Weekly Vlog: The Sine Wave of Super Bright Living
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- Опубликовано: 31 май 2024
- I want to share a bit about my own story and recent events that illustrate what Bright Living looks like.
I’m really Bright right now but that hasn’t always been the case. I’ve been in food recovery for 28 years. That was about a year after I got clean and sober from drugs and alcohol, and I’d gained a ton of weight.
I went to my first 12-step food meeting, and it didn’t turn everything around the way the drug and alcohol recovery did. That was the beginning of about 7 1/2 years of on-again, off-again attempts at abstinence. I had some success, but overall, I struggled.
When I was 28, I started doing things differently: No sugar. No flour. Weighing and measuring my food. Three meals a day. I got down to the size I am now. And then I had a major relapse and gained back all that weight. Within 3 months, I was my heaviest ever.
I lost the weight again and was good for almost 10 years. But then I tried intuitive eating, because intellectually it seemed a better fit. That didn’t work. Within a month, my freedom was gone and my weight was increasing.
I knew that the no-sugar, no-flour thing worked, so I went back to it, and I was abstinent for about 3 years. But when my life exploded with the Bright Line Eating movement, my food went off track. For about 4 years I binged on and off-mostly Bright, but definitely lots of food struggles. But in September 2019, I stopped binging, put down sugar and flour, and haven’t picked it up since.
That began 3 years of immaculate adherence to the first 3 Bright Lines: no sugar, no flour, and eating only at meals. But my quantities were off in restaurants. I surrendered more deeply and got squeaky clean with the 4th and hardest Bright Line: quantities. Since then, I’ve had immaculate quantities. And now I’m grateful for the peace that I have.
I wanted to share what the sine wave of living Bright can look like.
I go stretches where I don’t think about food at all; I feel free and grateful. My well-being is high, and I’m steady.
Just recently, though, I got a little stressed and stopped writing down my food at night. I’ve done that on and off. Recently, though, I went a week without writing it down and I found myself before a meal addictively picking a fattier protein choice.
Here’s what happened: beans don’t light me up, but Beyond Burgers do. They’re ultra-processed, fattier, and richer. And they’re allowed, but maybe they shouldn’t be, as an ultra-processed food. I made a Beyond Burger, even though I had beans prepared in the fridge. I made that choice, and it was an addictive choice, even though I weighed out exactly 4 oz.
The next day, I took my kids out because I wanted a restaurant meal. And I did have a Bright meal, eating only what was on my food plan. But I know this restaurant has grilled eggplant that is pretty oily, and I had that on my salad. I went out to eat deliberately to get that hit from that food.
That night, I went to the grocery store and contemplated buying some huge apples. The rationale in my mind was that I was about to travel 3 time zones west and knew there would be times I would need to go 8 hours between lunch and dinner, so the addictive voice in my mind told me a huge apple would be good to tide me over. I laughed at myself and didn’t buy the apples. But I could feel the soul-sickness in me.
I made a gameplan. I called a couple of Bright friends for support. Then I came home and wrote down my food for the next day.
When we talk about the sine wave, the downslope is the precursor (potentially) for a relapse. And maybe that means going off the Bright Lines-but maybe it doesn’t. Maybe you just have a little wobble. But you can correct the wobble. For me, that meant making a couple of phone calls and writing down my food again.
Someone on an accountability call recently asked me about eating out. She was using the one-plate rule. For me, a 10++ on the Susceptibility Scale, I don’t use the one-plate rule. I told her that I either use a digital food scale or I measure with my eyes. I stay vigilant about only eating the categories of food that are on my plan for that meal. And I’m eyeballing each category of food to make sure it’s my best estimate of the right amount. If a nagging feeling in my gut tells me maybe it’s actually too much, I cut some away.
This is what a diamond vase looks like. If you’re not familiar with this metaphor, it goes like this: for people who come into Boot Camp, it starts to feel easy. And I say to them, it’s easy because the system works. It’s like you’ve been given a priceless gift: a crystal vase. So don’t juggle with it.
Crystal vasers are those who have never broken their Bright Lines. But if you do break those lines, there is a way back. And you don’t get a crystal vase, you get a diamond vase-one that can’t be ... [ Click here for full summary: ble.life/8w6xlQ ]
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What you described in your blog, Susan is what I like to refer to as the first prompt to rezoom. The little wobble you so beautifully described is the tap on the shoulder that things are getting slippery and that a break in our lines may be on the horizon. I’m so glad that you shared this Vlog, which just reminds us that a true rezoom can begin even before a break occurs.
Exactly! Being aware is the key. Aware of that first prompt, that first sign. Vigilance! 🥰
Thank you so much Susan! I'm a 10 ++++ and used to cover my addiction with running. In 2019, I couldn't run anymore and my weight got out of control and health issues like high blood pressure started to appear. Luckily, my friends started the brightline after hearing about it from another friend. After 3 months, I saw it was working for them, so I got started and lost all my extra weight in 5 months, without exercising!
I kept the weight off for 6 months and slowly got back to where I was in a period of a few years.
Last fall my health was dwindling as my weight reached 111kg.
I started my brightlines on December 1 and Ive already lost over 30lbs.
This is awesome but this time I will keep holding my lines once my goal weight has been reached.
My health is 100% better now than 3 months ago.
Brightlines have saved my life twice!
Thank you so much
Thank you for taking the time to share your journey with us! 🥰💓🧡
I definitely weigh and measure with my eyes when eating out! I know that for me the "one plate" rule is a slippery slope I'm not willing to slide down. After 2 1/2 years of weighing and measuring every meal at home, I'm actually pretty good at estimating without a scale. In fact, I practice at home "guesstimating" and then weigh to hone this skill because it's so helpful and necessary through the years.
Definitely a helpful skill that can contribute to your peace when eating out! It comes with time and experience! 🥰
I guestimate at home, and then weigh to see how close I was, too!
I actually find it quite satisfying! I can measure an ounce of cheese without almost NO margin of error :)@@sunnyfolding
That's talent! 😉
It's like a fun little game with yourself! 😊
Thank you, Susan. I liked the way you give personal examples to illustrate the theory.
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After your previous vlog I bought and read Chris van Tulleken’s book that you recommended, “Ultra Processed People”. After reading it, I heard today’s vlog from a new perspective. When you were talking about intuitive eating, and eating a lot of cookies but not getting to the point of satiation, I thought of the author’s data about this. I was glad to hear, later in today’s vlog, that you were wondering if a particular ultra processed food should maybe not be permitted in BLE. I think you are on the right track. I suspect that some of food addiction may be related to the consumption of UPF. I admire you for being willing to consider shifting some of BLE’s guidelines as new science emerges.
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Thank you for sharing❤
I certainly can resonate with your Vlog😊
You're welcome! 🥰🥰
Great Vlog….I love your calming voice. And the sincerely felt information you share. I feel like I am sitting with my sister and sharing new information and I trust everything you are saying, because it is said out of knowledge, love and compassion for each of us. Thank you …
Oh my dear! What a sweet comment--thank you for taking the time to let us know 🧡🥰💖
Thank you Susan. I love you so much. You are beautiful girl friend😊💪🌍💎
Wow-this was so well-timed for me! Thank you!
Happy this was well-timed! 🙂🙂💓💓
I am so happy I found you 😊just ordered your book.
We're so glad you're here! 🙂🙂🧡🧡
Thank you for sharing this vlog I so needed it
We're so glad you watched 🧡
Not playing you phone game to much? We all have a vice of some sort
I don't understand why Susan moans about times when she couldn't figure out how to get her quantities right in a restaurant, but later in the video she calmly tells us to bring a scale with us if we know we can't get our quantities right in a restaurant. Why doesn't she take a scale with her when she's feeling wonky about her lines? I think weighing food in a restaurant is a good idea when you need it.
Not always possible, though, unless you take a scale everywhere you go. I know my life doesn't work so neatly, and there are things that happen that cause me to find myself needing to eat away from home withOUT having a scale handy. Knowing how to navigate those inevitable situations without being derailed is super important for the long haul!
It's possible to think you are doing your best to eyeball portions, especially after you've done it for years. Then upon further reflection realize your highest self was not on board and your portions were not accurate. We all have work to do within our programs, refinement and constant vigilance! 🥰
There's nuance to everything! @@LeslieMallard 🧡
@@Brightlineeating I definitely don't do this on any sort of regular basis, for this reason! I know myself all too well!