Becoming Physically What I already am Mentally

This biggest loser contest has really helped me to realize that I am capable of doing things that I do not like to do. Not only that but doing what I don't like to do is not half as bad as I thought it would be...once I am done doing it. Another thing that I have come to realize is that we can not change physically until we change mentally. The mental changes we make are often very slight, but they make a huge difference.
When I started this contest 6 weeks ago I was 300 lbs. That is as heavy as I have ever been. I committed myself to the competition before I was mentally ready and I was scared that I would give up before I even started. I knew that I would have to change inside before I could change outside, because I was not willing to do much in the way of exercise and diet. Food has been a way of life and I was not that motivated to change that aspect of my life.
I came from a large family and when it came to food we ate what we could when we could. We ate well, probably too well. Sometimes I think eating was more of a competition than it was a matter of survival. But somewhere mentally we flipped a switch that told us that we were starving and we might not get another meal. I think that happens to a lot of us as teenagers, we just forget to turn that switch off when we grew up.
I grew to like having that full tummy feeling. It was like I had accomplished something great by eating so much.  And when I liked something... well, it was probably going to be the last time I got to eat it so I would have to eat as much of it as I could. Just another one of those mental switches that got thrown and I forgot to turn it off once I realized it was back on the menu.
I have heard of other switches that others have and each one of them seems to me to be very logical. Fear is a huge switch. When we are afraid we often seek comfort. One way we seek comfort is orally. As a baby every time we cried we were given a binky, a bottle, a breast, or we found our thumb to pacify us. As we got older we turned to food. The problem was, we ate many things not because our body needed them so much as we were seeking comfort. It became emotional for us. We couldn't explain why we felt the way we did so we put something in our mouth and it tasted good so that took our mind off of the problem temporarily. Just like some people turn to drugs and alcohol. After a while we conditioned ourselves when we felt bad to eat something. This becomes an addiction. Another switch that has to be flipped.
I myself had another hurdle that I had to cross. I could not see myself doing exercise routines. I had nightmares of that Simmons guy in little tight shorts dancing in my head. Exercise routines were for other people not my type, Good grief I had some dignity. :o  So, another mental switch had to be flipped.
Each of us have different switches, but the principle is the same once we figure out why we allowed ourselves to get where we are, then we can reach into our own mind and flip that switch. That is if we are willing to flip that switch. Some of us have been holding on to some of these switches for a long time and we don't want to give them up. That is a decision each of us has to make on our own.
You see those switches happen on the Biggest Loser television show every week. Losing  weight for those who are morbidly obese is a physical/emotional process. I promise you will have tears of frustration, of anger, of hopelessness, and tears of joy if you push yourself past the frustration. The great thing about watching the show is that patterns are set that you can visibly see. You have good weeks and bad weeks. You have times when you want to win and times you have to decide not to lose. It is mental and emotional.

For me the switch came right before the contest. I realized that I did not need to eat as much as I was used to. I realized that I was eating for the wrong reasons. I was eating to get full, instead of eating to nourish my body. I ate a lot of stuff just because it was in front of me, it looked good, it tasted good, and I thought I had to eat it. When I mentally told myself that I didn't need to eat it, right now, it became a take it or leave it game.  My wife is a good cook. I know that if something was good, if I don't get another bite of my dinner, she will make it again and I don't have to eat it all right now. Eating slower was another cool revelation in discovery. I love dessert and by eating slow I found that I could make a little flavor go along way, and realizing that by eating just a little the ice cream will last me a lot longer. ;) I have now gotten to the point where I do not want to even come close to feeling stuffed. I will save a portion of my meal for a later snack or for another meal rather than stuff myself.

So, why do you eat what you eat? Do you look at your food and ask is this enough to satisfy me? or do you ask yourself if you need this much? Simple questions sometimes help us find out where our switches are.

The way we see ourselves is important. If we see ourselves as overweight that is where we will stay. Our body wants to stay where we think we are. If we think we are slim our body will try to match our image. We either have to change what we think of ourselves or we will remain the same.