DAY 9: To-do List

My results for today are:

I read my Advantages Response Card at least twice.

I read other Response Cards as needed.

I ate slowly, sitting down and noticing every bite: Most of the Time

I gave myself credit when I engaged in helpful dieting behaviors: Some of the Time

I did at least one spontaneous exercise today.

I scheduled exercise time in my calendar.

I did planned exercise.


CREDIT ACCOUNT: $4.25

My "spontaneous" exercise was walking to the gym, and it felt really good. The gym is a 25-minute walk away and because I procrastinate, I often don't have enough time to walk and arrive in time for class. So in addition to the additional exercise, I felt righteously satisfied that I made walking to the gym a priority today.

I gave myself credit for the "spontaneous" walk, but that was the only thing I remembered. So I thought some more about my credit reminder system, and since I'm having no luck finding a green rubber bracelet, I thought of just a rubber band. I have a large collection of rubber bands in a variety of sizes, but I don't have big enough green one. I might be obsessing on the color, and maybe I should let that go.

It also occurred to me that in addition to remembering to give myself credit, I need to remember that I did it (I have a memory like a sieve). Maybe I should wear that rubber band and add a paper clip to it every time I remember to give myself credit. This sounds a little inconvenient, since I'd need to carry clips around with me, so I'll give it some more thought.

Eating everything on my plan continues to be difficult (I skipped 2 of the snacks today), but eating slowly and mindfully continues to go well. I had dinner with friends tonight and did find it challenging to eat right and socialize simultaneously, but I did it. In fact, I did it so well that one of my friends noticed how slowly I was eating and asked if I wasn't hungry! That made my day.

I noticed that I've lost some of my initial excitement for this program and tried to chalk it up to wearing thin the novelty of a new experience. But now I've realized it has more to do with the order of the steps.

For me, Days 7, 8, and 9 haven't had much of an impact on my life. I didn't need to arrange my environment, make time and energy, or even select an exercise plan. That was kind of a letdown after the life-changing steps of the first few Days of the program. But because of the one-size-fits-all nature of the book, not every Day is going to challenge me. It's a good thing I've realized I'm at risk to lose interest and motivation, because now I can work to maintain my momentum.

One way I'm doing that is changing the way I read my ARC. Before, I was reading my reasons and thinking about how much I'd enjoy making them come true by losing weight. That had lost some of its effectiveness, so now I'm using visualizations too.

For instance, when I think about wanting to lose weight so I can wear pretty clothes, I picture myself as I am, wearing one of my shapeless, shape-hiding outfits and clutching a giant doughnut in my fat fist. Then I picture myself thin, wearing a form-fitting, sexy outfit, my skinny fists on my slender hips. Without even consciously thinking about it, I visualize my expression in the first picture as depressed and my expression in the second picture as smiling widely. Of course I prefer the second picture, so I'm reinforcing my dedication to lose weight and strengthening my motivation even more.