From skwigg's journal:
So, it's been several months since I switched from daily to very sporadic weighing. It still kind of amazes me that nothing happened. I had these stories about how I was stepping on the scale every day because it was helpful and reassuring. I told myself that if I didn't know what I weighed, I would assume the worst and restrict. Is that true? Ha! No! Maybe I should have questioned that a little sooner. I also felt that on some level frequent weighing was necessary for maintenance. In the past, anytime I quit weighing myself it meant that I was in a "what the hell" phase and didn't want to see the consequences of my behavior. That's not good, obviously, but is it true now? Ha! No again!
It turns out that I eat and think the way I always eat and think, even if I have no idea what I weigh today. That's kind of awesome. It means that habits are driving the bus. It also means that I trust myself. I love when Jill Coleman says, "Control is the opposite of trust." It's hard to build trust in yourself when you're controlling the hell out of everything. You're subconsciously reinforcing that you can't be trusted.
So, I was thinking about my habits again. One of the most important ones has been learning to eat the same way no matter where I am or what day it is. There's not some miserable thing I adhere to most of the time and then get a "break" from on weekends or vacations. That cheat/free day mentality always used to wreck me, feeling like I'd "earned" eating like an idiot. No it really feels best not to do that. If the way you eat every day is enjoyable and flexible, there's no need to escape from it.
Some of my everyday habits: eating meals and not snacking much, eating when hungry, eating mostly whole foods, daily enjoyable activity, no off-limits foods. That's honestly about it! I don't have a huge list of dos and don'ts to keep track of every day. No calories, grams, times, specific portions, special food combos. When you try to focus on too much, you accomplish nothing. That's the beauty of Georgie's one habit at a time approach. I think it's how things got really solid and second nature for me.
Any thoughts about habits? Scales? Control?