I'm great at delayed gratification when it comes to my pay cheque, but not when it comes to my eating!
Why is it that we, as adults, are so good at delayed gratification when it comes to our pay cheques? We work our butts off for a week, two weeks, or a whole month before we see any actual cash! Could you imagine if we knocked on our boss's door at the end of every shift and said, "I'd like to be paid for that 8 hours NOW"? I'm great at delayed gratification when it comes to my pay cheque, but not when it comes to my eating!
When I set my mind to losing weight and getting healthier, I'd really prefer to lose 20 pounds in a day - not in 3+ months! I look at myself in the mirror after working hard for a week and think, "I don't really see a difference... Why is this taking so long?" I see the numbers on the scale and think, "another plateau? Really? Come on!!" When I'm hungry, I want to eat NOW, not 10 minutes or an hour from now! My stomach starts to growl and instantly, I'm HANGRY! It's a real thing, this hunger-anger thing. Lucinda tells me that when we are hungry, we feel our emotions more strongly. It's an instinct. The old Kim would grab whatever unhealthy food was closest and shove it in my mouth to calm the storm of emotion inside of me. I'm great at delayed gratification when it comes to my pay cheque, but not when it comes to my eating! But I'm working on it...
I think that delayed gratification, as it relates to losing weight and eating better, is all about patience and kindness. Yes, being kind to Kim. I need to practice appreciating the small successes along this journey - the small successes lead to bigger successes! And about the "HANGRY" problem... I'm trying to look at hunger differently now. I'm trying to think of it as a tool. It helps me to know when my fuel tank is low and it helps to make my healthy food taste better!
Yes, I want to lose 20 pounds in a day, but that's not a reality. Instead, I will celebrate every ounce along the journey and congratulate myself every day for working hard to make these healthy changes!