“This journey is not just a physical one but also an emotional one as well. Make sure you take care of both sides of that coin.” Me
On the healthiness journey the word diet is often considered a nasty little “four letter word”. This is not about quick fixes, it’s about life! It doesn’t matter if you have 5 or 150 pounds to deal with; being healthy is a life style.
For me there have been 2 huge influences on how I eat. It all started one day when I discovered Carla and Two Fit Chicks and a Microphone. I instantly fell in love and had to listen to all of the podcast and read all the blogs. When I got to episode 14 Intuitive eating and then episode 18 intuitive eating part II this was the ticket for me! I am a type 1 diabetic. Having to already count carb’s, I loathed and fight with everything in me against calorie counting; or for me even worse tracking points. Now these work great for some people but it just was not working for me. I hated the idea of having to track yet another thing.
The problem with this was I am an emotional eater. I grew up with a grandmother who cooked or took me out for treats when I was sad, happy, mad, bored. I grew up learning food is comfort. This all changed a few months ago after reading Geneen Roth’s book, When Food is Love. This book seriously changed me. I was originally looking for her book Women, Food and God that is so popular (but it was checked out) and found this instead. Even though I cried through about the first half of this book it had a profound effect on my life.
Eating right and exercising is just one side of the coin. The other side of this healthiness journey is emotional. There is a reason we all got the way we are, no one wakes up one day and says “Hey I think I’ll gain 150 pounds” or even 20 pounds. Something affected us deep down that needs to be dealt with. I am a firm believer in treating both sides of the coin. I also believe that if you don’t, while you may physically reach your goals, it won’t last. If you lose the weight, run the marathon, buy the little black dress those feelings will still be there if you don’t deal with them. Now I’m not saying everyone needs to spend hours and hours in therapy (although therapy is a great tool), but you need to do something to heal those emotional wounds.
For me Blogging is in a way my therapy. I write out the feelings. Blogging has also connected me with a network of people who get it! Having people around in your daily life who understand and can be positive make a huge difference for me. As a single mother who has also lost both my parents this network gives me support when I need it. Find a support system and do what works for you.
Peace, Love and Happy Blogging
Misty, Life Off the D List!
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