Fat Chance No-Going-Back Weight Loss Plan: Week 3

By: Jennifer Giralo

I'd like to start by saying that week 2 of Fat Chance definitely had its difficulties. Along with the simple challenge of maintaining the new lifestyle, I fell ill to a stomach flu that kept me from eating anything for two days. This threw off my new lifestyle, as it lowered my metabolic rate and resulted in some serious rebound eating. The book mentions this eating as consuming anything in sight. Yeah, it felt a little like that. This was not the workbook’s fault, but it was a drastic challenge in my new lifestyle.

Being out sick for two days made me lose a large amount of weight that I immediately regained once I began eating again. I returned to comfort food to satisfy the stress and the starvation. However, now that I am back to a mental and physical homeostasis, I can return full speed with the better habits. The great part about this eating plan is that if you “mess up” one meal or one day, you can just go back to the basics of eating when hungry and lowering your caloric intake mentioned at the beginning of the book.

Week 2’s reflection had me at a gain of 2 pounds since my initial loss. I am determined to return to my workbook and make a big difference for Week 3’s reflection, and I am already seeing some great improvements since being healthy again.

Some quick observations on starvation due to sickness:

·          Decreased levels of energy, activity, motivation, and focus.

·          I had lowered my caloric intake to an unhealthy amount due to the sickness.

·          As my appetite returned, I had no concept of satisfaction or hunger.

·         As a result, I have gained 2 pounds since last week.

Week 3

Week 3 is quite eye-opening in terms of emotional awareness and perceptions. The goal of this week is to think mindfully of our perception of food’s purpose and exercise’s purpose. What do we think of these two activities? Do we have an idea in our mind that exercise is tiresome? Unnecessary? Boring? Let’s change those thoughts by performing an exercise that is fun and engaging without wearing yourself out.

Do you think of food as comforting in times of loneliness or boredom? Let’s change our perception of food and what its purpose is. Let’s think of it as a source of energy, and let’s only consume the energy we need with the right nutrients.

I notice that I eat out of sadness, loneliness, and pure boredom. In Week 3, we learn that when we eat due to loneliness, we are perceiving that food will fulfill our need for social interaction. When we eat because we are bored, we are perceiving that food will fulfill our need for entertainment or engagement.

Sometimes exercise is not appealing to me. To combat these feelings and perceptions about food and exercise, my friend Theresa invited me to free outdoor yoga, Yoga Rocks the Park. This is just one example that helped me fulfill a need for social interaction, exercise, and engagement in an activity, as well as some outdoor enjoyment.

I’m focusing on a terrible habit of mine this week. Breakfast.

The book suggests a balanced breakfast every morning in order to kick start the metabolism and keep you full with nutrients longer throughout the day.

I recently ate 2 gluten-free pancakes with some veggie bacon for breakfast, and I was full for a very long time due to the protein in the meal.

This week let’s go back to basics and become stronger with them. Use a smaller plate, eat when you’re hungry, eat slowly, and stop eating when you’re full.

We’re Rock Stars. Let’s be aware of our perceptions of things, and be aware of our perception of ourselves. Keep them positive, and you can achieve it.