Healthy Challenge Check In - The fine art of procrastination

Obviously I have more than mastered the art of procrastination. If you could unhinge my skull and take a peek inside you would see a beautifully organized (by category) list of rationalizations I like to pull out to assuage my internal guilt monkey for all the things in life, both big and small, I like to put off. Oh, like say for example, writing this update.

There really is no valid reason to put off this post. It's not bad news at all, in fact it's rather good news, but still, here I am, checking in a day late. In fact, I have put off writing anything at all for over a week, and that is yet another study in procrastination and ambivalence I could easily ramble on about for at least three or four paragraphs. I think I'll save that for another time. (See, there it is again!)

Where was I? Oh yes, on to the check in. I got on the scales Tuesday morning - I should stop here and mention that I was seriously considering not weighing myself at all this week, since last week was spent completely ignoring all things weight related - and what do you know? I lost 2 lbs. don’t ask me how, I couldn't tell you, but I'll take it. Maybe not obsessing over every little thing I put in my mouth had something to do with my success. Maybe obsessing about food, regardless of whether I’m compulsively eating or compulsively worrying about eating, is a big part of my problem. I've posted before about my feelings on dieting., but I don't think I have completely rid myself of the dieter's mind set.

There is this wonderful theory now becoming popular that explores the idea of conscious eating instead of dieting. The basic premise is that we as children or young adults, for whatever reason, have lost the ability to self regulate our hunger. We no longer recognize physical hunger cues and eat for emotional reasons, and even more disastrous, we have lost our ability to recognize being satisfied without moving into the "oh my god I want to puke" zone. The trick is to slow down, listen to your body, eat when you are physically hungry, and stop when you are physically full. Obviously that is an overly simplified statement, and much more goes into that process than "just do this and all your issues will be gone". I've read several books by Geneen Roth, and what she has to say made a lot of sense to me, and if you are so inclined, I highly recommend them.

Where is this ramble going? I hardly know myself, but I have been feeling distinctly fraudulent the last couple of weeks as I read everyone’s plans, and points, calories tallied, and lbs lost because I had no such plan, nor was I that jazzed about finding one. So my challenge to myself is not to pick a plan and stick with it, but to slow down enough to listen to my body, feed it what it desires, and stop when I am satiated. Ok, so at least try to do these things. Who knows, maybe I will learn something about myself along the way.

Slacker

Today's blog entry was going to be a picture filled final wave to my vacation in Anguilla. Obviously my mad procrastination skillz have taken over and there are no fabulous pictures with pithy comments*cough* gracing these here pages. I have a really good excuse. No, really I do! Last night when I was supposed to be creating away I was doing this:



It's the last book, and Im into the last chapters, and OH MY AUNT EDNA'S ASS I couldn't put it down! But it was soo intense I had to put it down- several times in fact- and walk around the house pretending I was done reading for the night- going to write- Yeah, that's it, Im going to write. But no, I have to find out what happens!(Yes I talk to myself just like this, and yes, I do need to get a life)

I still don't know what happens (Shhh! Don't tell me!). I read until 11:30 and could very well have kept on going until I finished the book, but I made a promise to myself to get enough sleep this week as part of the Healthy You Challenge(dammit!). So I closed the book as our heroic trio was making their way to confront you- know-who in the Shrieking Shack and went to bed.

So there you have it, my secret slacker shame, but to paraphrase the words of perhaps the most famous procrastinator in literary history

" I won't think about that right now. I'll think about that tommorrow. Afterall, tomorrow is another day".

Now where did I put that book.......