by Lynn Haraldson-Bering
“You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.” The Rolling Stones
Who needs a gym when you’ve got a 7-month old grandbaby to take care of? My daughter left for work yesterday at 6:30 a.m. and baby Claire kept Grammy Lynn hoppin’ for two hours before her morning nap. And I mean hoppin’! She pulled herself up the legs the table I keep my computer on, crawled under her high chair and into the dog bed, then scootched behind the magazine rack because she wanted to gnaw the phone cord with her two new teeth. I foiled that plot at least six times. She spied the mums on the coffee table, but I lured her away with her Musical Band Stand which plays “Yellow Rose of Texas” and the “Can Can.”
(The “Can Can”?)
Anyway, Claire, like most of us, hates to hear the word “no.” She thinks I’m the bad guy when I won’t let her chew on the Velcro on the computer cord or play with the small glass lamp shade I use to prop open the guest room door. As the one who knows better, it’s my job to keep her safe and healthy, and to do that I have to tell her "no" sometimes, whether she likes it or not.
I have to be my own “Grammy Lynn” when it comes to my food choices and exercise schedule. It’s my job to keep myself safe and healthy, and to do that I need to tell myself "no" sometimes, whether I like it or not. I don’t always succeed, but more times than not, I’m a firm but gentle authority figure in my own life.
Barbara shared her personal insights in her last blog entry on what she believes to be the similarities among those of us maintaining our weight loss. I’d add one thing to her list and that’s the ability to police our choices with conscious decisions about what we say yes to and what we say no to.
For instance, I went grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s yesterday. I don’t get there very often, so my impulse is to buy all my favorites all at once because I don’t know when I’ll get a chance to shop there again. Cheese is a particular favorite of mine. Hummus, too. TJ’s has a nice selection of low-fat cheese and their horseradish hummus makes my mouth water just thinking about it. They also have heirloom tomatoes, butternut squash all cut up, sliced mangoes, huge containers of strawberries and blackberries, trimmed leeks, green beans that weren’t wrinkled, purple potatoes, non-fat Greek yogurt…the list goes on and on and I wanted it all.
I had to ask myself questions like, “How much hummus fits into my eating plan? Will I use the leeks before they go bad? I have a butternut squash at home. Do I want to spend the money on the cut-up stuff? Will I really make a smoothie with the Greek yogurt or does it only seem like a good idea at this moment?”
I stocked up on my favorite whole grain crackers because unlike strawberries, they keep. The problem lies in portion control once they’re living in my cupboards. I police that carefully. Sometimes I have to haul myself away in proverbial handcuffs after I’ve had my allotted serving, but the discipline of “no” is worth the joy of having said yes to a rational amount of a favorite food.
Here’s Claire under her high chair yesterday. Look at that grin. She was having fun in that space and not hurting herself or anyone else. I watched her carefully to make sure she didn’t smack her head on the leg or take a nose dive on to the wood floor, the same way I watch my food choices and exercise decisions to be sure I’m happy in my space and not hurting myself in some way.
Check out the new “It’s Working!” page and share your maintenance plan and tips. How do you grocery shop? What questions do you ask yourself when making food selections or exercise plans? Do you plan meals ahead? Share your insights on what’s working for you.