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Saturday morning… a little earlier & less well slept than I'd have liked to start the weekend, but otherwise feeling good & ready to tackle the day. As my Angel, Bella, reminded me, the weekend is another chance for me to practice the mindful eating skills I'm trying so hard to learn. And this weekend will give me ample opportunities as holiday central kicks off! We have 3 holiday parties tonight -- a work friend of DH's cocktail party from 5-8, DH's new boss's holiday party which starts at 7 (these are both about 1/2 hour away but near each other), then we plan to go late to a local dinner party hosted by a college friend of DH's. It will be a whirlwind of a night, so I plan to rest up today to prepare! I'm reading a book about being an introvert in an extroverts' world called "The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World". It's interesting to me & giving me some pointers for when I'm forced to be the social butterfly that while enjoyable for awhile ends up exhausting & depleting me, and sometimes sending me to food for energy & renewal. I'm realizing that its so important at those moments to be mindful and take that much needed pause so I can recognize that I'm hungry for rest, peace, solitude, rejuvenation, etc., which I won't find at the and of a sweet treat or sugar induced coma! Tonight will be an opportunity to put into action what I'm learning & use my new recognition and awareness skills.
Speaking of awareness, I also wanted to mention that as my retreat group is re-working the mindful eating retreat material one chapter at a time, each workbook chapter has exercises which so far have included keeping an awareness journal. It's been different each week so far & this week's has us logging each time we want to eat; our findings as we go through the body-mind-heart scan as to our physical sensations, thoughts & feelings; our hunger or fullness level before & after we eat: and a brief description of what we ate or did instead. I'm finding this really helpful & interesting, and hope it helps throughout the weekend as hunger (for food or other needs) arises. One interesting thing that I noted yesterday was as I was entering that I wanted a snack late morning. When I have tennis from 12-2, like yesterday, I'm never sure if I should eat lunch before or after or somehow split it. Yesterday I was a little hungry as I was getting ready to go (about a level 3) & decided to have a snack of lactose free yogurt with berries. As I was determining my hunger & entering it in my awareness journal, I automatically, without thinking entered my fullness level for after eating it, even though I hadn't even started. Granted I've eaten this same snack multiple times before, but obviously had a preconceived notion of how full I would or should feel after! It made me realize that even though I tend to eat many of the same foods, meals, etc., I still needed to be aware during and after each one of how I'm truly feeling!
So, with awareness as my goal today, I'll pray --
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
And for this one day, and each one meal, bite, emotion and forced extroverted social moment, I'll pray, breathe, log, post & express myself, taking breaks for rest whenever needed along the way. I'm so very, very grateful for each of fabulous you & this safe place, my family & IRL friends, my evolving spirituality and faith, taking baby steps toward awareness & mindfulness, and having the health & wealth to live this life I love… even if it does include a few too many parties for this introverted gal! xoxox
Diet Calendar Entries for 07 December 2013:
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762 kcal
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Fat: 28.19g | Prot: 37.13g | Carb: 100.57g.
Breakfast: Harmless Harvest 100% Raw Coconut Water, Green Valley Organics Lactose Free Plain Yogurt, Best Yet Mixed Berries, Spectrum Organic Virgin Coconut Oil. Lunch: Asian Pears, Turkey Breast Meat, Stew Leonard's Vegetarian Minestrone Soup. Snacks/Other: Emerald Raw Almonds, Wholly Guacamole 100 Calorie Snack Pack, Trader Joe's Fresh Vegetable Tray. more...
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1886 kcal
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Activities & Exercise:
Sleeping - 8 hours, Resting - 15 hours, Bicycling (fast) - 15/mph - 1 hour. more...
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