“Listening to your body” is a phrase that’s wholly overused in the blog world for myriad reasons: not eating much, eating too much, not exercising enough, exercising too much.
I’m sure I’ve been guilty of it a few times myself, but I try not to use this phrase. Why? If I listened to my body, it would tell me to sit on the couch and order Chinese food and drink a glass (or three) of wine.
Four years ago, I decided to change my life for the healthier. That meant more exercise, and less takeout. That went well, and I lost 50 pounds.
Since reaching my goal weight three years ago, every single day is a fight to make the healthier choice. Most of the times I do, but not always. I really like wine, bagels and French fries and never want to cut any of those things out of my diet 100%.
There’s been a lot going on the past few months, and you could say I’ve been “listening to my body.” My body said “drink more wine, eat more crap, exercise less.” I listened to my body.
I went on two awesome trips in the past few months, and I brought back some more weight from both of them, and then there’s some of the life baggage that is currently taking up residence on my stomach and thighs.
I stepped on the scale on Monday morning, and it said a higher number than I’ve seen in a longer time: 148. That’s 9 pounds higher than what my original goal weight was, and about 13 pounds higher than my ultimate lowest weight. I generally don’t freak out about my weight much (oh hai gaining 50 pounds between 2001-2009), but seeing a 9-pound weight gain made me a bit nervous. Nervous that it would be a slow slide back to where I came from. That I would be one of those statistics of people who lost a lot of weight and gained it all back.
Let’s just say I’ve been very social lately, and that I love wine. Well, that loving wine has led to, quite honestly, a lot of poor food choices, on top of wine not being the healthiest choice in the world.
I know that alcohol (and certainly wine, with lots of sugar) can contribute to bloat, so I’ve been trying to eat as many whole foods and few processed foods this week and stay away from the wine.
This morning I got on the scale, and it read 143. HOLY BLOAT. I was holding on to at least 5 pounds of water weight from poor food choices. I’d still like to lose a few more pounds, because I also just feel mushy around the edges. I’m not going to do anything crazy, but just continue to be cognizant of making healthy decisions and taking care of myself
Moral of the story: weight maintenance ain’t always easy, wine bloats you like crazy, I cannot actually “listen to my body,” because my natural inclinations are not to be healthy, and it is a battle I fight every day. Some days I lose the battle, but I won’t lose the war.
I could have written this post. My body tells me to eat like a 10 year old boy at his birthday party. My translation of “listen to your body” is “imagine how good your body feels when you eat a tangelo instead of three pieces of cold deep dish pizza.”
I am feeling the same lately! I am feeling better about things today, but stress has been huge and it tends to cause me to make horrible choices! Good job on the recent weight loss and definitely congrats on your original weight loss! You will do great and so will I!
Yeah, right now my body is telling me to buy one box of each flavor of the Girl Scout cookies. It’s also telling me to sleep in every morning instead of working out. So I CAN’T listen to my body at the moment!
I would argue that’s not your body speaking, it’s your mind. The distinction is hard to make but once you do everything changes
Oh I can totally relate to this. If I listened to my body, my diet would consist mainly of carbs, peanut butter, and margaritas. It’s hard to accept that the struggle to make healthier decisions may never go away.
I feel the same way. Desserts, wine, beer and good food has been calling my name way too much lately. The good news is, our bodies know better and remind us how good it is to feel our best! This is helping me reel myself back in. Sounds like you are too!
This is absolutely brilliant and needs to be said much more often.
I’m so with you. My whole “listen to my body, intuitive ness” has led me to gain some weight I don’t necessarily love! I haven’t weighed myself, but time to recommit to some of those good habits that helped me get healthy in the first place
Oh boy. I think we’ve all experienced this! The wine and extra calories that we ingest on vacations and special occasions should always be enjoyed. That’s why we’re not always on vacation! Stay clean and those edges will harden up. 😉
Love your honesty. I’ve found myself in a very similar sitch, combined with not working out until this past weekend because I’d had surgery on my foot. Cheers to make some healthier choices! 🙂
I love The Drink too…and it is indeed the cause and solution to all of life’s problems!
I never imagined I would be one of those people who gained the weight back, but I’ve been dealing with similar feelings lately. Except, instead of being social, I’ve been drowning sorrow over not running in boxes of girl scout cookies, which doesn’t seem so bad in the moment, but then the idea of how quickly maintenance can get away is scary. But you know, you are way too aware at this point to completely go back. We all have stumbles, but sometimes it just takes the stumble to get us back on track.
I could have written this post – wine is my downfall – I love it and yet know when I drink it I usually throw all of my healthy eating plans out the window.
Thank goodness someone else has this problem! I always think other people’s bodies must just give better messages than mine. Mine always chooses chocolate, and sometimes chips… Time for a change.
I can 100% relate to this post. I stepped on the scale on Monday and saw that it has crept up. Healthy lifestyle choices must take priority for a bit, mixed in with a little wine. moderation!!
Great post! I’ve been on a roll losing weight, and was finally in the 130’s, then last week after a night of wine drinking I couldn’t believe what the scale read! 144! I’m going to have to continue not drinking until my next weigh in on Saturday. Do you think some people bloat/gain water weight more than others? I swear I can fluctuate so easily… Also what alcohol is the “best” to drink to avoid bloating?
Thank you for posting this! It makes me feel so much better that I’m not the only one who deals with this. I lost 35 pounds about a year ago and keeping it off has been harder than losing it! Gained about 10 last summer and had to re-lose it. I loved your final line — “Some days I lose the battle, but I won’t lose the war”.
Such an honest post, I adore that about you. And I have to say I agree on the ‘listen to your body’ thing — I’m with you: if I listened, I’d be eating pizza at least weekly, drinking FAR more wine than I already do (#lush alert) and eating chocolate chip cookies every time I bake them for my husband. But instead, I choose moderation and try VERY HARD to opt for fueling, nourishing (and also tasty) foods vs. the less nutricious (but also tasty) foods that sometimes creep onto my plate too. Like you said, it’s hard to make good choices sometimes and hell we’re all HUMAN and allowed to make imperfect choices now and then too. The trick is to make that choice and NOT let it ruin your day or week or dashing your confidence. I love that stepping on the scale just a few days later showed that MOST of that ‘gain’ was actually just bloat. Proof that you weren’t as far off the ‘wagon’ as you thought. xo! (wow, holy novel length blog comment, sorry!)
“Since reaching my goal weight three years ago, every single day is a fight to make the healthier choice.”
AMEN.
Keep fighting the good fight!
Oh how I can relate – and appreciate your openness and honesty!
I am down about 70 pounds from my all time heaviest and over the past few months put a few pounds and am now actively trying to lose them (didn’t even attempt it while marathon training…marathon appetite is no joke!)
But I also understand bloating…I have awful hydration issues and can fluctuate 10 pounds in a day between running/eating/water consumption! You’ve got the right attitude though…we slip up a bit but you need to confront it head on and nip it in the bud!
Funny, I started dating someone new and drank a LOT of wine last month and have been feeling the consequences as I try to get back on track. Listening to my body has always been a huge challenge for me too, and I really appreciate the honesty of this post!
Haha, I recently moved to NYC and was going to ask if you’d like to meet for a drink sometime. There’s always so many drinking occasions here! Which I love. But those wine calories add up. Maybe a run or yoga class instead.
It’s nice to see long-time health-conscious people be honest about the fact that weight loss and healthy bodies take work every day. Thanks for the honest post!
Thank you so much for this post! It was exactly what I needed to read today (as I sausaged myself into a dress to hide the fact that my pants feel a little too snug…). Your honesty is refreshing and you are so amazing.
It’s a daily struggle. I’m holding on to a few extra lbs and it’s messing with me. I’m more toned than ever so some days I tell myself muscle weighs more than fat–other days I don’t know if it’s water gain, or real deal weight gain. I’m trying to stress less…
Thanks for this post! I lost 25 pounds about 3 years ago and have lately felt myself slip. I know it happens, be it social obligations (also love my wine!) or illness or whatever! But it’s nice to hear your take on it. Gonna go make myself a healthy lunch now 🙂
To lose weight and keep it off it is a life style choice and it is easy said then done.
I would also like to add that it is a choice someone has to make each and very day and some days are harder then others.
Thank you SO MUCH for writing this post. I am in the midst of trying to lose weight (have lost about 30 +/- so far and still have about 30 +/- to go) and I am having trouble “listening to my body.” My body want to stress eat at night (to a point sometimes that may be considered a binge) and there are days I really do not want to exercise (I do like exercise, but sometimes weeks I have trouble peeling myself off the couch). My success has been from making small changes, like you, that have become lifestyle changes but mentally, I sometime was to revert back to old habits. This was a very refreshing post and good luck getting back on the wagon!
Amen! Weight maintenance isn’t easy and sometimes it almost feels like a “bad word” to say that I’m trying to lose a few lbs. But clearly it’s a battle that so many of us fight. Thank you for writing such an insightful post!
True, If I listen to my body all I hear is chicken, pasta, chocolates, cakes, candies. Hahaha nice to know that im not alone and yes, we shouldnt always listen to our bodies… Well maybe from every once in a while hahaha but limit it…
Growing up, I never listened to my body. I ate till I was over full. I ate awesome fast food though. But my tastes have now changed. I went through a period of anorexia and I didn’t listen to my body either. Unfortunately, I can’t really listen to my body now. I try to eat intuitively but realize I don’t eat very much.
Sometimes we just don’t hear what our bodies are saying she we think we are listening. I know now that I often thought I was hungry when really I was thirsty. Now I do go for the water before food 🙂
The wine comment is interesting. I live in New Zealand which is awash with wine so not easy to avoid. Our brands only have natural sugar here (if you’ve ever tried making your own you’d be horrified how much sugar has to go into it) so the sugar count strangely isn’t huge – but I’ve never thought of the bloating.
Interesting – do you know if that’s the case with exported New Zealand wines? Marlborough sauvignon blancs are my favorite wines 🙂
I can relate to freaking out on the quick water weight increase. When I first started monitoring my daily weight more closely, I noticed that when I would have the occassional cheat meal – for me most often ice cream or key lime piece 🙂 – that I would see my weight spike 6 pounds in the subsequent days. But since it was water weight, similarly it was a transient increase. I have found using a daily fat caliper to track my fat gets me better consistent measurements on cheat days like these since it is largely independent of the water weight fluctuations.
As an RD, I will tell you that most wines have little to no sugar (unless you drink Riesling or white zin.). The natural sugar from the grapes is converted to alcohol. So really, wine isn’t the cause of bloat. Extra calories or poor food choices, yes – but wine itself, would act more as a diuretic.
I try to keep to a wine or dessert rule on a daily basis. That way I have some “treat” without overdoing the calories.
I’m curious to find out what blog platform you’re utilizing?
I’m experiencing some minor security issues with my latest blog and I would like to find something more secure. Do you have any recommendations?
So HAPPY I found your blog through Carrots’n’Cake! I love this entry, specifically. And the excuses one. Both resonate with me and I’ve send myself some Theodora quotes to keep myself in check. Thanks for the inspiration.
yay! Glad you found it.