Recently, I was looking for a journal to take to a training session and came across an old one. I had kept it while my husband was in the middle east with the air force during the Enduring Freedom campaign. I knew Tony would miss some important days while he was away from home since our son was only 8 years old at the time.
The Hot Side of the Pancake
I remember the war was scary to Colt and, while his dad was away, he didn’t want to hear about war or fighting. If something came on the news about it, he would grab the remote control and change the channel.
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In the U.S., it’s Independence Day! Is today the day you will declare your independence from using food in any way that does not serve your body well?
Create Some Fireworks in Your Life!
In our food-driven society, we use food for a myriad of reasons that have nothing to do with hunger or physical need.
Just a few of the very common food excuses:
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Have you heard this quote?
“The chief cause of failure is trading what we want most for what we want at the moment.”
The road to weight loss is littered with bad trades!
We vow to attend a barbecue and avoid drinking alcohol, since that often sets off compulsive eating. But, in the moment, perhaps under peer pressure from the host or hostess, we throw the vow away and plunge headfirst into a margarita.
Alcohol can lead to relaxed boundaries around food.
We promise to eat in a healthy manner but, when the first meeting of the work day shows up decorated in doughnuts, we’re on a sugar high before the boss can say “Good morning!”
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As our culture becomes more and more fixated with excess weight and dieting, we grow fatter. As weight loss methods proliferate, verging on the dangerous, we risk serious bodily harm to get thin, but never seem to get there. Unexpressed desires, hungers and needs drive this counterproductive behavior.
Through the years, my clients have shared many forms of hunger with me and with each other in my year-long weight loss class. Often, they describe a deep, endless hunger they feel in a sharp, visceral way – a deep hole that is never filled, no matter how much food, drink and drama are added to the void. That’s what I thought about when I saw this video:
The hunger we feel has nothing to do with food.
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A few weeks ago, my husband offered to go out for ice cream after dinner. He rarely wants dessert. In fact, I used to be the one sending him out for ice cream.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“Ummmm, nothing.”
“Really?” he said. “I’ll get your favorite. Coffee.”
Don’t you just love it when someone pushes food at you?
No! I don't want any!
(But, actually, I’m pretty impressed he knows my favorite, so I considered it a moment.)
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The phrase “having it all” has been cropping up lately. You know what that means. Time to pay attention!
“Having it all” drives so much activity and behavior! We seem to have hugely idealistic pictures of our “perfect” lives: thin bodies, thriving relationships, successful careers, high achiever children, beautifully appointed homes, oodles of money, respect, admiration…. the list can obviously go on and on.
We’re even willing to minimize huge aspects of our lives that are fantastic when just one part of what we define as “all” is missing (or doesn’t show up exactly when we want it!).
Having it All - Version 1
Here’s an example: A client* comes to me with a fantastic life
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One of the very few advantages of having my long history with the diet world is that I can see the patterns perpetuated by the diet industry.
For instance, my first diet was Atkins but not the recent round of that high protein diet. I was on the original diet when I was 10 years old! (Looking back, I was not overweight but my mother was, and she put all of us on a diet to keep her company.)
I’ve lived through various rounds of low fat, high fiber, low calorie, high protein and high carb diets. Tried them all, and felt the impact as they all failed, time after time.
So, what’s next in diet world?
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The debate over yoga and weight loss persists today with “fitness experts” often arguing that yoga doesn’t burn enough calories to be considered “exercise” and yoga practitioners adamantly testifying to its benefits.
As a veteran of long-term sustained weight loss and a yoga devotee for eight years, here’s my perspective on yoga for weight loss.
There are many different types of yoga, all requiring different energy (calorie) quotients and physical capability. Some yogas (vinyasa and flow types) require students to move quite a lot throughout a yoga class; others increase demand through heat (Bikram, Forrest); and some are quite gentle and slow (yin, restorative).
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- Confused? Most people are. All this is diet advice from the perspective of what I call Diet Mentality. Based in fea… https://t.co/oLbdhU6utw
- https://t.co/0JcSIOHFVS https://t.co/0JcSIOHFVS
- I've always said exercise is more important than food control. What do you think? https://t.co/nRyJeKMZ9y
- Before and after pictures are usually complete fakes, and give us the misconception that the "after" picture is the… https://t.co/QUdTrITjeG
- Take a look! Wisdom! https://t.co/zjh6DbmIh9
