Breaking Free

Quotes

I'm rather worn out today so I'm going to be lazy and just bring together some great quotes instead of generating any myself ;

Are you hungry from your heart or from your stomach ?

"Food is not a substitute for love (although preparing a tasty, nourishing meal for someone can be a way of demonstrating your love for them.) Let me explain that a little further. Maybe you have noticed feeling "empty" sometimes. When you examine that feeling a little more closely, you will be able to tell whether the "empty" feeling comes from your heart or your stomach. If it comes from your heart, then it's love that will fill the gap, not food. That's the time to do something to nourish your heart, such as reading an inspiring book, watching an uplifting film, or spending time with loved ones. If you want to nurture yourself, then only eat when it's your stomach that's hungry."

http://www.sallylever.co.uk/

What is normal eating?

"...a healthy relationship with food means eating in response to physical hunger most of the time.   However, normal eating can also include experiences such as eating occasionally because something looks good, eating past fullness at a special meal, eating in response to an emotion once in a while or choosing foods based on nutritional content because this feels care taking.   Attuned eating means that eating for satisfaction is predominant, and experiencing deprivation is virtually non-existent.   Attuned eating is a natural skill.   It can be relearned by people who have lost touch with their hunger and can be reinforced and nurtured in children so that they maintain this healthy relationship with food throughout their lives."

Matz, J. and Frankel, E. (2004).   Beyond a shadow of a diet: The therapist's guide to treating compulsive eating.   New York: Brunner-Routledge

Time

One of my main "excuses" that I use to myself about why I haven't yet broken free from what's holding me back is Time.  Not enough time.  Time pressured.  Cash rich, time poor. 

Sometimes this is true : there are days when I can't get to my gym because I am either in the office all day and out in the evening, or else because the gym is shut (Sundays and Bank holidays, annoyingly).  In that sense, the logistics of time mean that I cannot achieve a specific task - exercise at the gym.  However is that excuse really good enough to hold water ?  Surely I could get up earlier, go for a walk, do a home exercise DVD?  Some of this is more to do with priorities rather than time.

The truth is that I find it easier to take the cheap, lazy, comforting and easy path - which involves (perhaps) staying in bed an hour longer in the morning and not exercising;  eating a takeaway pizza rather than cooking a more healthy meal; buying sweets or chocolate when I'm bored. 

The alternative path - to cook more at home; to plan meals a week in advance; to read about nutrition and understand my body's needs; to get up early for exercise or to go out for exercise in the evenings instead of slumping on the sofa - takes a lot more time, energy and effort.  And yet this is the path that I have to take.  It's hard.  Breaking free from any addiction is hard - and my addiction, to comfort eating, is socially encouraged in some ways.  Still I'm determined to do it.

Falling off the wagon..

So it's been a while since I updated my own blog.  This is mainly because I was so fed up with myself.  Somehow I just lost my focus over the last month and failed to lose any weight at all - I also did very little exercise and didn't focus on healthy eating, so maybe it's surprising I didn't gain more weight !

I did have a series of minor things that went wrong and that distracted me - some health-related, some at work, some personal.  Although these were annoying and at times, tiring, I've had a lot worse in my time to deal with.  So why did I fall off the wagon so much ? or why did I allow myself to be distracted ?

I need to get back my focus and drive, to get in touch with my determination.  I can be clear, determined and focussed in relation to work and to many other parts of my life.  It's a case of prioritising my focus on breaking free from what holds me back.