The Inspired Eater
Author

Wendy

Browsing
In December + Holiday Eating

They’re Doing What?! Why This is Not a Smart Eating “Strategy”

No Comments

We adults can take “a teachable moment” from the cutest among us.

Pearl One

I just read that some folks are going off their weight loss med in December – to allow for chowing over the holiday – but plan to re-start the med in January.

Oh, boy, but facepalm.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against the new medications (although I do hope that long-term side effects are minimal).

My concern is that the people going on and off the med aren’t learning anything. They want a magic pill to keep them in line and aren’t working to embed the muscles needed for a lifetime weight loss.

Thing is, whether we use a med, a stomach surgery or the old-fashioned method, everyone can learn how to preserve their loss for a lifetime. They only need curiosity and an understanding of the muscle’s importance in their life. It’s possible to lose for a lifetime, as long as we’re willing to put in the work.

As you know, I encourage us to preserve only during the Season of Calories, and spend December strengthening our habits. I always say, habits first and the scale will follow.

Like the folks going on and off the med, I’ve known people who had a gastric bypass surgery and went off the plan by “eating around their sleeve.” I found one woman throwing up at the dog park because her stomach refused the Chicken McNuggets and fries she was attempting to eat. Another – dear friend — had the gastric sleeve surgery, but continued to overeat and ended up making the surgery null and void.

Some might think, “Oh, what does it matter? So what if I stay on the med forever and only go off at certain times of the year. I mean, I can afford it. It’s the perfect solution!”

To that, I say this: you know how babies fall down over and over before they learn to walk and even when they do walk, they resemble “a drunken sailor?”

The baby had been a helpless newborn but then learned to sit up by herself and to crawl before taking on the Herculean work of learning to walk.

But what if the baby — after a few painful, frustrating attempts at walking — gave up thinking, “this is madness. Who needs this kind of frustration and pain? I’ll just chillax with my bottle; the adults seem to like carrying me around.”

And yet an entirely new world opens to the baby who sticks with the difficulty and learns to walk.

Well, what if it’s the same for us? What if we grownups are supposed to learn and grow as we face obstacles? Maybe we’re not meant to just kick back with our food-bottle anymore than the baby with her actual bottle. Truth is, if you find an easier way to lose weight — I say, go for it –, but when you’re ready to learn how to preserve for a lifetime, come have coffee with me. ❄️

Pearl Two

Preserve Your Hard work in December. Even if you won the cheesecake and pies at an auction for your grandson’s high school band fundraiser, don’t welcome the cheesecake and pie into your kitchen. These beautiful desserts are not your friend and don’t wish you well. (I’m sorry, but someone has to say it.)

Keep asking yourself our super star question: do I want to be a size 8 or do I want to eat the cheesecake? Gift the cheesecake and pies to the local police or fire station who will be thrilled to rescue you from the calories. ❄️

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.

Automatic Sequence

Chosen Sequence

  • Situation (something very concrete): In Christmases past my grandma made special Italian cookies for us.
  • Chosen Thought: “I’m massively thankful that she was my grandma.”
  • Feeling: A little burst of “happy.”
  • Action: I want to bring Gram a little more into the holidays.
  • Result: I bring out her extremely old tins that were used for holding cookies and display them in a pretty way. (I already have a ton of photos out and I don’t have the cookie recipes.) ❄️

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy.

About halfway through Open House by Elizabeth Berg I recognized a scene that I’ve always remembered but hadn’t remembered in which book the scene took place. It was this one! (Kind of cool.)

Open House came out in 2000 and is about a a husband who wants a divorce, leaving his wife, Sam, to live in the home with their eleven year old son. We see an angry Sam going on a spending spree laying down $12,000 dollars at Tiffanys. It sounds sad, but it’s a total upper.

I really love that Berg’s novels aren’t behemoth-sized and get into the story quickly. I loved Open House — total book-dessert. ❄️

Pearl Five

The only person who can pull me down is myself, and I’m not going to let myself pull me down anymore.” — C. JoyBell ❄️

Gift alert for Kids! These true stories are ones that I read to my sons. All four of these books would make wonderful gifts for kids ages 3 to 9. Really you can’t go wrong with these four stories.

Fiction stories. Do you know the Henry and Mudge stories? They are the most heart-warming stories ever. I read Henry and Mudge aloud to my kids and later the boys used the books the books as they were learning to read. They are sweet times 1000.

  • Henry and Mudge a box collection made of the six first Henry and Mudge books.
  • This Henry and Mudge box collection holds every book of the boy and his dog.

Eight days and ten hours to lift off!

♥, 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, dietician, 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.

by
Read More
In December + Holiday Eating

How to Hack What the Movie-People Have Always Hacked

No Comments

Pearl One

Iron Man opens to “Back in Black.” Star Wars to its iconic opening’s symphony piece. And The Lion King to “Circle of Life.”

We even know a show’s name solely by it’s opening music: “I’ll be there for you” and “there’s this story of a lovely lady…”

The power of music. Hollywood and the ad guys have understood for decades how to use music to send chills of excitement up and down our spines, to set the scene, and to foreshadow what’s to come. (Think of the scary opening of Jaws. The da-da-dum was created with a piano and tuba. It’s a sequence we’ll never forget.)

Parents do it for babies and young kids when they sing lullabies. School House Rock used it to teach us about all kinds of things from grammar to the government.

Music is its own super power.

There are so many ways to use music for our highest good as we make this trek up the “lose after fifty” mountain. Let’s choose the right song to get through difficult days or difficult long-term projects.

We already use music for workouts, but we can also use it for any difficult moment. Why not play “upper” songs the next time you’re dealing with difficult family, or terrible red tape, or grief and sadness.

These are my go-to songs today that I wish I’d had as a teen: “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”, “Roar” and “Born this Way. When you have a moment, play with this idea of music as therapy. Create your favorite “mood” songs list and use it to support yourself through the toughest of times. ❄️

Pearl Two

Run, don’t Walk. Faux eggnog (I add the rum.) Tiny gingerbread men. Boozy Macarons. Yum-city. All three are found in Trader Joe’s. All three are way lower in calories than their regular counterparts.

The fun food I also love to have during the holidays: candy canes or popcorn drizzled in chocolate. If I really want something tasty, I’ll save it for tomorrow’s morning coffee. ❄️

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.

Automatic Sequence

I’m speaking as if I’m Susan.

  • Situation (something very concrete): I see the oncologist on Thursday.
  • Thought: Both Tracy and Jackie died of what I have. I’ll lose my hair.
  • Feeling: Terrified.
  • Action: I overeat.
  • Result: I wait with fear for the appointment and feel bad about my body.

Chosen Sequence

  • Situation (something very concrete): I see the oncologist on Thursday.
  • Chosen thought: I’ve gotten through hard times in the past and I’ll get through this newest battle now. I will focus on Groucho Marx who said, “patience is the art of finding something else to do.”
  • Feeling: Surprised. I hadn’t looked at it that way. (One does need a lot of patience when dealing with everything medical.)
  • Action: In finding something to do while I’m patient for the conclusion to my health issue, I’ve decided to adopt an older, small dog whose energy matches mine. I’ll likely fuss over her and take her to the small dog park.
  • Result: My rescue-dog is home with me and I’ve named her “Truffles.” ❄️

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy!

I’m just getting into Earth’s the Right Place for Love by Elizabeth Berg and I’m wondering why I hadn’t found this writer sooner. She’s not only good, but she’s prolific too so we a lot to choose from.

This story just came out in 2023 and it falls under the genre literary fiction. I’m halfway into this one and it’s an excellent read. Five star book-dessert. I think you’ll like it. ❄️

Pearl Five

There is just no getting around that turning bad things into good things is up to you.” ❄️

Deepak Chopra

I’m thinking about doing a four-night cruise with friends in early 2026. I noticed how just thinking about the plans have given me a little jolt of happiness.

Have a great week!!

♥, Wendy p.s. I’m still looking for those who live with scarfers!

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, dietician, 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.

by
Read More
In December + Holiday Eating

Want to Feel Elated Come January? How to Strategize the Days of December for a Happy New-You!

6 Comments

It’s “sweater-weather” if you watch SNL.

Pearl One

As beautiful and wondrous as December can be, it also delivers a wallop of calories, calories, and more calories.  It’s a difficult month for everyone; the “live a little!” vibe seems to permeate every corner of the season.

So, I figured what we need is a solid December-eating game plan that sees us playing offense rather than defense.

Pull out your journal for strategizing the holiday. For example, each morning let’s journal-write about where the obstacles will likely be for that particular day. Let’s write down the toughest parts of the day and then add a solution to each difficulty. Again, we’re making a new plan each morning.

Agreeing to write a new mission plan for each day in December encourages us to engage with our unconscious well before we go off course and eat willy-nilly.

So, in my journal tomorrow morning I might write something like this:

Tuesday December 12-3-24

Obstacle #1: I know there’s leftover apple pie in the fridge, but since Matt loves it so much I won’t squirt ketchup on it and throw it in the trash.

My game plan: I’ll wrap the pie slice and hide the visual from myself in the fridge. (I use my “out of sight, out of my mind” muscle every single day).

Obstacle #2: I have lunch with Julie today. She picked meeting at La Creama because it’s close to her office.

My game plan: first, before I leave the house, I’ll pull up the La Creama’s menu online. I will see quickly that this adorable bakery and lunch spot is calorie-central. I study the menu on my screen for a long moment – because the menu is brimming in high calorie food — and then finally pick the egg and bagel sandwich with cream cheese on the side so I can smear a little on versus the thick smears they may spread on the bagel. I specifically need to ask that cream cheese be placed on the side. (But if the sandwich shows up with cream cheese on the bagel, I scrape most it off and use just a little.)

As I’m perusing the menu I see in the kid’s section a “fresh berry cup.” I’ll order that too. (Occasionally I order from the kid’s menu because the portion size is so good. ) I write it all down so I won’t forget when it’s time to order.

Then I take a good long look at the menu and try to find a good Plan B if Plan A doesn’t work for some reason. Plan B will be La Creama’s oatmeal with blueberries along with the fruit cup. I write my game plan out and put the paper into my purse.

Once at La Creama I order the egg and bagel sandwich with cream cheese on the side and the fresh fruit cup. I notice how easy I’ve made restaurant-dining easier for myself.

La Crema is known for its excellent coffee so that’s where I put my focus for the lunch. I order my favorite latte.

I also consciously decide to pick a table away from the display case of gorgeous calories because I know that the food is meant to be alluring. I consciously remind myself why I’m at La Creama in the first place: to see Julie and catch up and not dig into the food-porn.

Obstacle #3: After lunch, I plan to visit a specialty food shop to get a Christmas gift for my son. The food shop will be a challenge because like La Creama, the place is brimming in stunning calories.

My game plan: If I’m getting a mite hungry, I eat the banana I brought in my cold-tote (placed in the side pocket) to take the edge off my hunger before I head into the store.

Why am I hungry after lunch? Julie and I talked a long while after we’d eaten. And since I never stuff myself, I’m often hungry about two hours later. Hence the banana. (I don’t play the I’ll-be-fine game.

When you wake up in December, write a new obstacle plan for yourself and remember December is all about preserving our current weight and taking what I call a “holding” break.. This month our priority is strengthening our habits. That”s it! ♥

Pearl Two

In my history, I was snacking too much to ever feel all that hungry. Looking back, I thought everyone left Mexican restaurants feeling Thanksgiving-stuffed. That was me: I overate and then went back to hardcore dieting. Overeat, then under-eat. Over and over the pendulum would swing for almost three decades.

Today I literally never overeat. My goal is to walk away from the table with my stomach on neutral. I don’t feel full or empty; my stomach loves to live somewhere in the space between hungry and full.

Let’s spend this holiday season never once stuffing ourselves or under-eating. This holiday season it’s all about preserving our smart habits. ♥

Pearl Three

Sequencing is taken directly from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The purpose of sequences is to help us move from knee-jerk reacting to responding to circumstances. I encourage you to do a sequence a day in your journal. Powerful stuff.

Default Sequence

Chosen Sequence

  • Situation: My Husband makes fun of me and says that if I was going to lose weight it would have happened by now. He rolls his eyes.
  • Chosen thought: I’m an individual inside this marriage. Jack might not get the point of what I’m doing and that’s okay. He can have his own thoughts.
  • Feeling: I’m feeling proud that I had my own back enough to say, “we don’t need to eat the same way and we can a loving relationship.”
  • Action: Pulls out journal and starts writing about herself.
  • Result: Our girl stays on the Smart Eating Path and her husband eventually gets it. But most importantly she gets it. ♥

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy.

Hello Molly! by Molly Shannon saw me “making the conscious choice” to read past my bedtime thinking, “just one more chapter.”  This funny woman from Saturday Night Live opens with the car accident that killed both her mom and little sister when Molly was just four-years-old. It sounds sad which of course it is, but then Hello Molly! spins into the most amazing stories of her child and young adulthood.

She’s sixty, my age exactly. And the things she was doing in the 1970’s is unforgettable. (I might have “doorbell ditched” as a kid, but I never was as cool as Molly.)

Also, it wasn’t a hop, skip and jump to SNL for Molly. She graduated at age of twenty-two (give or take) and didn’t join SNL until she was thirty-five. Those thirteen years in between was Molly hustling like you wouldn’t believe. She’s the epitome of a go-getter to the core. If you love memoirs, Hello Molly! Is an outstanding book-dessert. ♥

Pearl Five

I already know what giving up feels like. I want to see what happens if I don’t.”

Neila Rey

Please join me this week in being imperfect and going for it anyhow.

And if you’ve enjoyed this post please send to a friend!

Just 22 days and 13 hours until Christmas! Yikes.

♥, 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. ♥

by
Read More
In November + Thanksgiving

How I Don’t Go Holiday Haywire with the Fun-Food

2 Comments

Pearl One

People often have asked, how I’ve “done it.” No secrets at all about it. Here’s exactly how I’ve navigated challenging holidays like the week of Thanksgiving that we have coming up.

One: How I to Talk to Me

I remind myself, “Lady, Thanksgiving is but one day, not two or three or four. Actually? It’s just one meal”, I lean on this thought heavily throughout every holiday, but especially during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

If I’m feeling blue along the way as if I’m “missing out,” I gently remind myself of the fun I have to look forward to in 2025.

I’m never a drill sargent, I show a thoughtful respect towards myself. My attitude is that I’m important, and what I want is important so I’m definitely keeping myself on the Smart Eating Path this holiday week (with the help of a handful of smart tips).

Two: Create an “Exit” Plan for Leftovers

I mean who doesn’t love Thanksgiving leftovers? Come on. The leftovers practically have their own holiday. To all of us who grew up in the clean-plate-parent era. it’s been drilled into us that wasting food is awful-slash-ungrateful given how many are hungry in the world, or went hungry during the Great Depression.

But if we’re full enough, why does throwing food into our stomachs sound like a better plan than tossing food into the trash? Makes no sense. One of my mom’s friends used to say, “the food can go to waste, or it can go to waist.” Now, there’s some wisdom.

This year, build an “exit” plan for leftovers: in your mind — or better, on paper – detail who can take which leftovers with them. I suggest even buying these cute to-go containers that you’ll look forward to using, are inexpensive and super adorable. These are perfect for Thanksgiving and both of these for Christmas here and here. These are so fun I wish that I was having guests this year so that I could use these containers.

If your guests won’t take leftovers leave them at your – or your partner’s – lunchroom on Friday. And don’t forget the huge family in the cul-de-sac would likely love holiday cookies and half of a pie. Same with the single person who doesn’t have a crowd to cook for.

But the name of this game: get the calories out of the house! Your stomach is not a trash can. ♥

Three: Create Your Own Smart Jewelry

Just like wedding rings symbolize marriage and all that entails (love, fidelity, going thrifting together when a good pal can’t make it), this amazing tool comes to us from neuro-linguistic programming (NLP).

As you’re dressing each day during the week of Thanksgiving, pick one piece of jewelry and intentionally infuse the piece with meaning. Here’s what I do: I pick a ring, bracelet, scarf or manicure and tell myself that this ring symbolize my intent to stay on the Smart Eating Path for the week or the day of Thanksgiving.

I infuse into the ring how much I care about maintaining my Smart Eating Lifestyle and all that I will do to stay the course. I commit to the following. I will:

  • “eat before I eat” over the entire week of Thanksgiving. Curbing my appetite is key for me.
  • keep my portions sane (like the size of a fist).
  • plan to take a thirty-minute walk listening to my playlist labeled, “Please take my mind off food!” For me that’s Linda Ronstadt, Cher, Aretha, Whitney, Prince and all the gang!

The jewelry needs to be a piece that you don’t often use and one that you’ll be able to see on Thursday (in the U.S.) so earrings or tiaras are a “no.”

Think: a beautiful bracelet, a ring you don’t normally wear, even unusual nail polish; the idea is that every time you see the ring, bracelet or your index fingernail in pink when all the rest are in white, you’ll think, “Yep, I’m staying committed to the Smart Eating Lifestyle.” Having something external that’s in the moment with you is like having a little friend along for support.

The takeaway: in the hoopla of the holiday, infuse jewelry with meaning that reminds you of your main mission (making sure January first-you is thrilled because holiday-you didn’t go Cookie Monster on the holiday calories and throw her under the bus).

Four: the Magic of Micro-rewards

I make deals with myself: I tell myself that if I stick with my Thanksgiving eating plan, I’ll have a pedi the following Monday. Or maybe I’ll stick with smart eating plan and reward myself with extra hours to read a really fabulous book that takes me back to 1938 Manhattan (The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles).

We’re on an arduous trek: keep the fun, lose the calories. ♥

Pearl Two

Keeping it short and snappy: guys, want to hear what the thin people have always known? If the pie is their favorite food on Thanksgiving, they eat a super light meal — or no meal at all — and make pie their real meal!! Guess what I’m having for Thanksgiving? ♥

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.

Default Sequence

  • Situation (something very concrete): It’s Thanksgiving Day in just three days.
  • Thought: Scenario one thinks “I’m not doing anything or seeing anybody. I’ll overeat due to loneliness” while scenario two thinks, “I’m doing too much and dealing with a boatload of people. I’ll end up overeating out of sheer frustration and stress.”
  • Feeling: A little blue in the former scenario. Overwhelmed and scattered in the latter.
  • Action: Scenario one drives to the local Taco Bell and gets “dinner.” Scneario two attempts to delegate cooking duties only to realize that nobody knows anything about her kitchen. Result: Both scenarios see each person feeling sad and drained.
  • Result: In scenario one, “I sat on the couch, ice cream bowl in hand.” In scenario two, “I was exhausted by the end of the day and crawled into bed.”

Chosen Sequence

  •  Situation (something very concrete): It’s Thanksgiving Day in just three days.
  • Chosen thought: Scenario one thinks, “I need to remind myself over and over that I might be alone for Thanksgiving, but I have a great trip in April with my favorite girlfriend group.” and scenario two thinks, “I need to plan how the cooking of the meal goes so it doesn’t all fall on me. I need to keep this thought with me: “Don’t worry about being perfect. Make memories.” (Thank you to Nanen Hoffman for this gem.)
  • Feeling: Scenario one feels more included, less isolated. Scenario two feels a friendly calm descending.
  • Action: Scenario one spends the evening with a good book. Scenario two continues cooking and baking, but with more ease, not as frantic.
  • Result: Scenario one spends the evening reading a good book looking forward to the coming year. Scenario two chills long enough to enjoy her guests and all of the special food. ♥

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy.

Book-Dessert Alert! The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré is a coming-of-age novel by a powerhouse of a new writer. Her daughters encouraged her to write her first book and omg is it good. Daré has an MA in creative writing from Birkbeck, University of London along with other degrees. The woman can write.

And because every one loved her first book so much she wrote a sequel that’s also getting raves. And So I Roar is the amazing sequel. These two books paired together would make a fantastic gift for any reader (14+). Five thumbs up for this book-dessert. ♥

Pearl Five

A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results.” ♥

Wade Boggs

One fun idea for the big upcoming holiday is a great movie. I’m hearing from people I trust that the new Wicked movie that just came out is AMAZING. As in, the movie knocks it out of the park which I’m so happy to hear. I took my sons when they were younger to see Wicked on Broadway and the live show was off-the-hook, so it’s wonderful to know that the movie can hold its own with the Broadway show. (I know of a mom and her daughter who see movies on the big holidays because they don’t have family nearby.) ♥♥♥

♥, 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, dietician, 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.

by
Read More
In November + Thanksgiving

The Art of “Holding” — This Is Not Your Mother’s Plateau

No Comments

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 met 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. The book was 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.

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.

by
Read More
In Cozy Falls

Make Smart Eating More Convenient (how batching uplevels our productivity)

2 Comments

Pearl One

Did I mention that I had twins in 2003? My great aunt Martha also had twins, but she had hers way back in the 1940s.

That first year with my babies, I walked around in a stupor often wondering how on earth Aunt Martha survived that first year with twins without basic conveniences: no dishwasher, no luxury twin stroller, no Diaper Genie?!”

Convenience. Big fast-food has stolen the very idea of “convenience food” and kept it as their very own, but it’s high-time we take it back.

Fast-food appeared on the culinary-landscape back in the Roaring Twenties in the last century.

Back then, nobody could have foreseen how family-owned hamburger-stands would morph into behemoth corporations that are today offering “meals” drowned in sugar, salt, saturated and trans fats, and processed preservatives.

By the 1970s fast-food became an integral part of our diet. What started as a novel meal to have once in a while, sprouted into 36.6 percent of us eating fast food on any given day.

Fast-food has turned into fatty-liver food.

How I Batch “the Work” & Make it More Fun

Here’s my plan for taking back convenience. Any Sunday afternoon (I block it out on my calendar), you’ll find me in the kitchen, glass of wine by my side, and Linda Ronstadt on the playlist doing the following:

  • Slicing apples (a little lemon on apples keeps them from browning), bagging red grapes and strawberries.
  • Cooking and bagging many servings of brown rice.
  • Hard boiling four or five eggs.
  • Bagging baby carrots in individual servings (it’s a habit to eat baby carrots when I run errands).
  • Baking homemade muffins (banana, pumpkin or apple).

Keeping easy to grab smart food at your fingertips is a key to a forever-loss. The whole idea is to adroitly side-step the endless fast-food drive-thrus that pepper our world and keep your refrigerator packed in healthy “easy to grab food. ” ♥

Pearl Two

You know the theory that says our bodies have a “set weight point” and that we can’t change it? My experience has been the absolute opposite. Here’s how I did it.

My theory is that when we lose weight quickly our bodies default into survival-mode (go cavewoman). To you and me we’re merely eating smart food and working to get down to our preferred weight.

But to our cavewoman – the one who kept our ancestors from being eaten many years ago – our very life is at stake. The cavewoman feels us “under-eating” and wakes up to save us from dying. Remember: she has one job and she’s superb at it.

The sure way to wake her up is to lose weight rapidly. To keep her snoozing pretend that you’re walking around on tiptoes allowing your baby to sleep. Our only goal is to keep our cavewoman blissfully unaware by losing weight slowly. We don’t want to panic her. Panicking her is where the problems start.

Let’s say you’ve lost ten pounds, but want to lose twenty more. Don’t get disappointed if the scale’s number won’t budge or you still can’t fit into the pants size you want. If you’re on the path to losing weight, your body simply needs time to adjust.

In the old days, “I’ve a hit a plateau” meant that we were doing something wrong or that the diet itself was a dud. Too many days of a plateau saw us “give up” and return to “eating normally again” (aka overeating).

It’s time to take back plateaus for the supportive angels that they actually are. I hit several plateaus when I was losing. I’m not sure where it came from, but something inside told me that a plateau was a valuable shift, not something bad, but something really good. I started to see plateaus as necessary because my body needed time to adjust to the new normal.

And, it’s not just our body that needs time to adjust: our minds do too. Say we have a woman who wants to lose thirty pounds. Our example goes to sleep weighing 180 pounds, she’s visited overnight by her fairy godmother who waves her wand and in the morning our example wakes up at 150 pounds. Problem is, in her heart she still “feels fat” and ends up eating herself back to 180 to keep her weight congruent with the thoughts about herself. She didn’t feel 150 and the number freaked her out. It’d be similar to having a baby one month and a high school teen the next.

So, when I was losing and hit a plateau, I’d tell myself, “I’m strengthening and holding, strengthening and holding, strengthening and holding.” I learned to be chill with plateaus because I saw them as proof that my smart eating plan was working.

If you’re in a plateau respect the time that your body is taking to adjust to your new size. When you next hit a plateau tell yourself, “I’m strengthening and holding, I can and am doing this.” (Print this pearl out and tape it on a wall near your scale.) ♥

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.

Default Sequence

  • Situation (something super concrete):  A dear friend ghosted me. I haven’t spoken with her in five years now.
  • Automatic thought: It was a friendship that I wanted to retain for so many reasons.
  • Feeling: Sad and angry at myself for not maintaining a quality friendship.
  • Action: Five years ago, I tried calling her several times and left messages but heard nothing back.
  • Result: Beating up on myself.

Chosen Sequence

  • Situation (something super concrete):  A dear friend ghosted me. I haven’t spoken with her in five years.
  • Chosen thought: people can outgrow each other. What felt right in the beginning can shift over time.
  • Feeling: more in the flow of things. The thought “normalizes” that my friend and I no longer speak.
  • Action: I give myself permission to feel better.
  • Result: I try to keep in mind that it isn’t always “all about me.” Sometimes, something else is going on in another person’s life that really has nothing to do with me. ♥

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy

It’s so cool to find a new author to follow and I’ve found one in Small Pleasures: a Novel by Clare Chambers. Set in 1950s England a woman with a humdrum life finds excitement. Called a “literary tour-de-force” Small Pleasures has been long-listed for the women’s Prize for Fiction. I’m just now into Small Pleasures and highly recommend. I’ll read her second book next. ♥

Pearl Five

Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.” Andy Rooney ♥

Question for you. Do you live with a scarfer and would you like to “talk” about it? I’m writing on the subject of scarfers and need “been there” stories. A scarfer can range from “delicacy eating” to huge portion-eating. If you have one of these, I hope you’ll reach out! Wendy@theInspiredEater.com.

Have a beautiful 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.

by
Read More
In Cozy Falls

It’s True? They’ve Been Spinning Stories All These Years?

1 Comment

Pearl One

Hello Thrivers!

If you haven’t yet read the Aunt Bea booklet (this blog won’t make sense without it), just shoot me an email Wendy@theInspiredEater.com and I’ll get it right to you. ♥

Popular opinion tells us that we “should” be able to lose two pounds a week meaning eight pounds by the beginning of December.

Right?

No, in fact wrong. Like you, I was shooting for this two pounds a week business for decades too, it’s no wonder we feel defeated when attempting to maintain a pant-size. The two pounds a week idea actually hurt us because lose too quickly, and we risk waking up our cavewoman.

The two-pound-a-week metric started back in the ‘50s. I won’t bore you with the details, but a science guy decided that to lose one to two pounds a week we needed to both lower our caloric intake by 500 calories and essentially run five miles a day. (He actually said burn up 500 calories a day with exercise and that’s a 30 to 40 minute run).

See how crazy?

Yet our diet-cartel has stuck with the story that we can lose one to two pounds a week. And if we don’t? Welp, so sorry but that’s on us. The cartel has done the math, created charts and explained in official sounding language that we could lose one to two pounds a week if we’d only try. (Eye roll emoji here.)

They Never Promised Us a Rose Garden, Except They Did and Still Do

And why isn’t the diet-cartel more truthful? Because how would they make billions telling their customers (us) that what they hope to achieve is three to four years into the future? They would have no customers.

So nobody tells us the truth.

Problem with losing one to two pounds a week is that our bodies weren’t made to lose eight pounds in a month. Our brains evolved to save our body from starvation, so the moment our brain perceives a quick drop in weight, our cavewoman brain takes control and heads for anything super high-caloric.

She thinks we’re dying and that she’s saving us.

Let’s Begin with a Magic Wand

Let’s say I have a magic wand and wave it over everyone who wants to lose weight and poof! we’d all agree that the smartest way to lose is the following:

  • Lose slowly so that you don’t panic your cavewoman.
  • A plateau is a positive! We know that plateauing is vital to giving our body time to adjust to the new weight. (Remember: Be thrilled that you’re strengthening and holding. It’s a good thing.)
  • Dropping a pound a week is pah-lenty.
  • Counting new habits we’ve put in place deserve more of our focus than the number on the scale (I don’t think people believe me, but is a rock-solid truth).
  • Expecting that losing weight is akin to going to college. We get that it takes four years to get an undergraduate degree. And two to four more years to get a masters or a PhD. Look at losing weight as a three to five year project involving a lot of new habits formed.

I’m eighteen years past my initial loss and – to this day – I record what I eat daily, embrace a smart eating plan, extinguish bad habits as soon as I notice one forming (they’re sneaky), read habit books on the regular, set new habits for myself, and get sweaty 30 minutes every day.

Embed strong habits and positive mind-shifts re: food and watch your pant-size trend down. ♥

Pearl Two

Oprah once said, “It’s great to have a private jet. Anyone that tells you that having your own private jet isn’t great is lying to you.”

That said, if someone tells you that being lean and developing strong food habits isn’t great is lying to you too.

After a lifetime of heft, it feels wonderful to have lost the fifty-five and maintain the loss for eighteen years now.

As you go through the holidays pull out every tool in your smart eating arsenal.

  • Befriend your notebook: journal-writing therapy is one of the coolest tools to get to know yourself better. 
  • Eat using the Drip, Drip, Drip plan (found inside Aunt Bea). I’ll say it a gazillion times: one reason we succumb to fun-food is that we’re merely hungry. Have a banana, a teaspoon of peanut butter, or a small container of your favorite yogurt. Poof hunger gone!
  • Take mini-walks to clear your head.
  • Relish the many parts of holidays that are so beautiful: the music, friendly people everywhere, and the gorgeous holiday decor. I pointedly notice a neighbor’s beautifully decorated front porch and I love seeing the door wreaths. I purposely put on our screen A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and let it run in the background with a very low volume to “decorate” our November-lives.

At one time, the holiday season for me was one long food-fest. I’d go to sleep stuffed. I’d tell myself that I just couldn’t resist.

Turns out I was wrong. Learning to resist was one of the best habits I’ve ever created for myself.

Give yourself the gift of being wrong today. You can make a new habit with yourself of declining the holiday food free-for-all. Plan to wake up on January first having slayed it, totally thrilled that you didn’t succumb to the season of calories.♥

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.

Automatic Sequence

  • Situation (something super concrete): The Scarfer buys stuff for sons in the fall like new towels.
  • Thought: Why can’t he wait and make these items into Christmas gifts? Because duh.
  • Feeling: Annoyance.
  • Action: I tell him how dumb he is.
  • Result: The Scarfer’s mad at me.

Chosen Sequence

  • Situation (something super concrete): The Scarfer buys stuff for sons in the fall like new towels.
  • Chosen thought: Christmas is fifty-one days away. He noticed that our sons towels were full of holes. (They each get their own color and handle their own wash, so I hadn’t noticed.) The Scarfer claims our sons had towels that were practically not usable.
  • Feeling: Touched at how caring he was towards his sons.
  • Action: Thanked him for being so good to our guys.
  • Result: I start buying Christmas presents hoping he’ll subtly get the hint. Lol!

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy!

I love memoirs. I like to say that I’m nosy, but it’s more than that. How often in life do we really get to know someone’s background and thoughts and challenges and fun times? When I was eleven years old, my grandparents babysat for a week because my parents were in London for my dad’s job. We lived in Reno, Nevada at the time and my grandparents took us up to Tahoe to see a show. I was so excited because I was in my first pair of pantyhose. Life was thrilling.

That night we watched the opening act: a comedienne named Freddie Prinze who was the star of a comedy at the time called Chico and the Man. Even as a kid i could see how hilarious Prinze was. He died not long after at the very young age of twenty-two. Freddie opened for a duo who had one breakout hit that I knew from the radio: “Love Will Keep Us Together.” Yep, it was The Captain & Tennille. I remember Toni Tennille as being so interactive and friendly but the captain literally said one word the entire evening. They made a funny joke out of it, so my kid-brain thought that the couple was just being funny. Turns out, he was not a talker.

Much later Toni assumed Daryl was possibly on the autism spectrum. Her years with him were very difficult and after thirty-nine years of marriage she finally threw in the towel. They divorced in 2014 and it’s all detailed in a well-written, very interesting memoir Toni Tennille: A Memoir. I will always love a great memoir. Five stars: total book-dessert. ♥

Pearl Five

“It’s no use going back to yesterday because I was a different person then.”

Alice, Alice In Wonderland

No need to panic but we’re 51 days away from Christmas! Okay, join me in maybe panicking a little. If you want one of the best gifts I ever gave my teens (and then used myself): The Complete Calvin and Hobbes collection. A wonderful gift for kids and adults. Bill Waterson’s humor and drawings are for every age. And the coolest advent calendar gift I’ve seen: Bonne Maman 2024 Limited Edition Advent Calendar, 24 Mini Spreads. And for the baseball lover, the best book ever: The Top 100.

Happy starting “cleaning the house and buying gifts” 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.

by
Read More
In Cozy Falls

When Failure is Not an Option: Shifting Into High Gear

6 Comments

Candy has been a tough one for me this year, but I still haven’t yet raided the Halloween stash.

Pearl One

In 2010, my scarfer, twin six-year-olds, pup Ollie and I moved to the gorgeous state of Virginia in the U.S. We were so excited to be in a new state, new coast and have – after a lifetime in California – brand new experiences. All true, but also true:  I was in a mild, persistent state of depression every day for the first eight months.

I’m sharing the whole truth of the situation because I want you to know that you can stay on the Smart Eating Path even when circumstances are difficult. In fact, looking at ways to engage with our obstacles and not just drown them in ice cream, ends up making us stronger in the long run.

“Excusitis” is what the author David J. Schwartz calls a tendency to look for the excuse in his book The Magic of Thinking Big.  Excuses like “I’m bored of thinking about food all the time. I’m done!” or, “I have a chronic disease so forget smart eating for me.” One woman said, “when my grand kids visit, they want the junk-food at eye-level so it’s always at our house. I end up eating their leftovers!”

Hey, we’ll throw anyone under the bus looking for a good excuse.

Here’s what’s really happening: our cavewoman is throwing excuses at our prefrontal brain hoping one will stick. The cavewoman is trying to sell us on: “I’ll get back into it more seriously when I’m in retirement”, or “once I have a new part-time job” or “after Nick comes home from the Army and I’m not so stressed.”

The Key Takeaway

My point is that when I was losing and later preserving the loss, I didn’t let anything get in the way. Nothing came before my weight loss. I ran with the attitude of failure is not an option. I was on a mission and took my job very seriously. The same attitude came with me when i started preserving the loss.

To access your wisdom around giving up, meta-notice how you’re managing a particular situation and journal-write to these prompts:

  • What’s happening – from big to small — in your life right now?
  • Do you have your own back during difficult times?
  • When you think about your life and what you’re dealing with do you downplay the  significance?
  • Why did you want to join the Smart Eating Lifestyle in the beginning? Does your why need to be strengthened? Could it have gotten weaker while you weren’t watching?
  • Have you ever unconsciously jumped off the Smart Eating Path for a bit of time? How about consciously?
  • How many jumping off situations can you number?
  • Can you see a pattern to the times when you jumped off the path? What do the times have in common?
  • Do you tend to let “holiday eating” become a problem?
  • If you need a reason to get off the Smart Eating Path, what are you needing, what’s happening in your life right now?

The plan is always to shift away from “life is happening TO me” to “I’ve made a decision about my smart eating life.” Once you’ve been preserving your loss for maybe five years (or more) a traumatic event could develop in your life and — because your habits are so strong — you won’t seek comfort in food. 🎃

Pearl Two

Women don’t like the word “aggression” paired with our name. We prefer to see ourselves as assertive, focused, kind and polite. But to lose weight after age 50 with the plan to preserve the loss forever, we need to bring our best mama-lion energy to our trek up the forever-loss mountain. 🎃

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.

Default Sequence

Chosen Sequence

  • Situation (something very concrete): The Scarfer leaves stuff on an empty kitchen counters or tables.
  • Chosen Thought: I’ve started to think that the “clutter-gene” vs. “tidy gene” is built into us. Because I have two sons: one cluttery, the other tidy and yet they both appreciate a clean home. Really, The Scarfer is like the absent-minded professor and thinking of him in that term also helps to remember.
  • Feeling: a deeper understanding about the clutter. Also meta-noticing that I give my sons more compassion about the clutter vs. The Scarfer.
  • Action: We talk in kind tones about how to keep the dining room clutter down.
  • Result:  Things a tad cleaner, and I’m a tad happier. 🎃

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy

I have to say, one of the perks of getting older is that my memory is good enough that I know titles that I’ve read before, but can’t remember that story line. lol. So I can read and love them all again. If you haven’t read theses three Amor Towles’s books, you’re in for some great reading!

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. I love novels that aren’t just an absorbing read, but also have a current of history living under the actual story. I turn the last page of an Amor Towles’ novel a better person or parent or friend; and definitely a more knowledgeable student of history. Holding its own with Gentleman is his second book titled Rules of Civility. Towles’s newest book Table tor Two a page turner of short — but really good — stories. 🎃

Pearl five

The middle is messy, but it’s where the magic happens.” 🎃

Brene Brown

Have a smart eating 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.

by
Read More
In Cozy Falls

How Identifying Our North Star Can Almost Seem Like Magic

2 Comments

Journal-writing is a legit inroad to engaging with yourself. It’s almost like magic.

Pearl One

You want a new solution to an old problem.

Your mom and grandmother wrangled with it, your sister after having two kids is wrangling with it and every podcast I listen to is chit-chatting about it. Wrangling with our weight: everyone has a story to tell.

I believe that having a strong why can take us places.

Reach for Your North Star

Establishing an ironclad why is a powerful way to move our project forward. Why do you want to achieve a forever-loss especially if you have an over-eater at home and why now?

As a one-time therapist, I’ve always known about journal-writing, but while it had seemed fluffy-nice to me I’d assumed that it didn’t produce hard-core results.

Egg on my face.

You and I were never taught that we have a very valuable, sophisticated super-computer atop our shoulders called the human brain. You, me, everyone has the finest brains on the planet and yet this truism isn’t appreciated or even acknowledged in our world. We only stare in awe at Einstein or Musk.

In fact, it’s become a thing in our culture to call ourselves “ditsy,” “scatterbrained” or “a dumb blonde.” Take Princess Diana who was visiting a children’s hospital and told an upset child, “I’m thick as a plank” attempting to provide comfort. In context the comment made sense, but the media went crazy with the quote and forevermore labeled Diana “dumb.”

The human brain is a marvel of nature. Ask your brain for help as you go forward; I Here’s the best way I know of to get in touch with our unconscious.

Journal-writing Review

One powerful way to access your brain’s brilliance is to engage with your unconscious through journal-writing. And – drum roll please — the cost is only a beautiful spiral-bound notebook, a solid pen that works and your curiosity.

The “rules” for your journal are the following:

  1. Plan to “free write” in your journal as we go forward on the Smart Eating Path. (Writing prompts to come.)
  2. Ignore what your middle school English teacher said about grammar, typos, run-on sentences, and misspellings; in our journal all are encouraged.
  3. Show this journal to nobody, it’s only for your private use.
  4. Feel free to doodle, use different colored pens, write down favorite quotes and so on.  
  5. Journal-write with consistency to help your unconscious feel more comfortable.
  6. Write in your journal five times in a week is fine.

The key to free-writing is that your unconscious needs to trust that you won’t laugh or sneer at what she reveals. She needs to understand that her thoughts will be respected and valued. Once she sees proof that you’re one-hundred percent in watch as the gems spill from your pen onto the page.

To begin identifying your why give the job to your prefrontal-brain And don’t assume that you need to come up with a deep reason overnight for wanting a forever-loss. Take your time, let your mind go and free-write to the following:

  • What strengths do you bring to any endeavor?
  • Do you remember a time (can be on any topic, not only food and weight) when you were super motivated and crushed it?
  • Can you identify what drove you to success that particular time?
  • Think of a second time when you were outrageously successful. Why did you pursue success as hard as you did? In your mind and in your journal, “stack” the two spectacular memories. Memorize the stack.
  • In general, how do you keep your momentum during the “messy middle?
  • If someone were to call you obsessive, what are you obsessive about?
  • What is the “fluffiest” reason you want a forever-loss?
  • What’s one of the deeper reasons?
  • What do you aim high for? Low for?
  • Would it be catastrophic if you don’t lose/preserve at this point in life? Why or why not?
  • How strong is your why? How can you strengthen it?
  • What does “immersing” yourself in your why mean to you?
  • Who/what means more to you than anything in the world and how are they connected to your forever-loss?
  • And from Mark Manson: what pain do you want in your life? What are you willing to struggle for?
  • Why now?  ♥

Pearl Two

Champagne-problems, I know, but can we talk hunger for a moment? I don’t think our world talks enough about hunger and how to deal with it. For example we’re not taught how to work with our stomach. In school we never sat through Managing Your Hunger 101.

So, here’s what I want to share with you. Yes, I’m a little ahead on this trek up the Matterhorn, but make no mistake, I’m still on the same trek as you.

Truth is, I couldn’t have written this post just a few years back. Yes, I’ve preserved my loss for eighteen years now, but I didn’t realize that I was engaging with my stomach in a whole new way. It’s kind of like when a young person gets her first pair of glasses and says, “I can see the leaves on the trees now.” True story.

The longer I preserved my weight the more I’d know whether I was faint-away hungry, bored-hungry, mildly hungry, moderately hungry etc. I’d been having conversations with my stomach and had no idea.

And you know what?! I can even tell you when I want something sweet versus savory, and what kind of texture I wanted: creamy or crunchy. (I LOVE a thriver’s idea to mix Grape-Nuts into yogurt Thank you C!)

Also I can actually — you won’t believe this — feel a touch of hunger and not stampede to the refrigerator!

My point, whether you’re actively losing or are now preserving, begin to engage with your stomach. See if you can identify when you have pass out hunger, mild hunger, or need a bite right now hunger.

It took me well over a decade before I could listen carefully to whatever my stomach was trying to tell me, so be patient and take it slowly. ♥

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.

Automatic Sequence

I’m writing as if I’m a client I had years ago.

  • Default situation (something super concrete): I’ve started a small business.
  • Immediate thought: I’m not loving work each day and haven’t made any money which makes the effort even harder.
  • Feeling: Deep sadness.
  • Action: I keep plowing through the work, but my heart isn’t into it at all.
  • Result: More days and nights of me talking myself out of continuing. I really want to bail and knowing me, I will.

New Sequence

  • Default situation (something super concrete): I’ve started a small business.
  • Chosen Thought: I tell myself to take a deep breath and then to write in my journal about the messy middle and how I’ve reacted to it in the past.
  • Feeling: Hopeful.
  • Action:  I put reminders to myself on my desk that nobody likes the messy middle. Through journal-writing I have a deeper understanding of why the messy middle has been such a deal-killer in the past and how I can steady my ship in this current storm.
  • Result: Having the deep understanding of my reaction to the messy middle will help me to sail through it. I continue on with my small business. If I hear myself saying, “Lets just throw in the towel” I pointedly tell myself, “there’s the messy middle troll annoying me again.” At that, I send her packing. ♥

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy

I thought these would be good for Halloween. I read the first book years ago and fell in love with Alice Hoffman’s writing. Everyone did, I’m fairly sure this is the book that put Hoffman on the map.

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman is a marvel of a read. The woman can write. If you missed it when if first came out, Practical Magic having its 25th anniversary this year. Practical Magic was the first in a trilogy. The second, The Rules of Magic: A Novel and Magic Lessons: the Prequel to Practical Magic. ♥

Pearl Five

 
“You don’t need to be helped any longer you’ve always had the power.”
Glinda the Good, The Wizard of Oz ♥

🎃, 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. ♥

3



by
Read More
In Cozy Falls

How I Responded When I “Hit Bottom” and How it Contributed to my Long-Term Success

2 Comments

Pearl One

I’d hit bottom and had a choice: I could fall into the black abyss of frustration or I could go “butterfly.”

I hit my own version of bottom in the late ‘90s. I was at my heaviest and was just done. I’d lost a little weight for my cousin’s wedding and – while I know this is a tired cliché – when I got a load of the family wedding photos it looked like someone had inflated my arms, legs and cheeks like balloons using a tire pump.

It just wasn’t me. I’d hit my version of bottom.

And the beauty of hitting bottom: you can either fall off the edge into the black abyss (give up and continue eating and growing, eating and growing etc. etc. ), or go through a metamorphosis.

I chose the metamorphosis route.

My brain was fed-up and calling BS on my lame insistence that silly diets or daunting fitness plans would ever work.

Because they don’t.

The deepest regions of my brain knew the unvarnished truth. I needed to stop acting innocently baffled – “I’m not sure why I keep gaining. The dryer must be shrinking my clothes” — and align myself with reality.

No more believing in lollipops and unicorns. It didn’t matter if I had an expensive Peloton in my bedroom or a membership to a five-star fitness club. It didn’t matter if I did the Marie Osmond or the Kirstie Alley plan (wait, aren’t they the same?), deep down I knew.

It was time for a major overhaul in how I dealt with food.

My BS days were over.

Don’t Ask What Your Smart Eating Plan Can Do For You

Here’s the thing: none of the eating plans like WW, Nutrisystem, slow carb, Jenny Craig, Noom and so forth “work.”

You work them.

Does it sound like I’m merely splitting hairs? Let me be clear: there’s a ginormous difference between “hoping” for success on such-and-such diet versus using your preferred food plan as a powerful tool to create a forever change in your life.

Ask What You Can Do For Your Smart Eating Plan

After hitting bottom and committing to a forever eating plan (in my case, Weight Watchers), here’s how I continued to take the reins over the size of my body:

  • I committed to a daily food journal. Almost two decades later, I still keep a daily journal of what I eat.
  • I read and read and read everything I can find on Big Food so that I can play better defense with an industry solely in it to create abundant profit. Big Food doesn’t care about you or me. That’s just the line we’ve been fed all these many decades. The companies pay ad people top-dollar to create feel-good campaigns that glorify the fun of junk-eating and who are only in it for the billions. It’s our job to recognize the reality as we shop.
  • I stopped using food and food-porn for entertainment.
  • In my preservation years, I’ve made a conscious decision to get more involved with my favorite things in life that don’t come with calories like my sweet animals and books that I can’t put down. I love listening to specific podcasts. I love to ride my outdoor recumbent trike. Sometimes I even like cleaning the house and making it cozier.
  • Almost forgot the wild birds. I love feeding the wild birds and sitting outside with coffee every morning watching them eat. (Have to add: I didn’t mention my kids because it’s a given that they’re my first and last thought of each day. Plus, they’re twenty-one now and don’t want to be my favorite thing at the moment.)

Journal-write to these two questions: What are your favorite things in life? And how can you turn up the volume on each? I understand that eating is fun, but how can you shift towards having a great time without food? 🎃

Pearl Two

Hey! If you’re ready to give up ice cream and cream cheese with little effort, this book is for you. Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn’t Food by Chris van Tulleken is an awesome intro to what we call “food” and how it’s made. The chapter on ice cream is worth the read all on its own. Same with cream cheese. The Scarfer tried to put cream cheese on a bagel for me the other morning until I went apoplectic on the poor guy and put a stop to what he was doing. I highly recommend this book.

Another book that I 3,000 percent recommend is Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight-Loss Drugs by Johann Hari. The author does a deep-dive into the good and the bad about the new weight loss meds.

It’s written by a journalist who wanted to lose weight himself so as the book opens we see Hari go on one of the medications. Hari stays amazingly balanced and fair throughout his research; he doesn’t take a position on either side of the medication debate. One more plus: he’s not boring. Some nonfiction books can drag, his does not.

These two books aren’t being included as book-desserts because while they’re super illuminating about their topic, they serve up good information rather than a compelling story. Still, they’re both fantastic.🎃

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.

Default Sequence

  • Situation (something very concrete): We have ten weeks until Christmas.
  • Thought: I think about pasts Christmases and all the work I had to do.
  • Feeling: Dread.
  • Action: I’m immobile.
  • Result: Nothing happens and I eventually end up rushing to get everything handled before the big day.

Chosen Thought Sequence

  • Situation (something very concrete): We have ten weeks until Christmas.
  • Thought: If I plan now, I can spread out the biggest jobs.
  • Feeling: I think that with planning this is workable.
  • Action: I sit down to write a plan of the many things I want to do.
  • Result: I write my plan and get on with it.

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy!

The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden: a Novel by Jonas Johansson. This guy is one of my favorite “feel good” authors. His dry wit is unparalleled. I actually reread his books because I see new jokes the second time around. If you’ve already read The Girl Who Saved, definitely read Sweet, Sweet Revenge, LTD. More dry wit with a story that will stay with you. I often see a book title and remember loving the story, but can’t really remember the plot. Not the case with Sweet, Sweet Revenge, LTD. I remember it well because the story is funny and so well told. Both books – all of Mr. Johansson’s books – are knock out book-desserts. 🎃

Pearl Five

“The most important thing in life is to stop saying ‘I wish’ and start saying ‘I will’. Consider nothing impossible then treat possibilities as probabilities.” -Charles Dickens 🎃

I’m so curious: are you currently working to embed a habit? I’d love to hear in the comments below what habit you’re currently working on. I always keep in mind the study out of England in 2009 that concluded it takes sixty-six days for our new habit to install itself into the automatic part of our brain. The first two weeks can be the hardest. if you’re at an obstacle while on the Smart Eating Path, always default to planning. Planning will have your back every time.

Have wonderful 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. ♥

by
Read More