Thursday, January 31, 2013

Cut it Out.

"I'm going to cut out sugar."

"I'm trying to cut out wine."

"I'm cutting carbs."

I heard some of these phrases in a conversation between two of my female coworkers today, and it made me sad. I have been guilty of similar behavior, and that also makes me sad.

Why are we trying to cut up our lives?

Why must items be erased from them, especially when those items are not necessarily harmful?
(in fairness, if you suffer from alcoholism, you probably shouldn't drink but you know what I'm saying)

One of the coworkers is one of the thinnest on the hall. She is almost militant about her food intake during the day yet constantly mentions how she still needs to lose 5 pounds. Why is this so important to her? The possible answers, of course, are endless.

Do you know what I would like to cut out?

The obsession.
The counting.
The restriction.
The self-loathing.
The misery.

Instead of cutting things out, can't we add?

Enjoyment
Friendship.
Self-confidence.
Mindfulness.

I know, some days, it seems easier to subtract than to add. But maybe if we add, we won't need to take anything away from ourselves. We can just...be.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Surrender.

Surrender.

This word has popped up in my vision a lot lately.

This post at Roots of She really spoke to me.

I feel like my life is a constant battle. Yes, it sounds cliche but it really is the best description I can muster.

Fighting for control.
Fighting my weight.
Fighting my body.
Fighting distorted or negative thoughts.

Why am I always fighting?

What would happen if I stopped and just gave in?

What would happen if I just surrendered?

The idea doesn't strike me as a loss, but as a release.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Eat When You're Hungry.

What a simple concept.

What a difficult concept to put into action!

Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full.

I am pretty good about the full thing. I know when I'm full most of the time and don't stress too much if I eat a little more or less around fullness.

Hunger, however, feels like this mysterious goal.

When am I really hungry? I know the far end of hunger: stomach growling, mild lightheadedness or nausea. But regular old hunger. Hard to pinpoint.

I think years of dieting and emotional eating have really numbed out this feeling. I eat when I'm bored, tired, or upset. Last night was a perfect example: it was about an hour before I was going to go to bed and I was feeling significantly tired (I couldn't go to bed earlier because of the family schedule of baby-watching; we trade off late nights). I immediately said I was hungry. However, nothing but sweets sounded good and even that was vague, so I sat with the feeling a little while and realized it was really just fatigue and not hunger. I embraced the fatigue and went to bed on time, feeling not the slightest bit hungry.

I am going to try and really focus on this. I feel like it's simple enough to not be overwhelming but important enough to really home in on.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Guest post!

I am honored to be featured on the lovely web site, Nourishing the Soul.

You can find my post here.