Tag Archives | mindfulness

Will You Help?

By on December 30, 2010 in emotional stuff, mindfulness, R2P4

As this post is published, I will hopefully be on a plane to Arizona!  I say “hopefully” because I was supposed to leave Wednesday evening!  But when I found out my flight was FOUR HOURS LATE, I called and asked them to put me on a flight this morning instead.  No sense being on a plane at 3:00 a.m. unless I’m on my way to somewhere exotic and foreign.

I was thinking today about being gone for 5 days and what I’d love to see here when I come back.  And you know what?  I gots me some questions and I would love it if y’all would take the time to answer them in the comments.  Do you mind?  I need help and I know you all are just the folks to give it.  So, here goes…

  1. How do you practice mindfulness in your life?  Do you have any suggestions for me as I incorporate this practice into my life?  Not just with respect to food/eating, but definitely that’s a biggie.
  2. How are you working on showing yourself love?  In this post, I talked about a light bulb moment for me, realizing that self-love is a PRACTICE and something to work on every day.  I’m struggling to figure out what that looks like practically.  Any ideas for me?
  3. Do you believe that waking up early is important in living a healthy lifestyle?  If you are not an early bird by nature but you get up early anyway, do you have some tips for how to make that transition?
  4. Do you have any crock pot recipes that you can share with me?  I want to get back to homemade cooking more often, and the crock pot is a great tool for doing this more often without feeling like I’m standing over a stove 5+ hours/week!

I think that’s all for now…but I reserve the right to add more questions!

And…since you’re helping me, please tell me if I/we can help you!  Questions?  Request for support?  Bring ‘em on!

Comments { 7 }

Mindfulness

By on December 23, 2010 in eating, emotional stuff, food, hunger, mindfulness, R2P4

That word up there?  The title of this post?  That one little word, I am realizing, is going to be one of the keys to my life.  To my happiness.  To my ability to maintain a healthy weight for the rest of my life.  I am sure if I went through my blog posts back to the very beginning, I would discover that this is not the first time this word has appeared on this blog.  Nor will it be the last.

Wikipedia has this to say about mindfulness:

Several definitions of mindfulness have been used in modern Western psychology. According to various prominent psychological definitions, Mindfulness refers to a psychological quality that involves

bringing one’s complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis

or involves

paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally,

or involves

a kind of nonelaborative, nonjudgmental, present-centered awareness in which each thought, feeling, or sensation that arises in the attentional field is acknowledged and accepted as it is.

Mindfulness is something that I don’t do very well, haven’t made a priority in my life, for a number of reasons.  It requires me to slow down and pay attention to myself, my circumstances, my feelings, my thoughts.  That is uncomfortable for me because I’m not used to it, and it feels like a lot of effort and a lot of time to me.  Another reason I avoid mindfulness is that mindfulness and denial cannot coexist!  And, if I’m being honest, sometimes denial is a lot more comfortable than awareness.  Or, if it’s not comfortable, exactly…at least it’s not painful.  Which mindfulness can be.  I’ve talked before about how I have used food to disconnect with my feelings or circumstances, so if I’m using food like that, you can imagine that choosing to be mindful…to fully experience the feelings that I was trying to avoid to begin with…well, that’s a toughie for me.

I’m realizing even as I type this post that part of the reason I have avoided the practice of mindfulness in my life is fear.  And if you know me at all, you know this does not sit well with me.  I believe that fear is the opposite of faith and love. I want to live my life from a place of faith and love, not from a place of fear.  So here we go…realizing that means I have to give this mindfulness thing a shot.  If for no other reason than I refuse to let fear win.

I wonder where the fear comes from, though.  And I wonder, at what point in my life did I go from the utter and complete mindfulness of the way a child experiences life – fully in the moment! not worried about the future! experiencing every sensation, feeling, and experience as it comes! … well, when did I go from living like that, to living without really living?  Just skating by?  Not really experiencing every moment, but sort of…surfing on the wave of life in a very passive way?  (And yes, I realize that this whole post is a grammatical nightmare. Sue me.)

I feel like I’ve been having a series of mini-revelations lately.  Not really new revelations, but reaffirmations of things I know, but haven’t fully embraced.  Things I’ve realized but had forgotten.  Add this one to the list.  The posts I’ve written lately are coming from a place of introspection.  And, to be honest, some fear.  I haven’t shaken the 15 years of obesity from my mind yet.  There’s a part of me that is afraid this is a dream.  That I will wake up and never have lost the weight.  Or that I will gain it all back again, because after all – that is what I do.

Well, not anymore.  What I do is keep going.  Do the next thing.  Put one foot in front of the other.  Experiment – with workouts, with food, with all of it.  Acknowledge the fear, but refuse to allow it a place in my heart or my decision-making process.

This is not a short trip with a destination.  This is for life.  And that is why this time is different.  I’m in this for life.  Ups and downs.  Good and bad.  Hard and easy.  Whatever it takes.

Right now, what I know is that part of what it will take is slowing down.  Being mindful.  Being in the moment more often than not.  Experiencing all of what life throws my way actively, rather than passively surfing along and getting by.  I don’t know yet exactly how I am going to embrace this whole mindfulness thing.  But I want to do it.

This is where you come in.  Do you practice mindfulness or a similar discipline that requires you to consciously live each moment of life?  Any good books or websites you can refer me to?  Tips for how I can incorporate this practice into my life?  Stories about how practicing mindfulness has changed your life?

Comments { 11 }

Tinkering Tinkering Tinkering

By on April 19, 2010 in Uncategorized

Hi, y’all!  Welcome back…well, I guess I’m welcoming myself back!  I’m sorry I didn’t make it here to post this weekend – as usual it was busy, fun, and full of family time.

Today’s topic sprang into my mind this morning as I was wondering what to write.  I’ve been doing a lot of tinkering in the last few months.  For example, I’m tinkering here and here and here and here…and those are just to name a few examples.

I wonder, sometimes, if my tinkering is more about fear of commitment or boredom than it is about getting things “just right.”  Because, let’s face it – there is no such thing as “just right” for everyone – we’re all different!  Some of us love routine; others are bored of it.  Some count points, some calories, some fat grams, and some can’t stand counting at all.  “Just right” is a very personal, individual concept.

On the other hand, tinkering may be exactly what it takes to figure out what works for you and what you can live with for a lifetime.  And if that isn’t the goal, I don’t know what is.

In the spirit of tinkering, I am going to add a habit to my post from last week about Healthy Eating vs. Counting Calories.  I am going to write down my food on paper at least one day during the week and one day each weekend.  Part of what I’m working towards is mindfulness of what I’m eating.  And although stopping to think before I eat is actually going fairly well and is a great habit to build, writing down what I eat – without making it about calories or micronutrients – is another thing I can do to become mindful of my habits.

21 Day Challenge Update

Speaking of habits…how are y’all doing on the 21-Day Challenge?  We started on April 1 and 21 days will be over at the end of April 21.  Look for a post on the 22nd where we can all report in, and shortly thereafter I’ll announce the winner of the 21-Day Challenge giveaway!

I’ll be honest and say that I am sucking at this challenge…which is making me think a lot about why, and I have a theory.  While I’ll share with you soon.  I just love me a good teaser!  lol

How was your weekend?  Are you doing any tinkering this week, or have you found the combination of habits that you can live with long-term?

Comments { 9 }

Refocusing on the Goal

By on March 29, 2010 in Uncategorized

Many of you already know that I have been struggling mightily wimpily to keep my eating in check lately.  I know that, for me, getting my eating right is the single most important piece of this puzzle.  Without doing that, I know that I cannot lose weight, be healthy, and maintain a healthy weight for life.

As we have all experienced, to one degree or another, there are ebbs and flows, highs and lows with the eating thing.  Some days it feels EASY.  I wish I always felt easy, but it doesn’t.  There are days when it feels like it’s not within my power to choose to eat healthily.  I know that’s not true – it’s always my choice what to eat.  It’s just that some days, it feels like a monumental task.

One of the things that I’ve learned over the last few years since I started this latest of many attempts successful journey to healthiness is that I constantly have to retool my program and refocus my attention on what I want and why I’m doing what I’m doing.  Not eating the cookie that I want is really annoying sometimes.  But not eating that cookie feels a lot easier when I am conscious of the reason why I’m not eating it.  Or why I’m only eating one instead of 18.

I need to refocus now on the reasons I am making these choices.  I know I’m not alone in that there have been times when I wondered if I was just “destined” to be overweight.  Why not just quit fighting and just enjoy my life as it is?  Why work so hard for a goal that, sometimes, seems unattainable when I could just take the “easier” path and settle for good enough instead of great?

Here are a few of the reasons why:

  • I will look and feel better.
  • I will sleep better.
  • I will feel sexy, healthy, and STRONG.
  • My sex life will be better.
  • I want to reclaim my inner athlete!
  • I’ll set a good example for my niece and nephews, and my future children.
  • Because I can.
  • I will be SO proud of myself.
  • I’ll be able to buy cuter, cheaper clothes and shop in regular stores.
  • Hiking, skiing, salsa dancing – they’ll all be easier!
  • I want to grow old – REALLY old.  And I want to do it gracefully, with a minimum of pain and “slowdown.”
  • I deserve to be strong, healthy, and fit, and I am worthy of the time, effort, and expense that goal will require.

I’ve said before that I don’t care how long this journey takes me.  I need to revise that statement.  I don’t care if it takes me 12 months or 3 years.  I do care that it not take me forever!  In the spirit of not over-thinking (as I usually do) and just doing, I’m making some commitments for this week.   They are:

1. Get in my planned workouts.
2. Calendar workouts right after I post this.
3. Calendar time to do meal planning and build grocery list tonight.
4. Calendar time to grocery shop and cook at least one meal tomorrow.
5. Cook another meal Wednesday evening.
6. Plan my food in advance each day this week.
7. Track my food every day this week.
8. Stay under 2,000 calories every day this week.

I have lots to do, so I’ll get to it!

What goals can you set for yourself this week to move towards your goals?  Do you need to refocus on the reasons why you’re doing this?

Comments { 8 }

Never Forget

By on February 10, 2010 in Uncategorized

A few housekeeping items first before we get to the “meat” of this post:

  1. If you’re interested in reading The Complete Beck Diet for Life and joining Scale Warfare, Bella, and me as we discuss the book and put it into practice, check out my first every giveaway post here, and leave a comment to enter!
  2. Yesterday was a much, much better day than the two previous days.  I read my response/advantages cards, spent 3 hours walking around the zoo with my sister, niece, and nephews, and did not eat anything after 8pm.  I stuck to my plan for the day and feel really good about that.
  3. Today’s weigh-in had me at 248.2, down 0.6 from yesterday but up 0.6 from Saturday’s low of 247.6.

Now, on to today’s “topic” – never forget.

I will never forget how I felt when I weighed nearly 300 pounds.  Do you remember how you felt at your heaviest and least healthy?  Here are some of the things I remember:

  • I got out of breath bending over to tie my shoes.
  • I couldn’t paint my own toenails without feeling like a contortionist.
  • No matter how many outfits I tried on, I didn’t feel like I looked beautiful.  Ever.
  • I couldn’t hike, dance, or play sports without feeling like a hot, sweaty mess who was about to keel over of a heart attack.
  • I was embarrassed of my lack of endurance when doing anything active with my friends.

I’ll also never forget the wonderful things that happened and feelings I experienced as I started to lose weight.  Here are a few more things I remember:

  • When I lost my first 60 pounds, my mom cried one day watching me run around with my niece.  She had wondered if she would ever see me with that kind of energy again.
  • My sister didn’t recognize me out jogging one day until she got close enough to realize it was me.
  • I quit sitting on the sidelines of life and took salsa lessons, which I’d wanted to do for.ev.er.  I had an absolute blast and discovered that I’m a pretty decent dancer!
  • I realized that I could do whatever I set my mind to.  I realized that the athlete within me had never died, just gone dormant for a while.  As I rediscovered my inner athlete, I discovered I was strong, balanced, competitive, and (dare I say it) even graceful.

When I contrast these memories and a million others, the start contrast between them really makes me think.  Do I want to go back to feeling the way I did at 300 pounds?  What a silly question – of course I don’t!  I love how much healthier, stronger, and more balanced I feel, both inside and out, now that I’ve lost a fair chunk of weight and live a much healthier weight.

The trick is in translating this desire to continue, this feeling of goodness and healthiness, into action when I am feeling tempted to make an unhealthy choice.  And that, I’ve learned, is where mindfulness comes in.  The reason I need to review my advantages/response cards daily?  To be mindful.  The reason I need to plan my food in advance and eat sitting down with my meal in front of me?  Mindfulness.

For me, mindfulness is the key.

What is the key for you?  What memories do you have of being fat that you will never forget?  What memories are you making now of your healthier life that thrill you?

Comments { 5 }