The only thing standing in the way of being a happier, healthier person is myself.
One: Honesty
- I am a binge eater; when I feel bad emotionally, I eat, even though I'm not hungry.
- I'm a chronic over eater, at nearly every meal I eat to the point of feeling pain.
- I've always adopted a "live to eat" attitude.
- I don't like exercising, particularly now that I am so heavy.
- Being overweight is uncomfortable, and is damaging my joints, my bones, and my skin.
- I know if I continue being this overweight and unfit, I'll die from a fat-related illness... probably in my middle age... or sooner.
- Being this heavy means I can't wear the clothes I like.
- I often feel "ugly" and "frumpy".
- Being overweight negatively effects my romantic life.
- I often feel isolated because of my weight, particularly since moving to France, where most people (particularly in my age range) are very slim.
- It's difficult to walk up steep inclined streets and walk for long distances because my knees, feet, and back are too strained under my weight and my muscles are weak.
- I cannot enjoy outdoorsy activities, like hiking with my husband, because it's too physically strenuous for my overweight and unfit body.
- Clutter and mess bothers me, but I often feel overwhelmed to do anything about it.
- When my home is messy, I won't invite anyone in, which further isolates me from making friendships.
- Sometimes I'm lazy
- Sometimes I'm depressed
- Sometimes I'm afraid
Two : Awareness
- Overeating doesn't make me feel happier -- it only damages my body and leads me to feel worse about myself
- Food will not fulfill my emotional needs; it will not heal my heartaches, nor shield me from my fears.
- Feeling hungry between meals is natural and normal, and nothing to fear.
- If I don't exercise, I won't get stronger.
- If I don't exercise, I won't get slimmer.
- If I don't control the clutter, it will control me.
- Not everything is useful to keep, just in case I might need it sometime later.
- Just because I've had it for a long time doesn't make it a valuable and sentimental item.
- Just because it was a gift doesn't mean that I obligated to keep it.
- Memories are not contained in things, so getting rid of thing will not get rid of the memory.
- When my home is clean, I feel happier and less stressed.
- If my home is clean, I can invite my friends inside.
- Being healthier will make me happier.
- I am responsible for my own actions.
Three: Solutions
Eating : Counting calories, eating more fresh fruits and raw vegetables, eating more complete proteins, and less "junk food" will help me loose weight and be healthier.
Exercising : Regular aerobics, weight training, and yoga will help me be slimmer, stronger, and more energetic.
Cleaning : Improving the feng shui and overall cleanliness and tidiness of my home will reduce my stress, and increase social life and emotional wellness.
So that's all fine and good, the ideas are solid and I know what I need to do: eat right, exercise, and be tidy. Now, actually DOING those things... maybe not as simple as they sound, otherwise I would have done them years ago... right?!
Four : Responsibility
Taking responsibility for my life and how I live it is the most important thing I can do to feel happier and healthier. Just because someone hurt my feelings in the past, or something traumatic happened in my childhood doesn't mean that I have to continue hurting myself through chronic binges and daily overeating.
Muscles don't spontaneously happen overnight, and fat doesn't magically disappear just because I want it gone. I have to get off my lazy butt and move, stretch, sweat, and make the effort.
The laundry won't do itself, the books won't auto-clean their dusty shelves, and the piles of clutter won't throw themselves away. If I had a magic wand, I'd wave it, but the fact is that only I can get rid of the mess that I've created.
The past is past, and bad choices have made, but I can make better ones for today, for tomorrow, and for the rest of my life. I am taking responsibility for myself in this moment and for the future, to stop the cycles that have lead me into this lifestyle of self-destruction and unhappiness. I want to be well, and the only person who can make that happen is me: by the choices I make and the actions I take.
Five : Action
One day at a time, I am changing my habits and living a healthier life.
I'm living my new motto : Less Is More
- Less self-destruction, More self-control
- Less fat, More muscle
- Less lazy, More active
- Less clutter, More organization
- Less messiness, More cleanliness
- Less unbalanced, More balanced
For the past 10 days, I've been :
- refusing the urge to binge,
- sharing my feelings,
- counting calories,
- eating breakfast,
- eating more complete proteins,
- eating more whole foods,
- drinking more water,
- exercising for 30 - 60 minutes,
- clearing clutter,
- cleaning the filth,
- improving the feng shui,
- and taking control over my choices.
... In 10 days, already I've lost 4.4 lbs (2 kilos) and a total loss of 6 and 7/8 inches (17.46 cen) from my body.
This is proof-positive that I can get into shape! And after all, it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be to loose what I've lost, so far.
I'm going to share my experiences, methods, and triumphs through this blog. It will not only be a testimony of my own journey, a record to look back, but I should hope that it will help inspire you, dear reader, to be more honest, aware, responsible, and active for your own health and happiness, because it can happen! We can all be healthier and happier, one day, one movement, one choice at a time.
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Congratulations on taking the decision to change your thoughts and feelings about your weight and your home. You have inspired me to try something similar, the eat carefully for three days, more for the fourth. I had my metabalism checked a few years ago and I was at the bottom of the scale. Now I am almost at the end of my divorce and will have to eventually face the idea of dating again (Or maybe I could stay in my mossy cave and knit and paint), so smartening up my act is essential. I certainly don't count my calorie intake, and choose the selective memory process and conveniently forget the chocolate biscuits!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the support Penelope :)
DeleteYou certainly don't have to count ever tiny calorie that you eat to keep to a 3 low cal, 1 high cal kind of system... Just have 1/2 sized portions of things you know are starchy and fatty, like meats, dairy, grains, sweets and oils and then eat lots of veggies and fruits on the low cal days. On the high cal days, eat whatever you want, have a slice of cake, have an extra spoon of dressing on your salad, and eat full sized portions of carb/starchy foods. Just doing that will assure you of 3 lower days and 1 higher day. Be sure to eat a breakfast, too, since that raises your metabolism by 11% for the day! Good luck... you can do it!