March 6, 2014 - "The Doughnut Door"

Hello and good morning, Don't forget we go to Daylight Savings Time THIS weekend. Spring those clocks forward and forget that extra hour of sleep. That means head to bed early on Saturday night. :) I know as spring is fast approaching and the clothes we wear are getting less and less, sometimes we have a reality confrontation with our self-image that perhaps isn't kind. Throwing something at the mirror or replacing your scale doesn't work - I tried that. Some of us may even want to quit caring all together about what we eat, as I did so many times. Remember this: positive thoughts are empowering and a negative attitude can set processes in motion that make living a healthy life-style difficult, if not impossible. Slamming yourself every time you eat the wrong foods, constantly focusing on what you cannot eat and approaching your exercise plan with dread are all ways that negative thought patterns can sabotage your best efforts to gain and maintain health. When you hold a negative image of yourself, you rob yourself of much-needed energy. (I LIVED right there!) When feeling powerless, depressed or unmotivated, it's easy to cheat on your daily routine by eating a bag of potato chips to feel better. (I always chose pizza or brownies) However, tuning into how you feel, acknowledging those feelings and transforming those thoughts into something more positive can actually help you to achieve your weight loss goals faster. Instead of eating the candy bar or the chips (depending on if you are a sweet or salty person) take the time to REALLY determine the "why" of negativity. What is hurting you so deeply that 1 - you cover your pain with food and 2 - you think so poorly of yourself? I found that often failure, comparison, and fear were my biggest springtime issues. No sweater could hide that. Then the issue of shame would appear and try to cloak even the smallest forward progress. We are ALL going to have a bad day here or there, but accepting failure and allowing food to win only cheats our families of our quality time with them. I am not necessarily taking about in death. When I was heavy, depressed and shaming myself, while in the same breath comforting myself with candy, I was not kind to my family. I never wanted to attend outside activities because I had nothing to wear, which was a lie. There were clothes that fit me, but they exposed my weakness and made me feel like an overweight, undisciplined person. It was horrible! PLEASE don't be trapped by that...see yourself as beautiful no matter what you weigh. But continue to fight for your health and goal weight. The spring season represents new life and an overcoming of dormancy. I say let's choose health and close all doors to the winter seasons of our unhealthiness. Feeling regret over eating the doughnut is not a bad thing if you can turn that around to make it positive. Talk to your accountability partner, go for a walk, or drink more water the following day. Feeling shame when you eat the doughnut and turning to embrace failure - NOT good. That path leads to negative self images and a continued pattern of failure that's hard to break. Perhaps you close and bolt the doughnut door forever and never look back. That's my vote! Plan your healthy day and tell yourself you are fabulous, loved, highly favored, and blessed to the ends of the earth! Eat your apple and smile, "hum, this tastes just like a doughnut." (wink) Your internal organs will thank you. We got this! PK