it was wonderful.

Today is poised to be a very busy day in radioland. The great news is, once past--I can enjoy Thursday through Sunday off work! I haven't had a full Thanksgiving/Black Friday weekend off in more than a decade. With family in town for a visit, this rare occurrence comes at a good time!

Being here for my eleventh Thanksgiving since starting this entire experience in the fall of 2008 is not only a blessing, it's a miracle. Thanksgiving was always the holiday my food addiction and compulsive overeating behaviors loved because I didn't need to hide what I was eating. Binge eating in the name of the holiday, especially this one, was not only accepted--it was always celebrated! For my deeply ingrained disease, it was perfect.

One of the things I realized early on was the importance of maintaining boundaries of a plan no matter the day.  The plan could be modified, expanded some, or adjusted--but in order to maintain the psychological consistency I needed--I had to declare a plan and embrace it--the goal being to hit the pillow knowing I stayed on plan.

The non-negotiables of my personal daily practice will be honored again this year: No refined sugar, giving my morning foundational time the energy and focus it needs, logging all of my food in MyFitnessPal, and staying connected with support friends, among a few other critically important elements. A few other strategies I'll employ:
-Gratitude list must take center stage in my brain
-One plate, no return trip
-Focusing on the people around me--the conversations, the moments
-Assign a certain task or two for me to focus on-- maybe I don't even announce I'm doing it, I just simply fancy myself the event photographer--or one of my favorites things: Engage in meaningful conversation that leads to learning something interesting I didn't know about someone I've known all my life! The idea here is to make the event about much more than the food. If I make it all about the food, I can get into trouble quickly!
-In years past, I've added calories to my budget for this day. The past few years, I haven't used the extra calories. I'll allow myself a few hundred calories beyond my current budget--but I will not use them for sport or deliberate excess.

I plan on spending more time on tomorrow morning's Thanksgiving edition. I plan on pulling out Thanksgiving pics of the past and more. It'll be a fun composing that post!

Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean