Do you love what you're doing?

Do you love that you are trying to change your relationship with food?  Do you love that you are working to make your life better by being healthier?  Do you love getting together with others and sharing the experience?  Do you love trying new ways to achieve your weight loss goals?  Do you love choosing real food over processed food?  Do you love giving your body the movement it needs?

                                                Nope?

Ok....

 so you work hard, persevere, learn new habits, study healthy guide lines, sacrifice 

old ways but still don't love why you do all of that??

Could you possibly be putting a bigger road block between you and your goal?  

Me thinks not.
Loving what you do to get to your goal, and why you're doing it, is half the battle.

Ya gotta find the love or it really is just a pain in the ass!

Is this a good time to talk about commitment?

If you`ve been trying to lose weight for any length of time you`ve probably figured out there`s always another reason to go off Plan right around the corner!  We just had one....the first long weekend of the summer, when the difference between interest in losing weight and commitment to losing weight becomes very apparent!

If it is your plan to lose weight over the summer then you need to have a really good think about the statement above!  And I say think because, like any goal, weight loss must begin in the mind.  If you do not consciously commit to staying on Plan all summer,even when it's inconvenient, especially when it's inconvenient, you will be cha-cha-ing with your weight all summer long!  And then it's Labour Day, and then Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then....well you get the picture. Trust me, I know the difference between interest and commitment.  I have been interested in losing weight many, many times! :)

Here's how you know if you're interested or committed: 

when the weekend rolls around do you have a weekend Plan or

does your Plan go out the window until Monday?

Pretty simple test, right?

So, which are you, interested or committed? 

So...what IS your relationship with food?

Just got back from Memphis and was at a loss for a topic for this weeks blog, but talking with another food-lovin'/hatin'  person gave me an idea! :)

We talked not only about how food is always on our minds but why food is always on our minds. We talked about our relationship with food.  

Some people gain weight because they just eat more than they burn. For them, there is little or no emotional attachment...they drop their portions and they drop weight.

But for many of us food becomes so much more than the sustenance it once was when we were infants.  The moment we began to actively take part in our own lives, the experiences we had, and the people we had those experiences with, began to shape, and often change, our relationship with food.  

My sustenance-only relationship with food changed the moment I started eating solid food!  

Seriously, I grew up in a family where the topic of conversation at lunch was what to eat for supper! And, my parents and grandmother came from homes that had to ration food so having lots to eat meant success.  Oh, and did I mention we owned, and lived in, a general store??  We never ran our to food.  Both my parents worked 6 long days a week in the store, so when I was bored, or tired, or cranky...the fix-all was food.  And then when I was old enough to be allowed to get my own food from the store, I self-medicated with food.  I was not allowed to help my self to candy so I quickly learned if I baked cakes and cookies no one would monitor my intake.  And if ice cream was in our family freezer, it too good to go!

So, I can sum up my current and past relationship with food:

1. never run out - I'm not so stressed out by this one now; I'm confident each day will contain food.:)

2. always know when the next meal is coming - I now know planning and obsessing are two different     things.

3. food solves problems - Well, this one's a no brainer, right??

Do any of these describe your relationship with food??

 So take a moment to think about what exactly your relationship entails...it may not be fun, it may be painful but you cannot solve a problem without identifying it first.

Yet another reason to be glad I live in Canada!

I truly enjoy

 The Cracker Barrel 

and 

The Golden Corral Buffet 

but am so very glad we don't have them in Canada!

So far have avoided all starch and desserts AND I to my amazement, I survived!:)

We have one more visit to each of  those restaurants and

 I've given myself permission to indulge...a girl's got to cut loose once in a while!

But first I will eat a huge, honkin' salad. :)