Satisfaction...

Eating to satisfaction. It's the principle behind the Core plan with Weight Watchers, and I am beginning to realize how foreign it really is to me. But, it's common sense to so many others.

I have a colleague of mine who is super skinny. She works out, eats well, and always has. I guess that's why she's super skinny. Anyway, it would always baffle me how she could eat 12 almonds and be satisfied--instead of eating the whole can like I would do. She could eat a couple of Hershey kisses or a handful of m&m's and that would be it. It just didn't make sense to me that she could walk away like that without going overboard.

Even as I have lost my first 40 lbs, I still hadn't mastered that concept. The Flex plan doesn't really talk about hunger satisfaction. It concentrates more on portion size and overall calories. Now, don't get me wrong, I love the Flex plan. It got me 40 lbs lighter, it helped me learn the correct portion sizes, and if there was no Flex plan, I would never have joined Weight Watchers. However, it's not been since I have switched to Core, that I realize why I was fat.

My trainer, Corinne, always talks about how achieve our fit bodies is only 20% working out. The other 80% is diet. I totally believe that is true now. I have seen the light. When I was much heavier, I used to work out so that I could eat whatever I wanted (burgers, fries, chocolate...you know the usual players). The funny thing was, I was so baffled that I wouldn't/couldn't lose any weight. LOL. Now I realize that it's what we put into our bodies that help shape the way that it looks. But, eating a whole chicken, or excessive amounts of "healthy" food can still keep you overweight. So, what's the secret? It's eating until you are satisfied. Satisfied used to mean to me that I would be so stuffed that I couldn't even moved. Even though I was miserable, I got comfort out of it. I am not sure why exactly, but I did. Now, I realize that's NOT a good feeling. That's not how I can fuel my body properly. I don't want to feel that way ever again.

I finally feel like I have the tools I need to continue to lose, but more importantly to keep the weight off for good. I know that I have to retrain my body and my brain to get there, but it will happen. The best thing about it is, my kids will see me eating to satisfaction, incorporating exercise into my routine, and enjoying the higher fat things in moderation. My hope, my wish for them is that they will be like my colleague and all of these things that I am just now learning will be second nature. That won't be a bad legacy to leave behind at all...

B-WW smoothie, skim milk, grapes (before w/o)
S-egg beaters, canadian bacon, oatmeal, 1 tsp canola oil
L-salad, 1 tsp evoo, lentil soup
S-plain ff yogurt, banana, blueberries, splenda
D-Salsa chicken, brown rice, broccoli
S-ff/sf jello

Activity-full body weight routine (4 AP's)
WPA's used-none
Water-150 oz

I put my info into a calorie counter today (just because I was curious), and I seem to be right on target with total calories, but I need to step up my fat and maybe watch the carbs. Here's the breakdown:

1504 total cals, 28 g fat (16.9 %), 210 g carbs (55.5 %), 109 g protein (27.6 %)