Today I will…

Be thankful for this beautiful day.

Know that I am a whole human being and not a statistic

Live with passion, give with kindness, and love completely.

Find strength in the things that bring me joy.

Express how I feel with honesty

Listen to my body.

Rest when I’m tired.

Eat when I’m hungry.

Know that I am exactly where I need to be on my journey.

(I found these words of affirmation on a card this afternoon and I felt they were perfect for me and for anyone else as they continue their weight loss journey.)

August 13, 2008 | Filed Under Assistance on your journey

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Hey Skinny! - Who me?~

The other afternoon at work, I was at work - walking the halls of the Birthplace. I heard a man say, “Hey Skinny!” — I heard it, but ignored it. In my mind, I thought, “there is no way he is calling me!” I may feel 100 times better physically, but I know I do not look that much different. AND like I’ve posted previously, I am perfectly fine with that. I still believe it’s better to feel good than to look good. I’m confident my looks will soon follow. Well, at-least I hope. AND when I’m not pms’g and my mood is fairly positive, I continue to hope.

Anyway, this other nurse who was next to me said, “He’s talking to you!” I looked at her - like she had two heads and laughed. “No way!” I stopped and turned around. It was a doctor I hadn’t seen in a over a year. He said, “Hey Skinny! You look great! You’re almost invisible!” That’s when I knew he was nuts! BUT I loved it! I responded, “Thank you! AND you’re right, my goal is to be invisible!” He smiled and touched my arm. “You’re melting!”

Wow! I am melting? Really?

How interesting that others can see the difference and I cannot. I attended Dr. K’s reunion and they took pictures. I was so embarrassed to see them posted. I was much larger than anyone else. I felt I looked huge! It made me sad.

Currently, I’m in the middle of my 100 days to a more balanced person. Thinking negative thoughts are not allowed. I’m finding this is the most difficult of all the tasks on my list.

It’s nice when someone takes the time to compliment another. I know I appreciate it and somedays, I really need it.

August 11, 2008 | Filed Under My Everyday Life

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Eating when you’re not hungry~

My goal from the beginning has been to follow Dr K’s advice of only eating when I’m hungry and not just because it’s “lunch time” — it’s not been a difficult thing to manage, but I’ve found recently that it’s difficult to be social and follow this rule.

On my days off, I wait to eat my breakfast until my daughter and I can sit down and partake of our meal together. So I drink my 1/2 Mix1 drink, ride my cycle, shower and then eat around 9am. Friends so often want to meet for lunch around noon. When I say, “Well, I won’t be hungry at that time, can we meet at 1 or 2?” I hear the rolling of the eyes. It’s interesting to me because I remember the old days when I used to live in NM. I had a lot of very healthy - slim friends AND I used to hear that all the time from them. We’d plan to meet for lunch that morning and they’d say, “I had a late breakfast, we’ll have to meet around 2 for lunch.” I remember responding the same way in my mind, “2? Are you serious?” - “Why do you have to be hungry to eat?” I always tried to comply with their wishes, but I remember thinking, how crazy it was to not be able to eat - just because you aren’t hungry. The insanity of it! Who ever thought of such a stupid thing?

Now, I’m on the other end of that scenario - and hoping my friends will understand the importance to me - to not eat if I’m not hungry. It’s not insanity at all. It makes total sense to me. Why eat when you’re not hungry? Yes, food is a part of our social gatherings, but isn’t just being with our friends and loved ones the best part of a social gathering?

We grow up in families where food is the primary part of our gatherings. Someone gets married, the food is present in abundance, someone dies and food is offered as gifts of sympathy. In our family, we never get together unless it is for a meal following a burial. Sad, but true. It’s at that meal that I see cousins, uncle and aunts I haven’t seen in years. My aunties work hard to make a wonderful meal for our family.

How do we get past a childhood of socialization? Food doesn’t have to be such a big part of every gathering. Somehow, we need to find a way to celebrate marriages, lives of loved ones and other significant events - without focusing so much on food. I think it’s possible, don’t you?

August 4, 2008 | Filed Under My Everyday Life