Day 23

So yesterday was a "Steak Day". I took a suggestion from a friend, in order to shake things up. I was not to eat anything all day until 4 pm. Upon reaching 4 pm, I was to eat a big steak and an apple. Lots of water throughout the day, of course....There are a lot of things I realized during this day. Number one, I would never be able to make it on Survivor. Number two, I don't think I ever have to worry about suffering from anorexia. Here are some of the other realizations that I journalled about throughout the day:

It wasn't until 11 am that I actually got a bit hungry. What I was battling up until then was just the habit of grabbing things to eat. I was dealing with some stressful bank issues for a couple of hours in the morning. Sitting there on the phone, I was really wanting to eat something. Even though I had already determined that I wasn't feeling hungry, I felt the need to grab something as I got all worked up. I didn't do it. I was also seeing things sitting out on the counter, like loaves of bread, an apple, bags of chips...Just seeing them was triggering something in me that said "eat". I didn't do it then either! (Gum became my friend). It seems like this going without food for a time, was bringing some sort of clarity to me on what my mind does to me on a regular basis regarding food.

About noon, I wrote this in my journal: "I'm realizing that I really look forward to eating. I start to think about, "yay, it's almost lunchtime!"...then I realize I won't be eating anything today. I really don't think it's just hunger for me. It's the pure pleasure of eating." About this time, I took four bites of my daughter's peanut butter and jelly sandwich that she didn't finish. So much for following instructions exactly.

It was not advised that I work out as I was trying this thing yesterday. I probably would have passed out! I did just want to lay around...and sleep, so I wouldn't think about food. When I finally ate my steak and apple at about 4:15, it really tasted good! Crazy thing though...I wasn't starving. I felt like I could eat, and I did. And afterwards, I was ok the rest of the night without anything else. I really wasn't even tempted. Of course, I hit the hay early...that had to help!

This little experiment helped me to drop 2.5 lbs. in one day. Not something I would want to do on a regular basis...but it seems to have helped me get back on track a little. So far today, I'm not near as hungry as I usually am, and not near as tempted by the food that is sitting around.

Day 23: Interesting day. I almost feel like it woke me up a bit.