A few days ago I discovered that I'm definitely up a couple of pounds, as happens every once in a while. It wasn't that long ago, it seems, that being up a couple of pounds sent me into a panic or an obsession. (So did being down a couple of pounds.) But the last couple of times this happened, I realized that the panic and obsession is gone. I think I know what to do now, and I think I have settled into the right attitude -- an attitude that is positive not negative, calm not panicked, rational not obsessive, and helpful not destructive.
A lot of the things that I write that people really take off on (here's an example) make me laugh, because they're, um, theoretical. I made them up. People like them because I have the gift of sounding like I've got it all figured out!
But occasionally I have something to share that is much more empirical. This is one of those things. It is my observation of what I really do that really works (caveat: FOR ME). So I'm going to throw it out there for you to chew on, with some suggestions (that's the theoretical, made-up part) on how to adapt its observations for your own life.
Maybe the things I do that help me drop my occasional 3 extra pounds, will help some other person begin habits that will help them take off 10 or 20 or 30.
Just to keep you reading, I promise you at least one list of seven things. Stay tuned.
Why did I decide to call this a "habit constellation" instead of a "plan?"
Mainly, because there isn't any order to it: no first do this, then do this, then do that. I have a certain number of habits that I practice (not adhere to, but practice, with all the connotations of skill building by trying and falling short of the ideal and trying again) only when I perceive the need to control my energy intake.
Also because I find that I often select subsets of them -- mini-constellations -- to work on. (You know, the Big Dipper is only part of Ursa Major.) Just these three today, or just this one habit another day. There is no reason I have to practice all of them every single day, though of course the extra pounds will come off faster the more habits I enlist.
The third reason I call it a "habit constellation" is that it is not without its background, the inky sky and the nameless fixed stars. One of the reasons I need concentrate only on a manageably small number of habits when I need to buckle down and drop a few pounds, is that I have already established a firm background of certain habits I no longer need to think about at all. Some of them set me apart from the average person, and others are quite normal behavior, but the point is that my particular constellation works for me because of the particular background against which it is set in me.
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