Do something Friday

It always amazes me how ingrained our judgment of food is.  I talk and talk and talk to clients about how there REALLY isn't any "good" food or "bad" food and yet... even though they know this on an intellectual level, the judgment words still come out of their mouths as they describe their behaviors and the food they choose to eat.

Have you taken the time to listen to the words you use to talk about your food?  How many times do you still say you shouldn't have this food or "could have made better choices with dinner" -- phrases like that indicate you are still judging the quality of your food (which leads to judgment of yourself -- remnants of the diet mentality...not an all food fits mentality)

This weekend, spend some time listening to what your are verbalizing to others about the food you eat -- you may be surprised as just how judgmental you still are.

Ray Bradbury

Below is an excerpt from an email I received from a girl near and dear to my heart.  She said she read it in Zen in the Art of Writing, by Ray Bradbury.

"Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a landmine. The landmine is me. After the explosion, I spend the rest of the day putting the pieces together. Now, it's your turn. Jump!" I think it is inspiring, but not just for writing, life too. What do you think of the it?

So....What do you think about it?

Do you have the tools you need to be successful?

I have been pondering over an email a coworker sent me.  I had talked to her about setting up a group class for a group at her office (which would be super cool!) but that she hasn't been able to get any of the interested parties to commit. 

Here's the part I can't quite get my head around -- if a person doesn't need help cultivating mindfulness that is absolutely great! with me.  If they need help but don't mesh with me as a coach, that is okay too -- as long as they can find the assistance they need to be successful, that is what makes me happy.

But for those of us who are struggling to lose weight or maintain our weight loss -- the question is, do you have the tools you need to be successful?  Do you know what tools will help you most?

If you are dieting (or living under the dieting mentality), will-power is a tool you need.  The stronger and more disciplined you are, the easier it will be to regulate your weight-- because dieting relies on you telling yourself "no" ....a lot.

If you don't want to diet forever, will-power is not going to help you (will-power is a dieting tool and runs contradictory to mindfulness).  So then, what is the tool needed for non-dieting?  Well....you could use exercise as a tool for non-diet weight management.  But what if I don't want to run 1 minute at 6.7 mph for EACH peanut M&M I eat?  What if life happens and I don't have enough time to manage my weight with exercise -- thus, making exercise a useful but unavailable tool to me?

Think about what tools you are relying on -- are they the right tools for the way you want to live your life?  Are you conforming to your tools?  Or are you looking for tools that conform to you (and not just "you" in the general sense -- "you" in the very specific sense of each one of you who are reading this right now!)  Sometimes, we buy into the idea that we can only accomplish a task in one way because those are the only way the tools will work -- this philosophy might be fine for building a tree house -- but it is not fine for building a healthier you.

So, give your tool selection some thought -- If you are still using the old stand-bys, you are going to get the same results the stand-bys always give you.  Maybe it's time to get more creative about your tool selection.

Need more information on getting the personalized tools for the one-of-a-kind-you, click here!

Inspiration

One of the things I enjoy the most about reading other people's blogs, is how much they inspire me.

Usually, it isn't coming up with a whole new life direction -- it is more subtle than that.  Usually, it is encouraging me to do the work I already know I need to do -- and to do it better and believe in that work more than I am currently doing.

I love the optimism sent to me, written for me (well....not to be too narcissistic -- I know it really isn't "just" for me).  But many times, the post seem to speak right to the heart of the matter I am wrestling with, kick me in the pants and get me moving in a direction that I have been meaning to get to but just not managed to yet.

Seth Godin just inspired me to work on my LinkedIn network -- yup....I have been thinking about that for a while and just not gotten to it.  CommonSenseHealth just invited me over to their new site to add to their top notch discussions.  It's all fine and dandy to know what you should be doing -- most of us do.  But it still leaves the question -- What are you doing about what you should be doing?  Today is the day to start doing.

An Upcoming Event!!

Just to remind you:

An Eating Coach Group Training Class is scheduled to start next Monday!

In this six week class, you can expect to learn to use the Eating Scale, change your perspective on how you categorize foods, and delve into the food/eating behaviors that trip you up and cause you gain weight back after you are "off" your diet.

Lots of practical knowledge about you and great support from others looking to boost their Mindful Eating behaviors!

Interested?  Click here for more details!

Obsession

I just read an interesting article on orthorexia nervosa -- the obession of healthy eating.  Interestingly enough, you can get too much of a good thing.  The author used the working definition:

"(when)....the quality of the foods consumed is more important than the personal values, interpersonal relations, career plans and social relationships."

How many times have you found yourself letting food dictate all (or most or many) aspects of your life?  How many times has a new diet plan become paramount (think about cooking one meal for your family and then your diet food for yourself or not going out with friends because you would not be able to stick to your diet if you were with them).

On occasion, these are choices we all make -- on occasion, no big deal.

When food (or restriction of it) plays a large part in how we organize our day, are we really working toward a healthier, happier version of ourselves?  Or are we trying to control the our broken, will-powerless self to get to the weight we think we should be? 

How is all that control and food obsession helping you?  What happens when you can no longer exert that much control on yourself and you start binging on all of the things you have denied yourself for so long? 

Wouldn't a little more balanced approach work better in the long term?

Bonus! A thought for the Day

From Brooke Castillo's blog today:

October 07, 2010

My Life Should be Better

This seems like an innocent enough thought.

Seems like something that is most likely true.


Many of us spend a lot of our time thinking this in one form or another.


But, if you pay attention, you will notice this thought is very painful.

It takes us out of gratitude. It takes us out of this precious, present moment.

Your life shouldn't be better.

It should be what it is.

It was always meant to be this way.

Always.

This is the better.