Tuesday, March 1, 2011

The chocolate yoyo

I am officially deluded.

Last night, I had only one Tim Tam for dessert (rather than the regulation two) because I did not wish to undo all the good work that I had done that morning at the gym. I felt good and virtuous and immediately three kilograms lighter.

Today, I ate a small chocolate bar and justified it to myself with the thought that I would be going to the gym tomorrow morning so it wouldn't matter. I now, of course, feel bad and guilty and immediately three kilograms heavier.

Generally speaking, I am not too weird in the area of food. Weird in other areas, tis true, but not in this area. I am an all things in moderation girl and if sometimes the moderation looks more like 'moderately less than the entire packet', well, so be it. But, yes, I am back at the gym, and, yes, I am even going twice a week, with plans to add an extra day. Why? Because it's true what your mum told you - you hit 40 and it all changes. The weight goes on easier and it comes off a whole lot harder.

And so, here I am with my chocolate yoyo thing going on.

Why do we do this to ourselves? Do you?

{image: via weheartit.com - please let me know if it's yours}

27 comments:

  1. NO. But I probably should! I don't know which is worse, being overweight or living with constant guilt and self-criticism... ... x

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  2. oh i think most of us do it...don't we?! this is what i have been telling myself anyway

    I sit here typing with one of those giant, duty free Toblerones in my hand...Just one triangle?

    Yeah, right!

    Gill xo

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  3. I will return to check the comments on this post. Surely someone has the answer? (ahem Diminishing Lucy)

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  4. I sometimes eat whole wheel of brie.

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  5. I certainly do and blogged about it when I decided to get serious about going sugar free. Sometimes I think the only way to overcome this sort of internal bargaining is to go cold turkey - either absolutely no more OR I am going to do it and be happy to do it and live with the consequences.

    P.S. And for me the downslide began at 30, not 40!

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  6. Sorry, after I turned 40 all I can do is growl! No answers here. :(

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  7. I am in no position to comment..so why am I here...I just had to read what the rest of you said..so, nosey and fat!

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  8. Oh, geez, I'm impressed you stopped at one Tim Tam. That is far meyond my capacity. And yes, I eat chocolate every day. And yes, I feel guilty every time. But for those few seconds when it's melting in my mouth, I'm in heaven!! I actually think its the carbs in bread/pasta/rice and things like soft drinks that are more damaging than the old piece of chocolate. That's what I tell myself anyway.... ;)

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  9. Totally! I use your justification system all the time. If I don't have any chocolate during the day, I'm 'entitled' to have a good portion in the evening. If I do eat it during the day, I can have 'slightly' less in the evening... but have some all the same. If I have more than the usual, I definitely feel heavier and will sometimes do a few extra twists on my recently acquired Ab Circle Pro... Yes... I'm going to stop now before it starts to get weird ;o)
    You're a marvel for hitting the gym so regularly, go girl!

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  10. Hello from your newest follower! I spied your blog on Maxabella's page :)

    Ahhhhh the eternal battle of mind over matter :) I have no self control when it comes to chocolate, or anything sweet for that matter! I think Christie summed it up perfectly - either have chocolate and enjoy every mouthful (without the guilt) or cut it out completely. Torturing yourself with every mouthful is just so draining (and yup, I'm there with you, so should heed my own advice!).

    Life's too short not to enjoy every morsel of it.

    Chrissy xx

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  11. Oh yes, totally. I am in an awful cycle of, "I just ran 6.5 Km, I deserve some chocolate/muffin/cookie", and then as soon as it's eaten, the guilt and regret begin.

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  12. Ummm, I commented, but it got eaten. I hope your blog is not worrying about what it eats too - I talked about Tim Tams....

    Al, this mental bargaining is what we all do, sadly.

    Unless you eat purely from instinctive hunger (never ever for an emotional reason, and never eat UNLESS you are TRULY hungry.)

    Easier said than done.

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  13. Good for you. It'd be nice to have a balance between exercise and chocolate and not have the guilt. I think a little bit of choc is fine, but if you're trying to lose weight it can make it harder. The yoyo effect is lessened if you don't partake in large quantities of either.

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  14. SO BUSTED! hubby brought home lovely nutty choc bar last night … cut it in half, packed the rest away, virtuously ate the first half … then went to the fridge and dug out the other half.

    i know i often tell myself i have given up so much for my family, that i have earned it, and then i look in the mirror and wonder why that blobby belly just doesn't "go" already.

    think there's a connection?

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  15. Can relate to this so well. I have commited to abstaining from chocolate until the conference (I usually have some everyday!). Doing okay so far 3 days in.

    Sometimes I feel that I go to the gym to support my chocolate habit....

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  16. "if sometimes the moderation looks more like 'moderately less than the entire packet', well, so be it."

    This is going to be my mantra.

    No seriously. Too bad we couldn't be like some men I know and think that we look devishly handsome at whatever weight.

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  17. I believe that life is far too short to never let the sweet stuff to be tasted past your lips. But it has to be about moderation. I am like you, in that sometimes for me 'moderation' means having less than the whole packet (aherm). But I got myself into this mess and now I am getting myself out of it, with a lot more discipline and stamina for getting fit - I eat surprisingly healthily, when I do eat! - than I ever had before.

    Moderation is key. I just had to get honest with myself about how much I was letting slip with the justifications, like you've highlighted ;)

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  18. I'm trying not to get too hung about it these days. For me, the stress and deprivation of being a few kilos lighter means that I found myself getting into cycles of being good then giving into cravings and being back at square one (and feeling worse).

    I do eat chocolate every day. For lunch and make sure it's something worthwhile like a square of Lindt. I find that if I know I have this to look forward to every day then those chocolate caramel slices flirting with me at the coffee cart somehow are less appealing.

    I've also tried to accept that I'm a woman in her mid 30s with a job, a life and lots of other things to fulfil me beyond looking like a twiglet.

    SSG xxx

    Sydney Shop Girl blog

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  19. yep, run, chocolate, guilt, gym, chocolate, guilt....I think it's the circle of life Elton John sang about (I may be misquoting him a litlle bit there!)

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  20. I've just eaten two mini frozen tiramisu cakes, then I come here and read about timtams and chocolate bars!
    Of course I HAD to eat the cakes because I have a headache starting and the migraine medication can't be taken on an empty stomach.
    Mind you, that doesn't excuse the two cakes yesterday, and the day before, nor all the bowls of icecream....

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  21. I know the answer but you aren't going to like it. You need to create and energy deficit. Eat less than you burn off. Or work for hours on end at the gym or running! I'd opt for 2 squares of dark chocolate instead. You can't eat tooo much of it or it makes you sick! Apparently it is a superfood (I read it in one of the health magazines this month)

    (via fit to fat blog hop)

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  22. It sounds like all us Fat to Fitters have had a crap week in that regard.

    I say "damn it all to hell" (until tomorrow).

    I'm off to eat a cup cake ...

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  23. You ate ONE Tim Tam then stopped? I think you deserve a medal.

    I do the whole chocolate bargaining thing as well. I figure that if I ran 7km today, then it doesn't matter if I treat myself. This might not be the healthiest approach to diet and exercise, but if it makes me happy, then why not?!

    As long as everything happens in moderation, I think that's the main thing. xxx

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  24. I blogged this week about having made it through two months now without eating chocolate. It's not that I'm doing the whole no sugar thing. It's simply the guilt that I associate with chocolate. I have always eaten it on an emotional level. I have to say these two months chocolate free (and guilt free) have been the best I've felt in a long, long time. x

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  25. Oh, I never feel any guilt. I eat whatever I want, my idea of exercise is lifting a 1kg block of dairy milk into the trolley and I still fit into my size 10 skinnies.
    Not! It was a cruel god who put those kinds of people on earth :)

    In truth, I too am a in-moderation person. But there is weekday moderation and weekend moderation (considerably less moderate).
    I've tried for a long time not to feel guilty and it's actually started working in the past few months. I've seen too many women worry about that kind of thing their entire lives and decided I just wanted to be grateful for what I've got.
    Same goes for excercise guilt. Helped by the fact that my new job can be quite physical (lots of stair climbing and hefting of heavy objects) so I often get a bit of a workout without even putting on my joggers.

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  26. Ahhhh, chocolate...my mastermind specialist subject :-)
    My mum is 'that of sort of person' who can eat one row of chocolate, then fold over the silver paper and neatly place the chocolate bar back on the shelf until the next time she feels a bit peckish. Unfortunately I did *not* inherit that gene. Chocolate is banned from me. We are enemies because I love it sooooooo much (there are still not enough 'o's in that word btw). I would love to agree with the 'give yourself permission to eat it and then eat it mindfully' etc, but I just can't. It's the whole packet of tim tams (and yes, I know there are 11 in a pack) or nothing. So I go with nothing...it's safer :-)
    xxxCate

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  27. No, never do that, apart from every day. I sometimes even eat something like biscuits for lunch, kidding myself that because they've replaced an actual meal they don't count. How dim is that?

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