Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Intervention

So, this weekend in Utah I experienced the interventionee end of an intervention.

Premise: I went to Nordstrom to try on jeans, and after one pair I was in tears and refusing to try on anything else- I refer to this event as "the dressing room meltdown." To be honest, this was not a great way to start off my weekend.
Mom&Dad are currently on the Weight Watchers program and are showing results thus far.
Also, I have this "being married makes you fat theory." And I've tried, a few times, to develop a health and fitness plan; all of which fizzle out and fail. Frustrating.

I was whining about not being able to afford WW, and because of this I was doomed to stay fat and unhealthy- might as well resort to the Moo-Moo now.
Of course, Mom&Dad responded with, "You don't have to be on Weight Watchers to be healthy." (Of course, again) I rolled my eyes and came back with some excuse like "It's too hard" and "I don't know how." [Side note: this season of The Biggest Loser is themed "No Excuses." haha]
Well, I (basically) asked for it. In an instant there was a stack of recipes, Weight Watchers printouts, the Change One diet guide, and a simplistic "how-to" cook book. Then came the string of questions I didn't want to answer;
What do you eat on a typical day? Grapefruit, Ramen, and Cereal
How often do you exercise? On a good week? Once, maybe twice
How much sleep are you getting? Average: 8.5 hours
Yikes! No wonder I feel like crap ("crap" meaning exhausted, cranky, and unmotivated)! I was getting enough sleep, but was always tired. Saying those things out loud to my parents was painful, but also eye-opening. I had become so lazy in regards to my health. I was justifying my bad habits with a grapefruit. Literally.
Mom&Dad offered to help me the next day with a monthly dinner meal plan and I went to bed overwhelmed and a little disheartened- there was so much to change.

The Plan:
Mom sat down with me on Sunday night and we planned the next 28 days of meals; based off of things I already knew how to cook. We have Soup Night, Breakfast-for-Dinner Night, Pasta Night, Potato Night, Leftover Night, Out-to-Eat Night, and Sunday Dinner. We made a grocery list and I was prepared for my next trip to the grocery store- I was going to go grocery shopping with a purpose, not just buying things because they were cheap or yummy. 

The Intervention:
It was Monday afternoon and we were getting ready to leave. Mom&Dad were offering their last words of advice and encouragement. I made a sarcastic comment (something to the effect of "Ok. Intervention. Check." *insert sarcastic air check mark*). Then, Mom said "I am only saying half of what I want to say. You have a sugar addiction." Of course, I laughed. Addiction? That's too strong of a word. Then, Chris jumps in.
"Its true!" He unzips my backpack and pulls out a handful of strawberry flavored frooties. Then another. And another. ....And another. Ok. I admit. Kind of ridiculous. Then, he brings up the whole bag of chocolate I ate over last weekend.

I might as well go to a Sugaraholics Anonymous meeting.
"Hi, I'm Melissa and I'm a Sugaraholic." 
"Hi, Melissa."

Basically, I can go on and on about all the stuff that I have eaten in the past that I shouldn't have. I could make you uncomfortable with more and more "too personal" information regarding my weight and jeans issues. But, I won't. I wanted to share all of this so that I can own up to it. I shouldn't be confused when I gain weight the way I eat. I shouldn't feel like I'm a victim of "bad genes" and a slow metabolism. This is my fault and its up to me to fix it.

That sounded way more dramatic than I intended. Haha. I am happy with my epiphany and I am so grateful for my loving family who were willing to intervene between me and my unhealthy habits.

If you are in the same chocolate-frootie boat as me, I'd love to hear from you. Or, if you're not and you have some amazing trick for curving your sugar cravings I'd love to hear those too.

746 words later, I think that's all I have to say. :) Thanks for hanging in there with me.

7 comments:

  1. Ohhh honey I should be at those SA meetings with you! I am totally a sugaraholic. Also, I have some medical issues that caused me to gain a ton of weight last year, but since November I have lost 15 lbs, and I feel so much better. Luckily I have some buddies who go to Zumba with me; they keep me on track! Good luck, girl! You rock!

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  2. Dear Melissa. I work at an Italian restaurant and eat garlic bread and pasta and Italian cake all night long. I need an intervention too. If I was still in Rexburg I would say let's be work out buddies.

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  3. This is great Mel! I'm so proud of you. Also, I think you should blog about your goals. Share the recipes you like the most, share your successes, that way, then you do have a bad day you can see all the progress you've made. I've found new ways to get my sugar fix too. Homemade granola bars are super good for you and still give that little bit of sweet. Also really fruit is fantastic and doesn't have many calories! Good luck my friend. You can do it!

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  4. Hi i'm beka and i'm a sugaraholic! I love this post and I think that "sugaraholicism" is much more prevalent than we think it is. I definitely have been feeling the same way (like "crap") which is probably do to my horrible eating habits (i blame my birthday) and lack of exercise (i blame midterms). I should do this too! You can do this!

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  5. Girl I need to too. Zumba is actually a really fun way to work out. It doesn't make me dread it so much haha

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  6. "Breaking the Food Seduction" by Dr. Neal Barnard is a great book! Search it on amazon, order it, and read it. But seriously!! Good luck, girl

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    1. I just added it to my wish list! Thanks for the suggestion!

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