Physical + Emotional Wellness - Gracefull Opting Out

We're going on vacation! Let's eat!
Thanksgiving! Let's stuff ourselves until we pass out!
Christmas! Gotta try every cookie and sweet drink!
Valentine's Day! Chocolates for your sweet heart!
The weather's turning colder. Comfort food!
It's my birthday! Bring on the cake!
It's a wedding! Let's eat!
A friend is in town! Let's go out to lunch!
Let's go to a movie! We'll get popcorn, and candy, and soda...

The list goes on and on and on. At least once a month there is a "special event" that offers lots of tempting treats.

But when feasting first came along, it was a RARITY. - a couple times a year at best.

Recently, I was invited to the movies on a whim. I was happy to get out of the house and go, but I opted out of the feasting. No snacks for me. I drank a quick protein shake (Jillian Micheal's brand - delicious) and headed out. I sipped on a little bit of coke zero from My Sailor, but other than that, I opted out.  He was even kind enough to surprise me with Red Vines - a favorite movie treat of mine. I thanked him, and slipped the unopened box into my purse.

That was a few days ago. The Red Vines? They've migrated from my purse to the pantry, and remain unopened.

Yesterday, My Sailor announced that our roommate was buying pizza. Great! I opted out. Why? Because I already had healthy dinner plans. Grilled chicken and salad. The boys enjoyed the pizza, and I ended up trading out my Grilled Chicken for a Lean Cuisine French Bread pizza, which had a MUCH lower fat content and was far more filling than a piece of delivery pizza.

That didn't mean I didn't enjoy the movie. I enjoyed it a lot! In fact, it was better because I wasn't focused on the food at my fingertips. I was focused on the film and the great company.

It's not always easy to do what's right for your body in social situations. "Feasting" is part of our culture and people often feel that those who don't engage in over-indulgence are "isolating" themselves, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

The way I see it, each of us has a finite amount of energy every day. For those of us who have struggled with weight loss and over eating, we think about food a LOT more than someone who has a healthy relationship with food.

So- what if we took all that time and energy we put into stressing out over food - and focused on our company?  What if our checklist turned into something like:
1) Do what it takes to make the best choices for ourselves.
2) Do what it takes to treat others in a healthy fashion.

So just how do you stay social AND get healthy?

Pick some other activities that aren't related to food - like inviting a friend on a walk-and-talk. It's a great way to bond and, pick the right trail, it could be really fun! Can't do that? Why not invite a friend over to watch a movie at home and air pop some popcorn to enjoy. Or just go out to a meal and lead by example - order something good for your body, just like the company is good for the soul!

It's never easy to say "no thanks" to something that is popular that your body doesn't need, but it pays off. (This week, it's paying off by me being down THREE pounds! That's 7 pounds in 2 weeks!) But isn't that what change is all about? Doing something different to achieve a different result?

Understand that not everyone will be able to get on-board with your decisions. Relationships in my life that centered around food have had to find new footing, or become more distant.

But there is nothing more empowering than helping friends and family live longer., have more energy to share, and to be at their best.

Don't be afraid to do your own thing. Those that truly love you will come around. And who knows! You might make some new friends on the process!

As an example, most of the people I know up here in the PNW know that I drink A LOT of water. And I mean A LOT. I bought a 6 pack of bottles 12 oz and was completely through them in about 2-3 hours. When I'm in a show, a gallon jug of water is pretty much glued to my hip. It's become something my theater friends and I laugh about.  But if we're laughing about it, we're talking about it, so it opens up a discussion of health benefits that isn't "preachy" or riddled with judgement. Instead, it gives me time to share how it works well for me. (In fact, I'm finding drinking a gallon or more every day really helps with the weight loss!)

 You never know - you might just inspire someone else!

Inspiration for the day

"The More this Mile Hurts, the better the End will Taste." - Chris Powell.

Physical Wellness - Battling My Bear

Celebratory trip to Disneyland after removal of an ovary that had pretty much become a tumor, and discovery of my bear.

Like an estimanted 80 million women and girls worldwide, I'm wrestling with Endometriosis. Endometriosis (Endo for short) is a condition where endometrial cells start growing where they shouldn't. In cases like mine, they attach themselves to gastrointestinal structures, effectively gluing thing together that shouldn't be glued. It hurts, but it's not a constant pain. Just a daily one.  There really isn't a "treatment" for Endo, aside from surgery. In my personal case, it's believed that surgery would do more harm than good, as I have a gentic scarring condition that makes the result of surgery often more painful than whatever they were going in to fix. Since it isn't organ/life threatening, I've opted to leave it alone (for now) and work through it.

What does not kill us makes us stronger is very true.

Endo can make it challenging to work out. Anything more than swimming often makes it act up.

Being in chronic pain can also do a number on your mood and spirit. It's easy to just curl up in a ball and live in the pain and depression, rather than to challenge it.

I'm not really one for "easy" anything.

So I challenge it. How? By working out - running particularly. You can bet all that jostling around makes it hurt, but the ipod blaring the motivational song of the day in my ears helps me get my mind off of it. I imagine running away from it, and it keeps me going. When that's too much, swimming is a great way to get my work out in, without doing too much impact damage on my body. I aim to endure as much as I can, and only pop the Advil if it gets too much. (Of course, by this point, I'm popping about 800-1200mg, but usually one dose of that makes it tolerable again.)

I'm lucky. It's pretty rare (right now, anyway) that I stumbled nauseated into the bathroom and pray to the porcelin god.  It happens, but it's rare. I decided a long time ago that no matter what is going wrong in my body, it won't define who I am. That's a choice I make, not a circumstance I find myself in.

My point is - everyone has a Bear. Most of us have several. How do we fight the Bear? One day, sometimes one moment, at a time. One small change can make a great difference in defeating it.

Sure, not every day/moment is a victory. "Some days, you eat the bear. Some days, the bear eats you. But ALWAYS dress for the hunt!"

How will you fight your bear this week?

One thing remains constant. Bear meat tastes amazing.