Losing Weight, Gaining Control

I've said before that once I got my body physically stronger, I also got stronger mentally too. Once of the reasons I keep up with my healthy lifestyle is the control I feel over my own life. Once I lost the weight, I started dropping other things in my life that I didn't need. My mother used to call me a pack rat. I would hold onto items because they held memories for me, even if that item was useless and I had no place for it. Although my house has always been clean, I was holding onto things that had no place in my life anymore. I had clothes in my closet that I never wore once! I started looking at my life differently. I let go of clutter around my house, I started organizing like crazy, got rid of old things I didn't need, and even let go of old friends that used me. I found an inner strength through my physical strength.

As a Marine Corps wife, I sometimes feel like I have very little control over anything. I can't pick where we live, where my husband goes, when he goes, what schools my kids can go to...right now I can't even pick what continent we live on! I started looking at what I can control in my life. I can control my workouts, I can control what I put into my mouth, I can control my body. I can control how I  FEEL about my body, my life, my surroundings. I lost 100lbs of fat, but I gained self control and self respect.

I think we all often feel out of control, especially when we are overweight or not happy with our bodies. Every time I stole food off a plate that wasn't mine (my kids' plate especially!) every time I had a handful of something in the pantry that I shouldn't have, every time I started eating while I was cooking dinner, I felt more and more out of control, and more unhappy. I felt like I was spiraling down again. I still battle this, I still fight the urges to do this everyday. I feel more proud of myself though when I don't do swipe that food or eat when I'm not supposed to. It makes me feel empowered to say NO. I made that choice, I made the choice to live this way and to be happier.

Does it make you feel out of control when you can't stop the urge to swipe food? What can you say "no" to today?

Today's Tip: What I do to help stop useless snacking is spacing out my calories during the day. If I feel full, I normally don't have the urge to snack. I stopped taking food from any other member of my family just because they don't eat it and only ate what was on my plate. I focused on my calorie intake for the day and made sure I had enough to space out my food. If I am truely hungry, I will have a piece of fruit and try to stay away from carbs that often leave us feeling less than satisfied.