Here I am having lost 250 pounds, knowing what to eat, drink and how much exercise I need to not only keep the weight off, but to feel good too.  I plan my meals, plan my water, plan my exercise, and then when I am done with dinner, I plan to have either a cup of tea or a sugar free hot chocolate as my evening libation.  Why then have I recently started to eat an 80 calorie “good for me” Greek yogurt and add another 80 calories of “good for me” dry roasted slivered almonds and still want more when I am done?  I am not hungry so what’s the motivation and the payoff?  Why am I performing these grandiose feats of self sabotage so well?  Hmmm, let me think on this for a minute.  What have I been thinking?

First of all, not thinking is a big part of this.  Hmmm, a yogurt and almonds sounds good so….and off I go to the kitchen to grab it, hungry or not.  UGHHH..I hate when that happens.  What are my triggers for this mindless consumption of “good for me” calories? 

Am I:

• Hungry - nope, already covered that, although it does taste good
• Angry - nah, I just had a meal and sat down to relax for the evening after my dinner angry doesn’t seem to fit
• Lonely - Hubby is right here, has been most of the day…Have we communicated today or have we both been doing our own thing?  We communicated, we’ve made plans for a couple of vacations and talked about world affairs and cleaned up together…Nope, not lonely…there is intimacy and friendship there…which is a great thing since we’ve been together since 1968.
• Tired - definitely.  I am up at 4:30 AM, dinner is at 7-ish so when I am done I am wiped out and ready to curl up in my recliner with my blankie, , , , , Which I do, and then I pop up about an hour later for my healthy snack…hmmm, let’s put this on hold for a bit.  We may be getting warm here.
• Stressed - not any more than the years I didn’t have an after dinner calorie splurge.

Looks like tired is it.  I am trying to use the food to keep me awake past 8PM so that I don’t go to bed and get up at 2AM bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to start my day…in the middle of the night..  Food is a poor substitute for sleep, and I think I fall asleep as soon as I finish eating it anyway….

There are new rules for this Banded woman starting right NOW…I am putting them in writing and keeping myself accountable to them:

• When dinner is over NO MORE FOOD
• The kitchen, with the exception of the Keurig for hot water, is closed.
• My choices for a warm cup of something an hour after dinner are limited to herbal tea, sugar free hot chocolate or NOTHING.  No exceptions will be made.
• When I feel my eyes closing I get my butt out of the recliner and head upstairs to bed regardless of the hour.

I will report back here next week and let you know how it all works for me.

Do you have any not so great habits you want to exchange for better ones?