Day 10, dealing with feelings of deprivation

Ta-da! I'm on day 10! Feeling good about that this morning. But yesterday the usual feeling-sorry-for-myself started creeping in. I'm very familiar with this phenomenon. After the difficulty and novelty starts wearing off and I realize this is a long term change, I start pitying myself for needing to make this drastic of a change. I start looking longingly at the candy dish at work, not because I actually want what is in it at that moment, but because I'm sad that I may never again be able to freely eat sweets. That is usually the start of a deprivation mindset. 

But this time, I see it happening and I know where it leads, so I am going to cut it off from the start. Choosing not to eat sugar is my choice. No one is forcing it on me. I have observed how my body and mind react to sweets and have chosen to take a different course. The idea that I am somehow deprived of something I deserve or that I am missing out on something special or fun is misguided. I don't really have fun when I am overeating sugar. It's painful and makes me uncomfortable. If I could have just small amounts then yes I might actually enjoy it, but obsessive compulsions are not fun. At best they provide a release, but they are not fun. I can find release from stress and tension in other ways. One of my favorites is being in nature. When I can't be in nature, a good substitute is a brief meditation where I imagine myself floating on a lake, or seeing the view from the top of a mountain. These are tools that I have with me at all times and that help to break the habitual mind patterns that tell me I need to eat that chocolate bar I don't even like that much. 

So deprivation and pity, begone!!!!!