Category Archives: Body

CHECK IN Week 41: Thumber

Posted on by
Reply

download (2)

This week’s task was to follow THUMBER’S advice and SAY NOTHIN’ negative, sarcastic, or mean OUT LOUD in regards to your body, weight, face, hair, etc, or about food, calories, eating/drinking this or that.

download (3)

How is that going?  Are you catching yourself?  Are you noticing how often you say something in your thoughts that are not kind and loving about your body or food?  Are you noticing it from others?

If you are being more aware of your self talk around your body and food, can you dig a little deeper and discover what feeling is behind the thoughts/comments?

Our culture is saturated with body image “requirements”.  So much so, that people become obsessed with their body.  Since one of the things that effects the body is food, it is logical that the obsession with food also exists.

Think for a minute, what could somebody believe about themselves if they don’t meet the many cultural body image “requirements”?

  • not beautiful
  • won’t be accepted
  • un-lovable
  • not enough
  • unhealthy
  • ?

Fear is the culprit to saying unkind things about our self or food.  Fear is the culprit that leads us to do unhealthy things to our body and with food.

Fear comes because we are believing what culture (or some unloving human) says about who we should be or how we should look.

How does one cast out the fear?  LOVE!

To realign our bodies and any negative relationship with food, love is needed. 

  • To love your body just as it is at any given moment…every ounce, every scar, every wrinkle. Being grateful for all the parts of your body is a good way to start.
  • To understand that food and eating is self-care and self-love, not something to be used as a coping skill or a punishment.  And that food is not something to fear.
  • To understand that you are more than the weight on a scale or a pant size.  I have yet to find a scale that will tell me I have a good sense of humor or how compassionate I am.
  • To understand what your body loves…like what kinds of food makes it feel  energized and healthy and what kind of exercise does your body love to do.  (Not every body is the same.  I have a friend who loves running.  My body does not  love to run, but it loves walking and yoga.)
  • To remember you are more than your body, hair, face, etc.  You, the real you, is your spirit, your essence.  If you were blind from birth, how would you know a beautiful person?
  • On a spiritual level, God says you are already loved and perfect in your imperfections.   If you lived and choose from already being loved and imperfectly perfect, what would you be doing?  How would you be living?  So many people are living from the fear they aren’t lovable until _____(fill in with your thing…weigh a certain amount, look a certain way)_______ or at all because they don’t meet some cultural standard.

A ‘Lighter More Loving You‘ in this area looks like…

  • recognition of fear driven body image beliefs and behaviors,
  • Thumber-ing…stopping the negative talk out loud in regards to your body or food, and
  • cultivating a new set of loving thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors around your body and food.

Cheering You on to a Whole Cast Out Fear With Love Heart,
Barbara

 

 

 

 

Advertisement

2018 Week 41: Thumber

Posted on by
1

download (2)

Week 41’s task of 50 Weeks to a Lighter More Loving You is Thumber.

Thumber, from the Disney movie Bambi, said one of the most quoted lines ever…

download (3)

I have a pet-peeve…how often people, and especially women, will talk about their weight, face, hair, body, skin, eyes, nose, you name it, in a disparaging way.   Or how often someone will comment about how they shouldn’t eat/drink this or that, or how eating/drinking this or that is going to end up on their hips, stomach, thighs, etc. Or a negative or sarcastic comment about the amount of calories in something.

It’s probably a pet-peeve because I was terrible at this, whether I spoke it out loud or in my mind.  It sure made it hard to enjoy parties or holidays…and sometimes eating in general!!  It made it hard to like my body or how I looked… and often myself in general.  I felt like I was in a constant battle. Fighting does not fix anything…only love heals.

This being no way to live, 10 years ago I said no more talking this way out loud or in my head about my body or food.  Once this became my norm…saying nothin’ and being much more kind and loving about my body and food…then things changed.  I became lighter physically and mentally.  This freed up a lot of energy and freed me to make choices that were more loving for my body.

I was in this battle a long time. This is a process and can take time to settle and heal. Last week’s task and this week’s task are a good place to start.

 

This week your task is to follow THUMBER’S advice and SAY NOTHIN’ negative, sarcastic, or mean OUT LOUD in regards to your body, weight, face, hair, etc, or about food, calories, eating/drinking this or that.

Take notice of how often you say something in your head...and maybe how often you hear others say something.

Cheering You on to a Whole Thumber’s Advice Heart,
Barbara

cropped-011114_2043_selfcompass1

 

 

CHECK IN for Week 40: Food Raiser

Posted on by
Reply

download (1)

Checking in on Week 40’s Task of Food Raiser.

This week you are to be RAISING your awareness of you and FOOD by following guidelines set forth in the last post.

How is it going? Are you noticing anything about you, eating, food?

Even if you did the guidelines for a few meals and not a whole week, you may have noticed something.

Maybe you became more AWARE of…

  • how fast you eat,
  • that small bites taste as good as big bites,
  • how often you eating standing up,
  • being and feeling more satisfied,
  • feeling fuller sooner,
  • enjoying what you ate,
  • actually eating,
  • the food you ate.

Maybe you even noticed thoughts you had while eating…about food, about eating.

Whether we are aware of it our not, we have a thought before we eat.  –Dr. Judith Beck

Maybe you became more aware of how your body felt after you ate (or drank) a certain food.

As you become more conscious of your food choices, you’ll discover a growing awareness of the connection between what you eat and how well you feel.  –Rebecca Katz, The Longevity Kitchen

To be lighter and more loving, one must be more CONSCIOUS, more AWARE.

Loving habits and choices are CONSCIOUS, whether it is with food or other areas of your life.

So many of us use food and our bodies un-lovingly.  Raising your awareness can start the process of change–to habits you love and to treating your body lovingly.

With practice, learning to view eating as an act of self-love, rather than a source of anxiety or harm, can transform your relationship with food.  –Brandt Passalacqua

Share with others in the comments what you became more aware of doing this task.

Cheering You on to a Whole Conscious Loving Heart,
Barbara

cropped-011114_2043_selfcompass1

 

 

2018 Week 40: Food Raiser

Posted on by
2

download (1)

Week 40’s Task of 50 Weeks to a Lighter More Loving You is Food Raiser!

This time of year is full of festivities and food. Many people dread the holidays because  of the food–the calories, the weight gain, the horror of getting on the scale, falling off a diet, the inner battle to enjoy the food and be wise.

Personally, I like to eat!  Thanksgiving and Christmas meals are may favorites.  Anytime I have been on a diet, or even now as a clean eater, these favorite meals would cause a bit of anxiety.

I enjoy every bite of my holiday dinners, including the gravy and pumpkin pie, without feeling the need to head to the gym for a three-hour work out, or putting myself on some kind of diet before or after the holidays.   How?  By doing the following task often through out the year.

This week’s task is to FOOD RAISE!   Similar to Week 37: Shop Lift where the task was to LIFT your awareness of your SHOPPING habits. 

This task is to RAISE your awareness of how you interact with your FOOD.   Most specifically, how you eat, what you eat, where you eat, how long you eat, how mindful you are about eating. 

This week eat…

  1. Sitting down  (Don’t eat anything standing up this whole week…or notice how many times you do or are tempted to eat standing up.  Samples at the grocery store? Candy off of someones desk?)

  2. Use nice dinner ware, silverware, clothe napkins, even a tablecloth (get out that china or special dinnerware you save for guests)

  3. Light a candle

  4. Sit at a table instead of the kitchen counter

  5. No TV, radio, book, newspaper, or anything else that might be a distraction (if you have a family, see if you can try one meal in silence)

  6. Look at or smell your food before you eat it

  7. Take smaller bites than your norm

  8. Chew your food a couple extra times than your norm (meaning you might have to count your chews or be aware you chewed!)

  9. Put down your utensil or piece of food between each bite

  10. Look at the clock before you start eating and when you are finished.

This is not about dieting or eating less.  Again, it is about raising your awareness of you and your food.  There are so many things we do in life MINDLESSLY.  Eating is easily one of them as we need to do it and do it several times a day.

It doesn’t matter if this is a home cooked meal or McDonald’s, as long as you follow the guidelines above.

 Bon Appétit!

Cheering You on to a Whole Food Raised Heart,
Barbara

cropped-011114_2043_selfcompass1