Back Home and Settling In

The weather is changing to fall. I'm cozying up. I'm back home and feeling settled.

As for Precision Nutrition, I've lost about 5 lbs or so, which thrills me. I've lost some girth, and the jeans are feeling different. Not loose yet, but thinking about it. That's cool. I'm getting my period this week, so I'm feeling a little bloaty and not expecting a loss this week, but that's okay.

My mind is easier somehow. The first round of lessons were really about the mind, not so much the body. My mind is complicated, my body is pretty simple. Heal the mind, heal the body. It can be done. We read The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown and it was really powerful for me. I'll review it on my other blog soon.

I already like veggies and smoothies and things like that. I already like exercise. I'm putting it together and that's good. I think the single biggest changes I've made are eating slowly and the eating to 80% full. That really matters to me. So, it follows that I'm eating fewer calories. Add that to doing more strength training, and my body will change. It's science.

Coach Pam asked me why I think I'm having success, and I think it boils down to the fact that this is a program for grown ups. It's not a club, it's not gimmicky or precious. It's facts and science and offers opportunities for me to succeed. I can take the opportunities or not. That mode of behavior change resonates with me. I'm in control.

I also like that it runs on the principle of positive behavior change rather than negative. When my kids were little, somewhere I read that instead of telling a kid "DON'T do that!" all the time, which leaves a blank space in their mind, tell them what to DO. It makes sense, and it worked for me as a mother.

In PN, instead of saying "Don't eat junk!" This program instead says "Do eat this. And this. and Do exercise. And be good to yourself. And be honest." It's filling the time and the belly and the mind with actions rather than only pointing out mistakes and missteps.

The bottom line is that I haven't given up chocolate. No one has told me I have to, so I haven't. I am doing all the things I have been told to do, and so I think I'm eating less chocolate. I know I am. I choose to eat the chocolate as a reward or because it's delicious, not because it's a nervous response to stress.

So, that's why it's working for me. Choosing positive ACTIONS instead of being left with blank spaces left by being told NO. It works for me and my stubborn mind. I can go at my own pace and because I choose to do so, I'm more likely to want to.