Hi Everyone,
I’m sorry these pearls are so late. I wrote two pearls and they just vanished. I will be getting IT work for sure.
Pearl One
I wrote early on about Brownies at Breakfast. When you and I transfer our nighttime sugar eating to having one dessert at breakfast with our coffee (always before 9 am), it’s a first step to slowly weaning ourselves off of sugar. (That said, if even a bite of chocolate triggers you into a week of overeating, clearly having a brownie at breakfast won’t work for you, for now.)
Sugar In the Morning
Here’s why I strongly encourage you to move desserts to the mornings.
1) By scheduling desserts in the morning we’re putting sugar into a time of day when few of us go berserko on desserts and overeat.
2) We’re helping ourselves “not feel cheated” because “everyone” is having desserts after dinner. We’ll have dessert too, but in the morning.
3) Our bodies don’t grip onto calories in the morning the way they do at night. I know this is a controversial idea, but those in the field of science are starting to take note, and it sure has worked in my life. I breakfast like king, lunch like a princess and eat dinner like a pauper (with light afternoon snacks).
Here’s the upshot: Because I developed the habit of moving dessert from the evening to the morning (which I took full advantage of in the beginning), actually helped me to eventually give up sugar entirely.
Again, the rules I created for myself: Eating desserts in the morning meant I had to be don’t with breakfast by 9 a.m. If I had a relatively light breakfast I would count that as two points. But if my breakfast was large, I calculated in four points. You can do the same equation if you’re counting calories. ♥
Pearl Two
I heard a guy on Instagram say, “Our brains are like a supercomputer. Our self-talk is the program. Our brains are always listening when we talk to ourselves.”
Pull out your journal and write to these prompts. When I wrote, I was quite surprised at some of the answers.
- I really love that I . . .
- I can always count on myself to. . .
- It’s taken time, but I’ve learned to be great at . . .
- Learning to manage . . .
- I like that I learned how to . . .
- I’m tickled that I developed a habit of . . .
- Next write one word to each answer. For example, these were my six words.
I’m saying this stack to myself daily and it’s been especially supportive during tough moments when it seems like the blanket of negativity is descending. ♥
Pearl Three
Sequencing is taken directly from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The purpose of sequences is to help us move from reacting to circumstances to responding. I encourage you to do a sequence a day in your journal. Powerful stuff.
The Initial Sequence
- Situation (concrete): I’m scheduled for back surgery and was told that hardware will be put into my back.
- Thought (keep it to one sentence): I don’t want a Lego (my word) piece left in my back.
- Feeling (keep it to one or two words): Scared.
- Action: Frantically googled leaving hardware in body post-surgery.
- Results: I’m panicky and wound up. Hard time sleeping and so forth.
The New Sequence
- Situation (concrete): I’m scheduled for back surgery and was told that hardware will be put into my back.
- Chosen Thought: I think I can learn to tolerate hardware inside of me. I can do hard things. I remind myself that “the hardware is my friend” and my surgeon, Dr. Heller, is a superstar surgeon at Emory.
- Feeling (keep it to one or two words): Calmer.
- Action: I don’t run around like a lunatic and get dramatic about the upcoming surgery.
- Result: Best back surgery ever. I was in so much pain. And in 2016 Heller fixed it totally! Here we are eight years later, and I haven’t heard a peep out of my back.
Pearl Four
Books love us and want us to be happy
The Anthropcene Reviewed by John Green. This a non-fiction book-dessert; the essays range from Diet Dr. Pepper to Our Capacity for Wonder. Really interesting. The reader can tell that Green had fun with this book. Nice book dessert.
Pearl Five
Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”– Angela Duckworth ♥
If you’re enjoying what you’re reading, I would love it if you’d share with a friend.
Have a wonderful long-weekend!
♥ Wendy
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