"We are not our thoughts". Good, because I "think" I'm a failure! Sound familiar??

Eckard Tolle: "We are not our thoughts; our thoughts are not who we are. Yet we tend to associate ourselves with our thoughts… This is a common error. To equate our thinking with our Being, is to live in a separation."

As we go along on our weight loss/food management journey I think it's really important to also work on our idea of who we are...who we THINK we are.  It's important because most of us THINK we are the body we are trying to change. And if we are not happy with the body we inhabit and if the changes are not coming fast enough, or at all, where does that leave us? Where it leaves me is feeling less than, unworthy and like a failure.  Where does it leave you?

The struggle to not be ruled by thoughts of inadequacy and feeling less than have plagued me my whole life.  In our meetings we've logically talked about where these feelings started and how we've dealt with them over our lives. But for many of us these feelings run so deep and have become so much a part of our identity that we think we have no choice but to just live with them. But that's not true! Thoughts, like pounds, can be shed. 

In order to "shed" our negative thoughts we first need to recognize them for what they are when we think them.  For example, when one of your habitual negative "I'm-no-good" thoughts run through your head stop, recognize and understand it...understand that it's there because of habit, not because it's true.  And like all habits, we can change it by starting a new habit.  If you consistently stop the negative thought in it's tracks and replace it with a new positive thought, the negative thought will fade away because you've removed it's power.  Try stopping and recognizing your negatives thoughts for what they are...thoughts not reality.  Try turning the thought around.  If the thought is "I'm no good and can't do this"....turn it around and say, "I'm awesome and I can do this!".   Sounds simplistic but usually the best solutions are right?

If you're like me, you will be shocked at how many negative and self-doubting thoughts run through your head on a daily basis!  Dump the stinkin' thinkin'...is it absolutely useless!  

I watch interviews with Eckard Tolle, Depak Choprah, Maya Angelou, Brene Brown because I love to infuse my brain with powerful and positive thoughts. I feed my body lots of fruits and veggies and give my body regular exercise so it makes sense to me to feed my brain empowering ideology.  The whole package.

On your journey to become your best you, use ALL the tools you can.  I believe in order to create lasting positive change we must work on our minds and souls as well as our bodies.  Remember:  "Where the mind goes the body follows".   Be kind to your mind.

Want to leave a comment? Here's how...I think:)

Sorry some of you have been dying to chime in and have not been able to leave a comment!  Here's what to do...again, I think:)
Click on comment and after you've finished writing scroll down the "select profile" list and click anonymous. You'll have to prove you're not a robot, so sorry R2D2, you're outta luck!
Hope it works!

Next holiday meal...just booze and pie!

Remember when we talked about Einstein's definition of insanity...doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?  Well, another moment of personal insanity dawned on me after eating a big meal and then 4 pieces of pie (and a tart)! Why do I think that if I eat some meat, potatoes, veggies, pickles and cheese that THIS time I won't feel the need to sample ALL of the 5 different homemade dessert offerings???  It's NEVER happened before, but this time is going to be different????  Right???? Insanity.

So, next time, I'm going to skip the main meal and just have booze and pie. 

Happy Easter! Remember to think: "Is it worth it?"

Does this sound familiar or what?  Happy Easter:)

Hey, I used the word "absurd" 3 times in 2 sentences!

Ok, I love my Dirty Bird (KFC) as much as the next person, maybe more (I've been known to eat an entire bucket myself in less than 24 hours) BUT the ad below is beyond absurd!  But what is equally absurd is that we will buy our KFC Mega Jug, feel good about donating our dollar and not even recognize the absurdity!
Well done KFC marketing team!  Please let this be available in the States only.

Is this food worth it?: Part 2!

Like most members I have my after the weekly weigh-in/meeting treat.  This week was going to be McDonald's Grilled Chicken and Bacon Signature Wrap.  I've had it before, loved it and am really sure it must be ok points wise because it's a wrap with lettuce, right?  I mean, sure, it has some bacon....ranch salad dressing....and cheese....oh crap!
Today we were talking about "is it worth it?" so one member looked it up on her phone and just hearing the calories and fat alone made us all groan!  So I went online when I got home and calculated the points:
McDonald's Grilled Chicken and Bacon Signature Wrap - 12 points! (if you get Crispy Chicken 16 points!)
12 points!!! - that's almost half my daily points and that does not include the 10 points for Med fries (who buys a Med Fries?)!!  Wow, it made me think..."Is it worth it?

Well, the true answer is....sometimes yes, maybe using some of my weekly 49 so in my crazy brain it falls under an indulgence not a regular lunch.  For me, this it NOT regular lunch fare...just not worth it.

BTW - It has 23 grams of fat and 1020 grams of sodium!!!

Has anyone been on the Pita Pit website where you can build your pita and get the nutritional facts?  It's great because you can plan before hand.  And knowledge is power right?  And perhaps skip the cheese:)

A good "Is it worth it" criteria...."Is it still going to be worth it when I'm finished?"

Need to be inspired? Do yourself a huge favour and watch this video.

Lissie Velasquez asks"How do you define yourself?"

Is this food worth it??

Why is it that some days ya just got nothin'?  If you're at the Wednesday night meeting tonight, then I'm going to apologize in advance!  I have a feeling I'll be rambling tonight more than usual.  And, as usual, I will blame it on a hormone and just keep going:)

I had an episode on the weekend that prior to WW would have sent me on a binge.  It all started out very innocently and I had no idea that in 1 minute I would be faced with a "binge or not binge" decision.  In our house the snacks that I need to stay away from (my husbands!) are kept in his office.  For some reason snacks that sit on the wing back do not call my name...even the 3 bags of the dreaded Orville pop-up bowl 94% fat free popcorn!  Somehow an almost empty bag of Tostitos got left on the counter and without even so much as a thought I picked it up and proceeded to polish it off and when I got to the bits and crumbs in the bottom got a soup spoon full of cream cheese and "mopped" them up...3 times!  I don't think a minute had passed.  Almost immediately I started to think "What else can I eat?"  I knew there was a frozen pizza in the freezer and even though I don't eat pizza because of the bread/crust I decided to cook it and eat all the toppings!  Who am I kidding? I planned to eat the crust too and pay for it with a sick stomach for the next 2 days. Robot-like, I turned on the oven and went to the basement freezer.  Thankfully it was that 10 second walk that gave my brain time to bring my WW routine of "Is this worth it?" to mind.  I had a moment to think about the consequences and thought " Nope, so not worth it!". You all know how many PPV's a thin, THIN slice of pizza has, let alone the entire pizza....because I would have eaten the entire pizza, no doubt about it! I am all or nothin'!
We often talk about that crucial snippet of time.  Time that allows your logical brain to catch up and kick that "blast from the past self-destructive I don't give a damn" thought to the curb!  Just ten seconds.
Even though I had scarfed a goodly amount of PPV's with the Tostitos and cream cheese I did not see that episode as a failure on my part, I saw it as a win.  Why?  Because my past is FILLED with many, MANY times where those Tostitos would had led to not only the pizza but right off plan for days....and days.  Know what I'm talking about?
I look at it this way: Winning is not always about being perfect, most of the time it's about making the better choice.  Isn't that a comforting thought?

Meet my new workout buddy...James!

We just adopted 10 month old James from the Home Again Shelter in Bancroft.  He's Golden Retriever/Nova Scotia Toller mix which accounts for his small stature and makes for the perfect lap dog:)   

I've spent more time outside these past few days than I did all winter....

c'mon activity points!

It's all about management!

I never know what to expect when members come to the meetings.  Some have had great weeks and others not so much.  I rejoice when there are successes, in fact I'm surprised sometimes at my level of happiness...you've seen it...I literally jump for joy!  I also feel the pain when that damned scale only measures our weight and does not know what kind of freakin' week we've just endured!  That is the hardest part of being a leader....if it was appropriate to sometimes just sit and have a good cry with someone, that's exactly what I would do.  Some weeks that could really slow the weigh in line down:)
Working with people who have, or had, the same unhealthy, life-long relationship with food that I've wrestled with my whole life has always been a goal of mine. I have a huge amount of empathy for others who have suffered in the same way.  I have shared a lot of my journey but like you there's a lot of pain that is personal and private. Oddly enough I think it is often that personal and private pain that really links us together.  We don't discuss it but we know it's there and that's enough.
I get really excited to help and encourage people to change because I KNOW everyone can change.  How do I know that? Because I changed.  I went from someone who binged, and binged, and had absolutely no control over food to someone who has learned to manage.  Manage my thoughts, my feelings, my food intake, my choice of food...it's all about management.
There's no doubt about it, learning to manage your thoughts and feelings about food is an emotional ride and not always easy.  But the rewards are tremendous and quite literally life changing!  Imagine learning how to manage and understand the thoughts and feelings that send you into a feeding frenzy....THAT, my friends, is really life changing!  Why is it life changing?  It's life changing because once you learn to manage your thoughts, your feelings and your food choices life can become peaceful.  Life can be peaceful. And when we approach life from a position of peace we are actually at our most powerful and free to be open to all that's possible! And that's when the life changing can begin.  Exciting huh?