A bit of mish mash post!
I'm still alive as you can guess.
I had a couple of very busy days but I survived them. On day 4 I had to be in town and didn't end up taking food with me. My appointments ran later than anticpated to I went to the co-op for lunch which meant a salad bar and hard boiled eggs. No oil to be found and so I just did vinegar and salt as a dressing. Not bad.
Today is day 6 and I woke up feeling less pain. I actually began to notice it yesterday when I took Molly for a walk. I managed to sprint! Walking still hurts but I discovered a while ago that if I have some spare energy and chose to gallop rather than stride, I could ease into a run/sprint and it felt much much better than "gentle" walking and so I have tried to build up my endurance in this way-nearly every walk I take my dog on invovles me at least galloping for a few seconds.
Also noted since the last post-small meals work fine for me if they are actually meals however it got me back into grazing more which meant that I felt somehow dissatisfied on some level. This is a "know thyself" moment. I realized that if I had my way I'd be eating chocolate and cookies in no time just out of bad habit. Having quite smoking once upon a time, I recognized where this was heading and so decided against it. Diet rule or not, we have to be responsible for ourselves.
My compromise as of now however is that I decided to have smaller main meals and to leave room for snacks if needed. That way I don't feel stuffed to the gills (I do feel that I must eat the entire plate!) but I am getting adequate nutrition. Perfect.
I have somewhat lost my craving for breads. I am tolerating my coffee with a shot of coconut milk. I am appreciating fats. And it may well be an illusion but I believe that my thighs are looking thinner and with less cellulite. One other possible illusion but I believe that my finer wrinkles are disappearing.
An update on the other blog-my job counselor has warned that if it becomes more about my personal beliefs it could work against me. She suggested that I focus on a single skill that I already have or want to improve on and which my writing can be assessed should an employer care to look. Its not the variety so much as the ability to write and explain concisely.
And so I have started another blog about sewing in the sense of living simply. A simple wardrobe, simple home things, simple mending. The Simple Seamstress over at Wordpress. I will definitley bring the link on over here soon. There is one post up-an introductory one that I hope to refine some more. I will take the other blog down because yes, it was going to be about personal political and beliefs-I just can't help it!
Why do I do this? Because I am addicted to blogging apparently!
P.S. the Labels to this post include the word "asparagus"-a spell check error? I can promise that no asparagus lost its life in this post.
Writing about facing your diet, challenged me to assess my own habits. I'm on about day three now on the foods which have proven to work for me in the past. I was feeling crook from eatng the old way, partly out of habit and partly out of stress reduction. Eating (like smoking I guess) is a compulsive habit to have something near one's mouth. Like you, I had to face that particular demon and say plainly, "look, you're not really working for me right now, so get out of my life, ok."
ReplyDeleteOn day one and two, I was pacing the pantry on the hour, sometimes twice an hour. I realised at some point, I was looking for comfort in my habit, more than the actual food. Because, like you now (and I've also experienced this before) I've noticed my wrinkles smoothing and the colour returning to my cheeks. Only after two days, David said he could see the pink in my cheeks again - I had grown accustomed to that pastey white complexion, telling myself its because I have kids. While kids can create some stress, I wasn't being entirely truthful about the situation. I was eating what I had in the cupboards and not really meal planning ahead. It takes a bit more energy to do that, but ultimately it gives you a lot more energy in the long run.
Its great to see you responding to the new diet though. Doesn't it always seem like an extreme step to take at first? But the results speak rapidly and confirm the right foods are what we really need for good health. I respond quickly to these kinds of diets, especially my blood glucose levels, they tend to smooth out like my wrinkles, lol. Why don't I eat like this all the time? For convenience. Now I've had my last baby and he's getting to be less of a "baby" I can get out of all those convenience habits I formed out of necessity to cope with lack of sleep and juggling new responsibilities.
I wondered if the personal beliefs would become a problem regarding the position you were looking for? Many of the agencies which use counsellors to help clients in Australia, have a no religious beliefs policy, even for those clients who may ask for a religious perspective. It's considered unprofessional I guess. Being as neutral a possible allows the client to arrive at their own solutions. It's different if you seek counselling from an organisation affiliated to a church. I guess they wanted clear boundaries for secular organisations to operate under.
Your new blog sounds interesting. I look forward to hearing more. And asparagus, lol, good for you health though, so maybe it fits? ;)
I'm proud of you Chris! And I can relate. But in the past I marveled at how strong you were at staying with your diet so I know you can do it now. Convenience is the mother of all dietary evil so I hope that you will plan ahead and keep your eye on the prize which is more precious than a cookie.
DeleteWhile I don't want to be spiritual outright on this blog, I do believe that Ram Dass has lots of practical solutions and its worth discussing them. One of them is that if you have certain negative (stress included) feelings its important to process them by doing something physical. A walk in fresh air, stretching, running or whatever it is that you count as physical. When I quit smoking there was a lot of eating but there was some walking which helped alot. I think that people who quite a bad habit underestimate the power of movement-we think that its a part of our health kick not that it works on some other level.
That is why I try to go out and walk/run-it helps me to detox the mental habits as much as it conditions my body.
I don't think that anybody is going to ask outright about my personal beleifs in interviews as that could be illegal but if they can look me up quietly and find out that I am not a conservative or a this or a that and they are, then I am giving them something to use against me and I don't even know it. So that is why I am being more careful. On the job, I wouldn't have a problem refraining from religious or political discussion because as you said, its not professional. I am not applying for spiritual advisor after all. Not yet:)
I love asparagus. lol.
I agree, movement is a great stabiliser of moods, because it works any chemical imbalance out of the system. It gives the adrenal gland a good work-out! :)
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