There have been a few changes lately that are for the better. First of all, I am working daily with someone and I am not hiding what I feel are my biggest “weaknesses” “thoughts” or where I am deficient. I am not hiding. It is a funny thing, but I think that excess weight is a way of hiding, and I am a specialist at doing it; with oversize clothing and making myself absent if I ...
Helen's Blog
I met Helen on a dismal, drizzly day in New York City. A member of my Aids Walk 2011 group, she was a new face in the crowd. Helen was dressed and ready to march in a bright yellow rain poncho. Or maybe it wasn’t bright yellow and I just I think it was. That’s the kind of brilliant personality Helen has—sunshiny and radiant.
As I’ve come to know and work with Helen as her nutritional coach I’ve learned that she’s not just an extremely positive person; she despises negativity of any kind, especially her own. Helen is a joy junkie. If for a moment she is not feeling loving, happy, accommodating, and entertaining she becomes uncomfortable. And this discomfort often sends her to the grocery store, not just for goodies that she can later gulp down to quiet any negative feelings, but because this is where she recalls wonderful memories—for example, loving recollections of her mother driving to the market, singing along the way.
It was clear to me that Helen’s expectation of herself as a consistently luminous and upbeat person was unrealistic; it was self-defeating, really. One of my goals is to help her understand that negative feelings are normal.
In our first session we discussed the notion of riding a feeling rather than hiding it because, like it or not, that emotion will probably surface again. When it does rear its ugly head, we want to make sure it’s not accompanied by a bottomless bowl of guacamole.
Helen has taken to eating in her likeness in the same way that a fish takes to water. Before I had a chance to offer her an opening assignment, to write a goal and an affirmation, she told me about the affirmations she was scripting and scattering about her apartment.
Helen is ready for a plan that is authentic and sustainable. Willing, finally, to trust herself outside of the confines of a diet, she’s eager to learn how to discern true hunger as opposed to an urge to engage in dissociative (mindless) eating. Helen is also eager to reveal, in this blog, what she is discovering.
I’m a firm believer in learning through the experiences of other people, and I’m very grateful to Helen for opening her journal with the intention of benefiting others who struggle with issues of eating.
Take it away, Helen!
It’s raining today, and I am thinking that above the clouds the sun is shining. Likewise when I make decisions and choices in my life that on the face of it look bleak, over time I know the sun will shine on! Being the queen of instant gratification, the disease to please needs to be challenged and constantly watched, don’t you think?
Why is it so easy to be patient with others, and not with myself.
“Why” never puts me forward . . .gets me to the next place. . . or changes my behavior.
So I guess the best I can do for now is just be gentle with myself.
Seems so simple . . .do you think it will work?
Anyone who is “disordered” with regard to their eating or any other part of their lives feels like a victim!
I now feel . . .the only way to be, is the heroine of my own life. Rethinking . . . not needing to be rescued or saved by something, or someone, outside myself, knowing I can get there is very empowering to say the least!
I am now the ...
There are so many choices to make. There are so many decisions to take. There is so much information good, bad, and otherwise, and it could be overwhelming, and sometimes is. As for the buffet…what to choose, when to choose, how much to choose, what kind/style, how fast, how often…slowing down, accessing, and truly asking myself if this is the best possible decision. There is a new store a couple of blocks away called IT’S SUGAR-need ...
If you are following Carol on Facebook as I do, http://www.facebook.com/CarolCottrillNutrition
this was well put! The only way to get through the “mindless” eating. . .but for me the “roll with the uncomfortable feeling and/or emotion” is the challenge!!
Eating and drinking for that mater really alter my state! It is no different than taking a drug!
Meanwhile, I am so proud that I don’t take anything (medication or drugs) . . ...
When I think back about this year, I see how even small adjustments over time have a meaningful impact.
When I went to sign up for the Medicare Advantage program, and the agent asked me if I took medication, my answer was no, none at all. I realize and am grateful for my health. But, now TIME is the most precious gift after HEALTH . . .and it is what ...
Tomorrow the days start getting longer- the winter solstice. I am so glad about this, as I miss the longer days. The sunrise this morning is magnificent, and I rise with the hope that I will be able to accomplish my “list” for today, without too much distraction. Noticing as much as I can with all my senses, listening carefully, to myself, and others, just being totally present is helping me ...
I am now asking myself this question, before I put anything in my mouth,
and before anything comes out of my mouth! Carol asked me to read a book called
THE SLOW DOWN DIET by Marc David . . .worth a reread for sure!! I know what I want,
and when I restate it (daily and sometimes hourly) . . .it definitely changes my behavior, my response!!
Change my behavior, hell yes!
We all tell ourselves there is a reason, other than the real reason, for us not honoring our commitments. If it is a commitment to health and “ordered” eating, why am I telling everyone, that the reason I put on a few pounds this summer was because the pool was closed in August, and half of September, which it was? Why not “not” call attention to the fact that ...
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