Save yourself! This holiday season keep your cavewoman snoozing.

Pearl One

We’ve made it through Halloween and are speeding toward Thanksgiving (in the U.S.)  We’re headed into the Season of Calories and as I say every year: we don’t want to wake up our cavewoman! Let’s aim to preserve our hard work rather than try to lose weight right now. To force yourself to try to lose weight with all the merriment happening around us is not being supportive of our own selves and could possibly create an angry backlash (ie. our cavewoman waking up and going Cookie Monster on holiday).

Instead plan to preserve your hard work. Remember, plateaus are the good guys. Giving our body the time it needs to rest and adjust changes the whole weight loss equation. In November and December keep your cavewoman asleep by doing what I’ll be doing:

• i stay on my eating plan.
• i always eat before I eat.
• I keep my cold-tote packed in healthy bites and by my side when I’m out of the house. I take opportunities to eat a tiny dinner by 6 p.m. and take a wonderful book to bed at 8 p.m.
• If I’m still hungry and know I won’t eat, I have half of a banana and then lights out!
• If I know in advance that at certain times I’ll struggle: I draw up a detailed plan about how I’ll handle each obstacle.

We’re “strengthening and holding.” We’ve so got this. ♥

Pearl Two

New Year’s Day-You

Let’s pretend that it’s New Year’s Day-you. Pull out your journal and ask New Year’s Day-you to write current day-you a letter: how does she feel when she wakes up that morning? What is she thrilled about (like you walked an hour all of Nov. and Dec.)? What helped her the most? She wants to thank you for ________________________. What does she wished you hadn’t worried about? What does she wished you’d focused on more? What does Jan. 1-you most want you to know?

Give a voice to your future self and capture in writing all that she has to say ♥

Pearl Three

Default Sequence

• Situation (be very concrete): My sister and entire family plus the Grandma are going to Hawaii for two weeks in December.
• Thought: But I want to go to Hawaii!! I especially want to visit Honolulu where we spent time as kids and show my sons Pearl Harbor.
• Feeling: Bummed. Disagreeable.
• Action: Huff and puff around for a while.
• Result: Get very little done.

Chosen Sequence

• Situation (be very concrete): My sister and entire family plus the Grandma are going to Hawaii for two weeks in Dec.
• Chosen Thought: Wendy, you go on fancy trips for the articles you write. Be happy that Shelley is doing something wonderful in her life.
• Feeling: Interested that I had such a strong reaction to Shelley’s trip that I hadn’t realized how much I wanted to see Hawaii again. Honolulu especially.
• Action: I start looking up the cheapest times to travel to Honolulu. But then thinking that if our days of “laying out in the sun” are over beyond the first few days what will we do in Honolulu? I guess we should think about Maui or Kauai too. Plus is this really how I to want to spend money?
• Result: I’ll keep the thought on the back-burner, but a trip to any island needs further thought. Ultimate result: I feel less green with envy and am back on track. ♥

Pearl Four

These three funny books come to you recommended via GQ magazine. I’ve dipped into all three and will finish The Idiot by next weekend! It was hard to choose the first one to read because every chapter of each book drew me in immediately with each having a wry, strong writer’s voice.

I want as much funny in my life as I can get. These three books all grounded in humor. The first is I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley. The second chapter opens, “I’ve never me two people more afraid of the house burning down as my parents.” Highly recommend.

The Idiot by Elif Batuman, The story starts with the advent of email. Great story.

No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July. College kids at Harvard. Named one of “the top ten fiction books of 2007” by Time Magazine. Reviews say that it’s “laugh out loud” funny. I’m in. But it’s no chick-lit.

Throughout the holiday season, I’m aiming for books with humor. These three books deliver.

♥

I started a book gift list two posts back. I know that finding the right gift is tough. I’m hoping my list helps:

This book is a perfect gift for a woman at any age (14+). It’s a true story about an American woman who spied on behalf of England behind enemy lines in France. A Woman of No Importance the Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell left me absolutely floored. This book falls into the historical non-fiction genre and the author knocks it out of the park having researched and written the book in such a way that you can almost feel the Gestapo just steps behind Virginia as she flees France. Review: an incredible read and you’ll never forget Virginia. ♥

Pearl Five

The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.” ♥

Choose one new supportive thought that you want to embed into your heart and plan how you’ll remind yourself (like keep a note at your desk, tape a note inside your kitchen cupboard, put a sticky on your steering wheel).

I’m still hoping those of you with a scarfing partner will email me! I’m writing about scarfers and how they can all be a little different. I want to address the different types. Wendy@theInspiredEater.com.

Have a great week!

♥, Wendy

You know the scoop: I’m an Amazon affiliate. If you buy from a link in my post, I’ll receive money, but the arrangement won’t cost you a dime.

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!!

I am not an expert, a doctor, a surgeon, a nurse or a nutritionist: the information within TheInspiredEater.com is based solely on my personal experience and is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Pearl One

A dear friend and I did a “girlfriend’s cruise” together. Over lunch one day, she asked what I thought about intuitive eating, and in a flash I realized that I’d been intuitively eating all week on the cruise ship.

At hearing her question, it got me thinking about the various weight loss methods that I’ve been asked about over the last three years.

Take a look.

Intuitive Eating

Intuitive eating is a very cerebral approach to weight loss, only to be considered after you’ve preserved (maintained) your loss for fifteen years.

No, I’m not kidding.

It’s like we need to crawl before we can walk.

When we’re attempting to eat intuitively, we’re told to “listen to our stomach’s needs”, to “honor our health” and “discover the satisfaction factor.”

Honor our health?! What does that even mean?

I never fooled with intuitive eating until I lost the fifty-five pounds and preserved the loss for 18 years. I probably went overboard and could have give IE a chance at year-15.

In the years before? No way. (It was just a beautiful idea that did not produce hard-core results.)

Look at it this way, pretend we’re in third grade and intuitive eating is in a PhD program.

Intermittent Fasting

Others have asked what I think about intermittent fasting (IF). Initially I was interested in the concept of IF, but several red flags soon popped up for me.

One, I know that I’m outside of the norm, but I don’t think that choosing the open window (time-wise) of eating is a good idea. In my experience, the best plan is to eat a large breakfast, moderate lunch, a snack in the afternoon, and a tiny dinner at 6 p.m. (Decreasing evening eating is a heavy-lifter in our toolbox.)

And two, when we’re told that “we can eat whatever we want,” it means that we’re not establishing smart eating habits along the way that will create a forever-loss.   

Overeaters Anonymous

Then we come to Overeaters Anonymous (OA). A reader asked me about OA and I told her, “I’ve never used OA myself, but I know women who speak very highly of their program.”

Why I didn’t use OA back in the day? I have no idea. A lost opportunity for sure. (I was young and likely too mortified to talk about my eating habits in public.)

If you know much about Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous, OA provides a similar support-approach. There’s no charge and they’re not commercial. OA is 100-percent about working with those of us who don’t engage well with food.

It’s my belief that pairing OA and the Inspired Eater will produce astonishing results in your life. ♥

Pearl Two

I know.

It’s hard.

You’ll get no argument from me. Losing weight at our age is no picnic. And maintaining in December? Surprise! Not as easy as you might think either.

But amazing news: you and I can do hard things.

I repeated this gem of a saying to myself over and over when I was dealing with – like most of us — the hospital and some really invasive (rude) tests.

Because of these five little – but powerful – words I maintained my dignity when life was stuck in extra-hard mode.  

I. Can. Do. Hard. Things. Use liberally throughout December. ♥

Pearl Three

In pearl three we closely examine Atomic Habits.

James Clear tell us in Atomic Habits, “The problem is not slipping up; the problem is thinking that if you cannot do something perfectly, then you shouldn’t do it at all…”

Ohmygosh, this quote is so me. Before I’d had my aha moment (late 90s), I was either starving (thinking that was how to lose weight) or eating everything that wasn’t nailed down.

I thought being really hungry was just part of losing weight. I assumed that thin people were just better at dealing with their hunger. And I know I thought that I was the only person on the planet who misused food. Seriously.

Where do you fall? Do you “all or nothing” it?

Because one of the biggest mindshifts you can make is allowing room for error or “slips.”

Shifting from “all or nothing” to “I’m only human and I’m learning as I go” will determine your ability to create a forever-loss for yourself.

We’re not in school anymore. The food we eat will not be graded. If we make a mistake and overdo it, the teacher will not talk to our parents, and chowing the cookies will not be on our permanent record. ♥

Pearl Four

I don’t know why I even picked this memoir up in the first place, but I’m so thankful that I did. It’s essentially a modern day’s hero’s journey.

I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons by Kevin Hart. Maybe he’s your favorite or, like me, maybe you don’t know who Kevin Hart is (“Wasn’t he in Jumanji?).

In this memoir, Hart is our hero who battles very difficult people at every turn and prevails in the end. While technically a memoir, this is really a motivational-map for success.

How did a kid “from the wrong side of the tracks” become one of the highest paid comedians in the world?! Hart details his life from being an unwanted pregnancy to the death of his mom and a lot more.

Trust me, this is a don’t-miss. If life is extra-hard at the moment this book will keep you going.

Six stars out of five. ♥

Pearl Five

“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”  ♥

Marcus Aurelius

It’s a short week (in the U.S.), so then why do these holiday weeks always seem so long?!

I’m putting together a book list for holiday gift-giving, stay tuned. It’ll be in this format, “For the baseball lover in your life.”

See you on Tuesday!!

.♥, 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!

You know the scoop: I’m an Amazon affiliate. If you buy from a link in my post, I’ll receive money, but the arrangement won’t cost you a dime.

I am not an expert, a doctor, a surgeon, a nurse or a nutritionist: the information within TheInspiredEater.com is based solely on my personal experience and is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. ♥

My favorite cold tote-bag to carry smart snacks.

Your powerful brain is watching everything you do.

Pearl One

Years ago, I was driving with my parents and my two boys in our van and I guess I wasn’t driving fast enough because one driver peeled out from behind me and went screaming down the road.

At that, my five-year-old son scrunched up his little face in anger and said, “There goes a. . .

“This’ll be interesting,” I thought.

“PUNK!!”

There goes a punk. Not exactly a curse word, but okay. The Scarfer uses the word “punk” occasionally so that’s where my son first heard the word.

Kids absorb everything.

My Point

Like little kids, our brains are watching everything we do.

If you weigh your protein every single time before you cook it, she’s watching and thinking, “Oh, okay we’re the kind of person who measures everything.”

If we stop eating at 6 p.m. each evening, she’s like “Got it. We don’t eat after a small dinner.”

If we have too much food leftover, she learned long ago to think, “Our tummies are not trash cans.”

If you take a bite of cookie that’s just not worth the calories and spit the bite into a napkin she’ll think, “Wow, we are serious about losing weight. We even spit out food.”

As you trek the lose-weight-after-fifty mountain, plan to prove to her daily that you’re utterly serious about smart eating

How do you prove something to your brain?

Through repetition.

She just needs to see proof that something really matters, so give her as much proof as possible. ♥

Pearl Two

Hard question so I’ll go first. (We’ll do this backwards.)

My answer: yes, for the first three decades of my life food was definitely my primary entertainment and then I married someone who had the exact same hobby as me.

The question: is eating your hobby?

As we’ve well established, eating has been there for us when we’re having a huge emotion we don’t know how to deal with. Eating is there when we’re celebrating. Eating is there when we’re bored.

But do you also treat food like a good friend and a toy all packaged in one?

Here’s the thing, If you slowly take away one hobby – eating – something wonderful needs to replace it.

It would be cruel to take a toy from a toddler and not offer something equally as attractive in return.

For example, I love travel writing, but plenty would think, “but that’s work.” Right. But I enjoy it.

I don’t get hiking the Grand Canyon either, but plenty of people do it.

In your journal delve into what you love most in the world. Don’t expect immediate answers. Something might occur to you when you’re scrubbing the shower one afternoon.

Start by asking yourself these questions:

What part of my life is humming along beautifully and that I’ll keep in my life forever. . .

What is something that I love, but rarely do?

How do I navigate being bored, tired, drained, annoyed etc.?

And what method do I use to interrupt the, say, boredom?

I just really want. . .

I wish that. . .

Keep rolling the topic around and around in your mind.

(Small disclaimer: nobody lost weight and preserved the loss forever merely because they took up a new hobby. But having passions in life is just part of the bigger picture of losing-after-fifty.)

For me, my writing work took off around the same time that I lost the fifty-five pounds. I’d actually found something that I loved way more than food: writing and reading.

Thing is, it’s a big deal to give up all fast-food, not eat after 6 p.m., bring a cold-tote everywhere we go.

Taking away a favorite toy – food – is a cataclysmic change; be gentle with yourself and lose weight slowly.

And give yourself something amazing in return. ♥

Pearl Three

In Pearl Three we closely exam Atomic Habits.

In Atomic Habits James Clear tell us, “How to create a good habit.

• First law: (cue) make it obvious.
• Second law: (craving) make it attractive.
• Third law: (response) make it easy.
• The Fourth law (reward) make it satisfying.”

Clear says that of course there’s more nuance to developing a new habit, but this is a very good start. ♥

Pearl Four

I could say that the week got away from me, but the truth is while reading a book for our fourth pearl today, I got too embroiled in it. (After a thorough read, though, it’s not at the book-dessert level.)

I was considering one of these funny books.

The first two books look excellent if you want to lighten your mood. I don’t know about the third. I’ll read it and share it if here.

Comedy Comedy Comedy drama : a memoir by Bob Odenkirk. Bob is the guy who played “Saul” in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. I have a feeling it’ll be a great read.

Hello, Molly!: a memoir by Molly Shannon of SNL fame. I’m looking forward to reading this one.

Just being curious I googled “the best of the funny books”, and this popped up.

Titled, the Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (1937-1969), it falls into the “humorous fiction” genre.

After I read these three, I I’ll share my thoughts. And if anyone has read one these books, please share in the comments below!!

I need a weekend of laughter. ♥

Pearl Five

One day you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through and it will be someone else’s survival guide.” ♥

Brene Brown

Have a fantastic 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!

You know the scoop: I’m an Amazon affiliate. If you buy from a link in my post, I’ll receive money, but the arrangement won’t cost you a dime.

I am not an expert, a doctor, a surgeon, a nurse or a nutritionist: the information within TheInspiredEater.com is based solely on my personal experience and is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. ♥