Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Facing the Music is Always Good

I want to do a quick check-in after my "turn-around day" yesterday.  It was a great day and I want to share what I learned.

Last night I did my personal "walk of shame" and headed to the center for a Booster meeting.  I listened to my original music playlist, which immediately put my mind in a humble and open place around my weight.  The weigh in was brutal for me (late in the evening, you do the math) but since I had made peace with the increase, I didn't let it get to me.  I felt proud of myself for facing the music.

I was pleasantly surprised by a very meaningful and helpful meeting.  There were just two of us and the leader so we were really able to get to the heart of our anxiety and struggles around eating and maintaining.  The focus of the group was "Simplicity" and we talked about what that word means to us.  She shared the idea of viewing food as a "less is more" proposition, and encouraged us to focus on making beautiful, high quality, healthy choices, displayed creatively.

One of my take aways from the evening was the sense of how important my attitude is in this whole process.  If I am thankful and happy with the beautiful nourishing food before me, then I tend to be satisfied.  I know this about myself, and when I'm in a positive frame of mind about what I'm doing (with anything in life) I am more successful.

When I was on the full fast (treatment phase of this program), I viewed the shakes as a tool to keep me alive and to treat the symptoms of my obesity.  For the longest time, I stayed very true to the program with that positive focus, and it worked very well for me.  When I started thinking about what I was missing, I strayed towards the end.

My personal challenge with this new lifestyle is to keep a positive and thankful view of food.  It is neither the enemy, nor my savior.  It is nourishment, and can be a pleasant experience if I plan it that way.

Interestingly, after my instructor listened to my story and concerns, she picked up right away on how helpful it would be for me to plan out my meals ahead of time.  I know this is a common tool, but she expressed the suggestion as more of a way to plan for good things to eat, even nights out.  Make it a creative, and pleasant experience, and something to look forward to.

So my strategy will be to pre-plan with MyFitnessPal and do this with a positive outlook and look forward to the meals that I have planned.  This worked like a charm yesterday, but today I will do it with a smile on my face, and a grateful heart.

The moral of the story is that good things can happen when I put aside my self-imposed fear and shame and open myself up for help.  Weight is just a number, but ultimately I'm here to learn how to balance food and activity to support a healthy life and weight.  This is the life that I want for my future, so I'm going to keep positively focused on living it each day.

6 comments:

Gwen said...

YAY you! So many people look at the 'food as fuel' concept as meaning food has to take on a boring, un-delicious way. It's not true. SO not true. I will enjoy watching you learn that and put it to use in your life, too. :)

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a great meeting! It sounds like you got so much out of it, and really practical help for you! That is awesome, having that kind of support.

Good job facing the music and going! I think you should be proud of you, too. That number will go back down, and think how proud you'll be when it does.

You have put a smile on my face today with this story, Christy. I hope there's one on yours too :)

happyinca said...

Thanks ladies for the wonderful words of encouragement! So far, so good at being mindful of how wonderful good food can be. I'm shifting into a more grown up mindset as well, and really challenging myself to question whether I need to eat, or just want to eat. Baby steps along the way :-)

Gwen said...

baby steps are STILL steps FORWARD. :)

Anonymous said...

Christy, I still struggle with do I NEED to eat versus just WANT to, too. Gwen's anti-snacking affirmations help me! Also having a 12-hour fast daily helps me, with it's bright-line cut-off time. Now we just make these habits... we can do it!

happyinca said...

Wendy and Gwen I'm going to have to revisit those affirmations :-) I'm feeling good and strong so far. Seeing the scale creep down certainly gives me a boost!