Don't "undo" your hard work all week with a weekend splurge

You've worked hard all week....don't let the weekend "un-do" the hard work you've done this week.  Sometimes people tell me that "their plan" allows them to eat whatever they choose (well, I eat whatever I choose everyday... I just choose wisely) on the weekends, so they go out to dinner or drinks.  Everyone's journey is unique, but I don't really understand the philosophy of practicing good habits all week and then blowing it on the weekends...only to start all over on Monday. But...that's me.  What are your thoughts on the matter?

Whatever plan works well for you..... I hope you have a healthy and peace-ful, stay on track kind of weekend.  The weather is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous in Michigan this weekend....warm and sunny....and I'm up and ready to greet the sun. Have Fun and keep positive!

Let go of things that weigh you down and lead to overeating

Good morning everyone!  Yesterday morning as I was getting ready for work, I reached into the bottom of my purse to get some lipstick. I pulled out a tube and when it wasn’t the one I was looking for, I tried again. I always tend to carry a large bag…sometimes two…because I am an admitted “pack-rat” (but in my defense, I’d prefer to say that “I am an always prepared….just in case…..kind of girl”) and I noticed that my purse had gotten particularly heavy.  I reached in again and pulled out another tube; still not the one I wanted.  SO….I thought perhaps it was time to clean out the purse.

I dumped the contents into a box and to my surprise…. I had seven (yes, I said 7) tubes of lipstick/gloss; 3 pair of tweezers (don’t ask why…I have no idea); 2 different vegetable peelers (so THAT’s where the blue one went?); half a dozen protein bars, a peach, apple, fiber one bar, and 2 packs of sugar-free gum (a big girl NEVER wants to be without  “stay-on-track” food…just in case!) and a whole plethora of other “unnecessary” things.  Yikes!  I sorted through the stuff and returned the essentials back to the purse and put the other things away, but thus began the “thinking process.”

I’ve always been a pack-rat and have accumulated way more “stuff” than I need. Many of my ‘treasures” have been inherited or given to me by friends and family members. Those are the things that I find it hard to part with…because in some silly way….having something that belonged to a loved one makes me feel like part of them is still with me, but in reality, I know that it’s just a tangible reminder of the person/people and their presence lives in my heart, not in my garage. It’s an area that I continue to work on “in my head.”

An important part of my weight-loss journey has been to shed “emotional things; painful memories; and irrational thoughts and feelings” along with the excess pounds.  I discovered that a big part of the reason for the excess weight (not the ONLY reason but a significant reason) was that I was hanging onto emotions that were weighing me down and I was trying to protect myself from dealing with them with a layer of fat.  Grief….sadness from the death of loved ones; rejection….from a job loss that truly defined my self-worth and purpose in life; Fear…of commitment, being loved, trusting….well, fear of all sorts of things; and whole bunch of other things like resentment, unforgiveness, jealousy, worthlessness, etc. were all things that consumed my life. Those were the things that were ‘weighing me down” and creating a sadness inside that I was trying to eliminate and mask with overeating and isolation. It was almost as if a bag of potato chips and 2 liter bottle of soda could make me forget “what so-and-so said or did” or that yet another loved one had died in my arms. Oftentimes, it did make me forget….temporarily.  Food; alcohol; drugs; shopping….whatever your vice….sometimes makes you forget…for a while, but then…it comes back and brings the side effects of our behavior with it. But, only if…..WE CONTINUE TO CARRY THE PAIN AROUND WITH US….. “Just in case we might need it one day” much like those 6 extra tubes of lipstick in my purse. It doesn’t have to be that way.

As I’ve said many times before, “Changing the way I THINK has been key to my journey.” When I decided to change my life a few years ago, I obviously made some major changes in my eating habits, but I also spent a lot of time working on my “thinking habits.” These are both areas of my life that will ALWAYS need attention if I hope to continue to become healthier and enjoy my new life.  I had/have to continually ask myself, “Theresa….are you REALLY hungry….or are you trying to avoid dealing with whatever feeling/thought/emotion that is bothering you at the moment?”  More often than not, it’s an emotional thing.  When someone disappoints me, I want to eat; when I’m tired, I reach for a protein bar; when I’m stressed….. agitated…..or even excited/happy; I often confuse that with hunger.  It is so much easier to treat an emotion/feeling/thought or even boredom with food than it is to deal with, confront, or process it in a healthy way.  It’s much easier to “hang on to it” than it is to “forget, forgive, ‘talk about it’ or let it go”….just in case we need it someday (for what….a fight down the road….a reason to be mean….and excuse not to do the right thing, or just “because” we feel justified in being mad, rude, hurt or  unkind?).

 Like tubes of lipstick in my purse, I sometimes accumulate “Emotional stuff” that I absolutely DO NOT need to carry around with me; it just weighs me down and makes life harder. It certainly doesn’t make me the kind of person that I want to be. It does, however, make me less desirable to be around; usually only “like-minded” negative people enjoy the company of others like them. (birds of a feather….?)  In my former life, that’s exactly what I wanted….to be alone in my pain so that I didn’t allow others to get close enough to hurt me again….or die.  A bag of chips or pizza could only disappoint me if they were stale or burnt. But… I didn’t want to live like that anymore….and I don’t want to be that person either. I want to be free from that “stuff”. How about you?

We are all a “work in progress” and so today, I am going to focus on one thing:  I’m going to work on getting rid of any of those ‘emotional things” I’m hanging onto that are weighing me down. In just a few minutes, before I leave for work, I am actually going to go outside in my driveway with a bottle of bubbles and I am going to blow bubbles into the air….and as each one rises to the sky…. I am going to ask God to help me “let go” of any of those “things…..hurts….pains….fears….anxious moments….petty jealousies….undesirable weaknesses and traits (God will show me those things when I spend a few minutes praying about it) so that they don’t weigh me down and hinder my progress on this journey.  I’m also going to ask that any temptation or desire to eat things that are not nourishing or essential to my body be removed as well and replaced with the hunger/desire to do good and help others.  (YES….I’m really going to do this as soon as it gets daylight…and YES, I’m glad I live in a rural area! J)

These kind of symbolic things work for me, but likely won’t for many/most of you, but that’s what a personal journey is all about: Finding a plan, tools, and lifestyle that works for YOU!  I do encourage you, however, to find a few minutes this weekend to think about those things that you are hanging on to…..and ask yourself if they have anything at all with the reason you overeat or indulge in other behavior you’d like to change.  Chances are, there may be a connection….and if so, I encourage you to “let it go!”  Let’s not carry around things we don’t need; things that weigh us down. Even if it has nothing to do with your weight or burdens, certainly letting go of those things will make you a kinder, more loving person, even if you never lose another pound or give up an unhealthy habit.  Have a great day, my friends… I’m off to blow bubbles!  LOL

Walk away....

I couldn't have said it better myself..... If you are able, try to take a walk sometime today....even if it's just a few steps. Be conscious of what you eat....of what you think....and what you say.....and make it a good day today.  Remember...the new day is a gift from GOD....how you react to it is up to you!

Celebrate EACH step....admire Each wildflower individually

As I was traveling down a country road on my way to and from Mass on Sunday, I couldn’t help but notice the large number of wildflowers growing alongside the road. Part of this stretch was the same route I took for an extended bike ride on Saturday. You may recall my thoughts about that in Sunday’s video post.  In any case, the drive and several others this week have had me thinking about my journey and how similar it can be to the wildflowers growing in the fields and ditches.  WHAT…..you might be asking?

While I was driving along, I noticed that the large number of flowers blended in with each other and created a mass of color…a glorious display….but honestly, at a high rate of speed, they appeared more like a wave of color rather than a collection of individual flowers. I didn’t notice all the different kinds, the shapes of the leaves, the unique blossoms, nor could I smell their fragrance. The appeared simply as a collection of “weeds” that were noticeable only because of the large numbers of them grouped together. I doubt that  I would have even noticed had there only been one Queen Anne’s Lace or chicory plant, but a group of them growing  together became a beautiful display of God’s glory, even though the beauty of each individual plant was lost.  I know, however, that each different type of flower (weed) is unique and lovely….all by itself….because I took the time during my bike ride to look at them up close; slowly; carefully; and with eyes of gratitude for this “free gift” of the Creator displayed right before my eyes. We often forget that each of us is unique and wonderfully made as well.

Many times when we are working diligently to change our lives, we get so focused on numbers that we lose focus on the journey. Not just the number on the scale or on the size tag, but on pounds lost (or yet to lose) or days that we were smoke-free/drug-free or sober. Quantity becomes more important than quality and we forget to be grateful for each step we take on the journey.  We set goals (this is a good thing) of 20 or 50 pounds lost (often going to extremes to get there) or work for a 30/60/1 year chip. By the time we hit that number, people often begin to notice our efforts and sometimes compliment us on our progress, and this gives more significance to the “number.” Grouped together, every pound lost has an impact, but oftentimes, we get discouraged and feel bad when “we only lose 1 pound” or hit a plateau on any given week, almost like “that’s a bad thing”, especially when we have a long way to go or are impatient to see results.  Certainly, losing 20 pounds has more of an impact than one or two, and is much more noticeable, but still, each pound…each day of sobriety….each mile walked….each moment of peace/joy…..is worth celebrating and is beautiful in its own right. We just don’t often notice and/or appreciate it when it happens singularly, and yet…we know that we have to work hard….for EACH pound.... EACH time we resist temptation….EVERY time we ‘bite our tongue” or forgive or show kindness when we don’t want to.  We don’t want to take the time necessary to reach our goals….we’d rather just “speed right to the end”, but in the process, we lose sight of the gift/wonder/beauty/significance……of EACH SMALL STEP, each singular wildflower, if you will.  We forget that ‘by itself” each of those moments, each and every pound we lose, is a victory and an accomplishment;  and we forget to be grateful.

I picked a whole bunch of flowers….many different kinds….during my bike ride. As I was preparing them for the vase, I looked at each one individually…the beauty…. uniqueness….. color…..and I “mentally” named it one thing about my journey.  For instance….the daisy….was freedom from fear; the blue chicory was mobility; the Queen Anne ’s Lace was pounds lost; the cattail was gratitude..,..etc. Others were joy, forgiveness, freedom, opportunity, etc.  I could have put each flower in its own vase….and admired it all by itself….but grouped together…it became a masterpiece….a gift….something that made me smile…..JUST LIKE MY JOURNEY.  As I progress through my journey, God has helped me to become more grateful; to lose weight; to regain my mobility; to be more kind, loving, courageous….and so forth. Each of those things are a gift from God….and another piece of the journey. Individually, each one is a blessing, but when I put them all together…. there is JOY like I’ve never known….peace that passes all understanding….and gratitude to recognizes that ALL THINGS are possible, only by the Grace of God. Sometimes… I just go too fast through life to notice how abundantly blessed I am.

Perhaps if you are struggling; are discouraged because you aren’t losing weight fast enough; or you aren’t making the progress you want, you could pick a few wildflowers so that you can see for yourself “up close” just how precious ONE or TWO or TEN pounds lost can be….even if you have 40 or 80 or 200 pounds to lose. You can see how blessed you are to get through ONE hour or ONE DAY without a drink/cigarette/anxiety attack (whatever)….even if you have a long road to recovery. Celebrate EACH pound…EACH day….EACH victory…. And just imagine how glorious it will be as you continue to add to your accomplishments, but please, don’t’ forget to be grateful for EACH one.  You can do it…..one step at a time!