Fitting Squares in Round Holes

Fitting Squares in Round Holes

Have you ever had a friend who lost a lot of weight?  She transformed her life.  She is a real life advertisement for weight loss and wellness.  She tells you exactly how she did it and you jump on board head first, expecting the very same results.  

Fast forward a month and you find yourself struggling.  Not only have you not lost the weight, but you’re mentally strung-out and miserable.  You begin to wonder, “Why did it work for her and yet it’s not working for me?  She is thriving on this program and I, for lack of a better term, feel as though I’m dying.”  You wonder to yourself, “Is she just lucky or what?” Your curiosity begins to get the best of you and you start to think that she may just have some superior and magical will power.  You can’t help but wonder, though, that maybe there’s something more to this.  You begin to consider the thought that perhaps you’re trying to force your body to be something it simply is not.

Nature loves for us to be unique.  We all have different body types; therefore, what is good for one person can be poison for another.  Those lucky people who tried a specific diet plan and kept the weight off were not fortunate because they managed to keep the weight off; they happened to hit the jackpot because as chance would have it, they fell upon a lifestyle program that worked for their unique body type.   

The good news is that finding your unique body type is not as difficult as it sounds.  It takes experimenting and patience.   It’s important to keep in mind that this is a process and not a quick fix weight loss plan.  It is a lifestyle change that will help you to not only lose the weight, but it will also help to improve your physical and mental health by leaps and bounds.  

To discover those messages your body is relaying to you, you may consider keeping a food /mood journal.  As you begin to experiment and make discoveries, you can consider things like trying a different breakfast every day.  By ‘different’, I mean incorporating a breakfast of protein and carbohydrates one day such as an egg and toast, then the next switching it up and having a muffin.  The day after that, you could change it up to steel-cut oatmeal.  Get creative with what you to try.  As you do this you can begin to measure your energy levels and begin to journal what those messages look like for you.  Your journal is such a handy tool because you can jot down how you feel right after you eat, then log how you feel two hours later and compare the two.  This will help you to become more self-aware, which will feel really great for you. 

As you begin to pay close attention to how you feel after you eat, begin to ask yourself questions such as, “Am I satisfied?” “Do I still feel hungry?”  In two hours check on yourself again to see how you feel.  Are you tired?  Are you hungry?  Do you still feel satisfied?  This is a good way to see what foods are fulfilling to you.  

Once you find the breakfast that gives you the most satisfaction you can move on to lunch, then dinner.   Take one small, slow step at a time.  

The key is to experiment with what works for you.  Remember, patience is key.  Your discoveries won’t happen overnight but this is something you can start right away!  Once you are aware of what foods work for your body you will be better at gauging what types of food you should be eating and that will help you feel great!

Another thing you might want to consider is where your imbalances may be coming from.  If you find you just want to eat no matter how self-aware you are about your food choices consider looking at all aspects of your life.  These are what we call “Core Foods” and they consist of things such as your relationships, career, finances, and all those core areas of your life.  As a coach and health practitioner, I am able to help you determine these things and help you find where you may be experiencing hidden stressors in your life.  

For more information on how to get healthy and look and feel fabulous from the inside out, contact Lisa at Rose’s Peace and Balanced Wellness. Let’s incorporate some techniques into your routine so you can get started right away!

Are You Checking Out?

Are You Checking Out?

I do not like to feel uncomfortable feelings.  I don’t like it when I am sad, anxious, tired, well you get the picture.    I believe that is a growing problem in America.  We do not like to deal with uncomfortable feelings, so we binge eat, drink, take drugs, and even increase the pace of our life in order to not feel uncomfortable.  We are looking for ways to check out rather than deal with our feelings.

Another thing we tend to do is when I get to point A I will have a wonderful life.  Point A could be a number of things; losing weight, a better job, a significant other, or even relocating.  These are all noble goals; the problem is when we obtain them we are still the same person we were when we started.  This is most apparent in the diet industry.  Millions of dollars a year goes to the diet industry, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Nutri-system, or whatever fad seems to be working this week.  People lose a lot of weight.  They look great.  The problem is once they lose the weight they realize they still have the same issues inside to deal with.  Life did not transform them into a living fairytale because they reached their goal weight, typically when reality sets in most people find themselves knee deep in ice cream or some other comfort food.  

I know I have done the exact same thing zillions of times.  I am not ashamed to admit I have done every stupid diet on the planet to be at a “magical weight”.  I have spent enough money on diets to have traveled around the world at least 6 times.  I always thought when I reached that weight my life would be different.  My loved one would retire from saving America and we could live like a normal family, my kids would be healthy and happy, and I would finally be able to move back to GA or NC.  Guess what?  I lost weight and Lucas is still saving America, and probably will be until he dies.  My daughter still has rectal atresia.  My son will always struggle with being in the autistic spectrum.  I still felt anxious, worried and unsatisfied.  I lost the weight but I didn’t work on what is inside me.  The minute I felt those uncomfortable feelings, just like most of us, I was looking for anything to take them away.  In my case bring on the ice cream and the wine.  I needed to check out.  The diet industry does not tell us we need to change on the inside as well as the outside.  If they did, they wouldn’t make any money.  All the weight loss in the world will not change how you cope with life or fix what is out of balance. It never will.  

I’m not sure exactly when I got sick and tired of checking out.  I started to realize I was in my 40’s and life was passing me by because I so busy waiting for “stuff” to happen before I could have a good life.  I started to practice living “as if”.  Instead of waiting for all those things to happen that I thought would make my life better I began appreciating what I had.  I began to change what I could such as my career, my part in relationships, and how I took care of myself.  The things I could do nothing about I let go.  That last part about letting go was not easy.  It is a daily struggle.  It is a struggle worth doing.  I have found once I cease to resist in situations I cannot control life is more peaceful.  I looked at where my life was out of balance and took the necessary steps to put it back in balance. 

Before when I wanted to go knee deep into the cookie jar I would panic.  Now I use it as a way to ask myself what is out of balance.  Then I can figure out what I need to put things back into balance.  I might need a hug, nap, or just a few minutes quiet time.  If I do decide to eat that is okay too, because I am aware of it and not driving in my car shoving candy bars in my mouth.  I am sitting down consciously eating.  I am not checking out.  Funny thing happened I stopped over-eating.  I ate just enough and I was done. 

Diets are great for losing weight.  They are not the solution for living a well-balanced life.  Are you checking out?

Super Foods

I took a tour of my local market; I found most of my favorite super foods in the produce department.  Kale, spinach, and broccoli all grouped together.  I am also a fan of carrots, red, green, and yellow peppers.  They add a natural sweetness to my salads.  As a former sugar addict I have found I enjoy the natural sweetness from these veggies as a healthy alternative to my cookie and cake days.  Like most people I am very short on time.  My days of browsing the grocery store and walking all the isles hunting and pecking for what I need are over.   It is an added benefit for me to find all the foods I need in one place.

Since I have started eating super foods my vitamin expenses have gone down. People are so concerned with spending money on designer vitamins that are crap. They don’t realize they can get vitamins A, C, E, and K from eating greens.  They are also full of calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, and zinc.  Most people do not realize this but you get more calcium from dark greens then a glass of milk.   You may be spending more for food – you will be spending less on vitamins and medical bills.  

Another great isle at the grocery store is the spice isle.  I use garlic in my recipes for the flavor and it is a natural way to fight free radicals in the body that cause cancer.  I have problems with my joints and I found by adding basil in my dishes it acts as a natural anti-inflammatory agent.  Do you your homework about herbs and spices.  You will be surprised at the natural medicines you can find in the spice isle.  It also can prevent the drug companies from making money off people when they can get what they need naturally rather than pushing designers drugs that benefit their bottom-line not the consumer.

For the 4th of July holiday I made what is called a dessert pizza.  I used whole grain crust that is choked full of minerals, unlike its evil twin white dough.  I used just a pinch of date sugar – it is a healthier alternative to refined white sugar, however, you still should only use a small amount.  Sugar is sugar.  I used black berries and raspberries, both are super foods that contain lots of vitamin C and the best benefit – berries help balance your mood.  For those women out there who struggle with mood swings during certain times of the month, try adding more berries to your diet.   You will see a huge difference. I also sprinkled just a bit of organic dark chocolate chips.  Organic dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants.  It’s a nice way to give yourself a healthy treat that feels like your cheating.  

The best part about this dessert I did not feel like taking a nap after eating it.  It was delicious.  It truly fed my body.  It gave my body energy and the necessary vitamins to help it stay healthy. 

Passion

Passion

I always thought passion was something you see in the movies.  It was the fairy tale ending of an unrealistic love story, Angel’s monologue on an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was a fantasy, a really fun fantasy to watch or read about. Who hasn’t taken the time to fantasize about meeting their very own “Jack Dawson” from Titanic, or whatever movie pulls you too it. I never thought it was a part of “real” life.  Well, I thought it was real life for those sad individuals who waited for their Prince Charming or Cinderella, the ones who did not realize that happy endings come from inside not from another person.  

That was my view on passion until someone asked me, “What am I passionate about? What makes me want to get out of bed in the morning?”  My first response was, “I get out of bed because if I do not work I do not get paid.”   Then I really thought about it.  If getting out of bed to go to a job that I am not passionate about is my only reason for getting up, somewhere along the line I stopped living and simply existing.  That was a very unsettling thought for me.  Life is too short to exist.  I dug a little deeper to see what motivates me.  What brings me joy on a daily basis?  What do I enjoy doing?  My first answers were my children and my friends.  That is great; however, it’s not “my” passion.  It is a shared bonding of time.  I believe all parents should feel passionate about their children.  I enjoy every moment with both of my children.   I stepped back and thought about me as a human being, not just a Mother or friend, but me alone, what is my personal passion.  What exactly hummed to me?  I love health and wellness.  I love listening to live music.  Yoga is the most peaceful place in the world to me.  My mind is quiet and my body is fluid.  For me that is the highest level of peace.  I love getting up early in the morning when no one else is underfoot to write.  Those are just some of my passions.  Those are a few of the things that motivate.  They allow me to live a full life rather than existing.

What are your passions in life?  Do you have any passions or are you just going through the motions.  Take the time to think what makes you happy?  What do you enjoy doing?  Or what don’t you enjoy doing?  Sometimes knowing what you do not like will help you figure out what you do like.  Take the time to discover what makes you hum.  Life is too short to exist.

May you’re day be filled with passion!

“Passion, it lies in all of us, sleeping... waiting... and though unwanted... unbidden... it will stir... open its jaws and howl. It speaks to us... guides us... passion rules us all, and we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments. The joy of love... the clarity of hatred... and the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion maybe we'd know some kind of peace... but we would be hollow... Empty rooms shuttered and dank. Without passion we'd be truly dead”