Feeling Bad is Fattening

People, having “fallen off the wagon” as it’s called, get stuck into certain, predictable lines of thinking. There are certain lines of thought that lead you from merrily low-carbing one day to "falling off that wagon" the next day. But while we’re at it, why do we call it that anyway? That makes no sense whatsoever.

Oh ho ho…we’re all riding along on the big low-carb wagon and just having a grand ol’ time. Whhhhooooa…bump in the road. It was a traffic ticket! Or maybe the spouse’s got the flu, or the car broke down or whatever. Brump! The hayride jars on off you plop! Yeah. Uh…I dunno. That’s just weird, man.

But anyway, back to the stream-of-consciousness points here? Oh, yeah. Ok.

For one thing…when we lose and gain weight, how come people say they are losing and gaining the “same ten pounds”? That bugs me. And I’ve said it myself, doesn’t matter. Thing is, it’s not the same. It’s an entirely different ten pounds made up from entirely different choices. In fact, I would go so far as to say it’s important NOT to consider it the same pounds.

The reason I say it is because I know it’s extremely important to feel good about how you’re doing, and even if you’re not completely thrilled with your rate of progress (or even lack thereof); at the VERY least focus on your successes. That’s what moves you ahead.

When you sit around having your little pity party–and if we’re honest, we know we’ve all been there, man–but when you sit around in the midst of a little pity party, feeling upset with yourself for this or that you’ve eating, thinking how “deprived” you’ve been, how you can “never manage to be good” blah blah blah…Well, where do you think that leads?

If you’re anything like me, it will steer you straight into the fridge. Posthaste, even!

How could it not? You’re feeling bad about yourself, questioning your ability to even do this, and thinking there’s simply no point. That about sums it up, right? You know it does. You self-define as a failure and you follow up by fulfilling your own prophecy. Wrapped up tight, with a big, sad bow, that’s the whole package.

If, HOEWVER, you want to really do something with it…how about saying, “So what?”

You heard me. So what? The past is over. It’s like that obnoxious Eagle’s song: “Get Over It.” It’s meaningless and we have no power to change it anyway. We only have the choices we make right now, right this second, to guide us. This moment, this second is the only place we have any power. The future is in our imaginations and the past is in our memory.

And it ain’t just weight loss that applies to, either. (But then, it never is. If it’s true for one thing, it’s usually true, period.) If you don’t live in the present, you’re signing away your power in any aspect of your life. It’s not like you will never visit the past or the future in your head, but you have to live in the now. Even if your thoughts are positive, if they are in the past or the future, you’re not ACTING in the present. One action does more than a billion and two thoughts, you know.

The other thing about it…it doesn’t matter, from an objective standpoint. The difference between feeling bad and feeling good is at least 90% interpretation. It’s all in how you frame it, baby. And the same goes for a slide.

’Cause if you have a setback, you CHOOSE how to define it. You can either define it as proof positive that you simply aren’t cut out to be a success. OR you can define it as a short break, a learning experience to help you know yourself better and hence, be in a better position to ultimately reach your goals.

See, it doesn’t matter a tiddley wink how FAST you go. People think it does and get all whiney about it. Myself included. But if this is just how you live, then what’s a week here or there? I don’t give a %$^* in *&% ^@% how long it takes anybody. It’s totally irrelevant. The ONLY thing that’s relevant is that you’re doing what you need to do.

Being in a hurry implies that you are someday “done.” And we know that’s not right. You go back to your old way of eating; you’ll go back to your old butt size. That’s clear. And while I agree that there’s some psychological appeal to reaching goals and milestones, they aren’t the actual progress. They are simply markers, reminders. Opportunities to reflect and appreciate.

And the real kicker–if you’re eating crap that you don’t feel good about eating, you don’t enjoy the junk anyway. You feel guilty and unhappy and like a big ‘ol loser the entire time. But that sure as heck doesn't stop us! In fact, what do we do? We eat MORE of the same crap in an attempt to self-medicate the self-induced distress we get from eating the crap in the first place.

Man, that makes my head hurt if I think about it too hard.

I have never, ever met somebody who truly enjoyed more than the first 3 bits of a binge. Have you? Maybe I don’t get around enough, but that certainly characterizes my experience. After bite three, I’m starting to feel down on myself and it’s not tasting so good anymore. But you know how it works: keep shoveling it in long enough, you have to feel better eventually. Right? Right?

Well…maybe later.

You get what you focus on. You think about it, you visualize it, you live it. That’s just how the universe is wired. So when you’re feeling bad about how you’re doing, answer me this: What are you focusing on?

Welllllll, could it possible be how fat and unhappy and unsuccessful and weak and lazy and undisciplined and depressed and depressing and incompetent and just plain bad you are?

Wow. That sounds like the recipe for success right there. NOT.

But if you’re focusing on how you feel when you eat right, how you’ve made progress here and there and overall how life’s going grand, even if you have to specifically decide to select the grand details to think about…Well, that gives you energy. That gives you life, happiness and fun. Unlike feeling crappy, which will send you diving into a vat of Ben & Jerry’s without even a few carb blockers to break your fall.

That’s all. I mean, I guess it doesn’t change reality. But reality isn’t in the events themselves. It’s an experience that really exists in tandem with our interpretation of the events.

Feeling good energizes you, motivates you, makes you happy and helps you get a good night’s sleep and get along well with your loved ones. And I wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t make your teeth whiter and your hair shine, for that matter. Whereas feeling bad sucks and it doesn’t help you in any way, shape or form... so just don’t do it, ok? Really!

Stop feeling crappy about yourself and just have some carrot sticks and ranch dressing or something, ok? Toss the PopTarts in the trash (or in the office break room or to the neighbor lady with 339 rugrats or whatever). You get the idea. Anyway, just make happy choices and feel good, man!

Peace out, Sparky..