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Hello Thrivers,
Is it just me, or have we had the best cherry crop ever this summer? Get them while they’re still tasty: cherries, corn on the cob, and red grapes.
Ready?
Pearl One
If you think about it, it’s folded into our culture that “drowning our sorrows” is the norm and that the practice should be respected.
As you know, my dad passed three days ago stunning us all. So, have I been soothing with food?
No, I haven’t been using food to feel better. I’ve reached the point on the trek up the lose-weight-over-fifty mountain that when I’m sad, I no longer reach for food. I can finally understand – from an authentic place in my heart — that food does as much for grief as an ice cream cone does for an empty gas tank.
And given that I don’t turn to booze or drugs either, I’m watching myself closely to see how I do handle the sadness of my dad dying, so I can report back to you.
So far, I can see that I zone-out with a really good book (just finishing The Sympathizer; so, so good) along with staying busy. For example, yesterday I had a doctor’s appointment an hour from me and dealing with those fun hours used up most of the day.
But my key takeaway? One of the best salves in our arsenal is that I give myself plenty of room to cry. Crying during grief reminds me of throwing up. You know when you have a flu and you feel awful, but then you vomit and feel better for a while? That’s how I think about crying in grief. I think that when the tears come out — and we don’t fight it — crying can be healing for us.
Cry, cry, and cry some more. It’s a weight loss superpower. It really is.
Dad, you knocked it out of the park; we’ll take it from here. ♥
Pearl Two
The Importance of Our Preferred Weight. Admittedly, I went a little wacko in losing weight because I purposely got down to a low number. Today I linger somewhere between a size 6 and 8 pant-size. I specifically took myself down to this weight because I wanted to see if it would be possible. Truth be told, if I’d only lost forty-five pounds, all would have been right in my world, but I wanted to lose ten more – and preserve the loss forever — to see if these smart eating tools really work.
And the proof is in the no-sugar pudding.
All that to say, changing how we live successfully in our food-porn world is, well, everything.
Anymore we’re not living in the 1960s or 1970s and dieting in hopes that our stomachs will look more like Twiggie’s or Cheryl Tieg’s.
We don’t bake in the sun anymore either. Times have changed.
The era of scale-numbers being foisted upon us from an outside entity belong to the last century; today’s woman chooses the weight best for her, and has learned the skills to make her preferred weight happen. ♥
Pearl Three
In August we’re doing a different challenge each week.
In the scheme of things, I believe 100-percent in transforming how we deal with food from top to bottom, but just to be totally confusing let me also say that I use “leapfrogging” to various events in my life to keep me stimulated on our losing-after-fifty trek. For example, say I have a cruise lined up for November and today it’s August 25. I’ll keep my early November cruise at the forefront of my mind as I make food decisions throughout September, October, and early November.
Leapfrogging is a helpful tool most obviously for huge events like trips, reunions, and weddings, but it also works for smaller events like lunch out with a friend, an appointment for a pedicure, or even plans to see a Broadway show.
So, here’s our challenge for the end of August. Journal-write about how you’d like to feel on Thanksgiving (the U.S. or Canada’s) and the December holidays. Will you be down five pounds, or are you working hard to preserve your current weight (so, so, so important)? When the holidays roll around what will you wear? What do you want to focus on when the holiday season arrives: tight clothes? Or making memories? Write about what future-you most wants when the holidays are before us.
And remember to write little “leapfroggy” events into your calendar like how do you want to feel when you next see your hair stylist? (I do this one every five weeks. My hair person always makes my hair look good so I want to feel good inside too.)
Leapfrogging is absolutely a thing that belongs in our smart eating tool bag. ♥
Pearl Four
Books love us and want us to be happy.
This story is hard to believe, but the events actually happened to the writer Kurt Vonnegut when he was a young serviceman. Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine can explain it better than I can when she wrote, “When Vonnegut was a young serviceman, he was captured in WWII by Nazi Germany and famously survived the 1945 aerial bombing of Dresden by hiding in the meat locker of a slaughterhouse—a harrowing experience that closely informed the plot of his masterful 1969 novel, Slaughterhouse-Five.”
If ever there were a five-star book dessert, this one lives on the top tier. ♥
Pearl Five
Make it happen, girl. Shock everyone.” ♥
Anonymous
I’m working hard to turn the Inspired Eating ebook into a paperback. It’s taking time, but I’ll figure it out. I’d love a follow on Instagram and/or Facebook.
Have a relaxing weekend, Everyone!
♥, Wendy
P.S. Are you new to the Inspired Eater? Welcome!! This blog won’t make much sense until you first read the Aunt Bea post (and you’ll find Aunt Bea on this page to the right under my short bio). On your cell you’ll see it immediately following the first post. After you enter your email address, the Aunt Bea article will be sent to your email’s inbox. If it’s not there, you might check the spam folder. And always feel free to email me at Wendy@TheInspiredEater.com and I’ll get Aunt Bea right to you!
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