Overload

I don’t know about you, but typically we all overindulge ourselves during the Thanksgiving holiday feast. This was the first year I consciously decided not to do that! I went to my son’s new In-Law’s house for the gathering, and I was asked to bring a salad and the ever-so-delicious pecan pie. They have a beautiful new home, and it’s perfect for entertaining.

Since everyone was asked to bring an item or two, you can imagine there was an abundance of food. The spread looked wonderful. Mike grilled a turkey and Alaska salmon. With all this amazing food, I was determined to not stuff myself because I would feel horrible afterward – mentally and physically.

I took small amounts of the foods I wanted to eat. I did not deprive myself of carbs or gravy! I stuck to one plate, and small portions. There were many deserts to choose from, and I took a sliver of two pies. That was it. I drank water with my meal too. I am proud to say I did not feel stuffed or blotted in any way. I was done eating by 4:30pm and that was the end of my eating for that day.

I hope you did not overindulge. It is so tempting, right? When that much food is set in front of us, it is hard to say no.

Most medical reports state the flu season starts after Thanksgiving and in part, may be attributed to overeating all day long and sitting around watching football all day. There may be something to that, I don’t know. I do know that three people in my office were out sick last week with the flu. Knock on wood, I feel great and healthy.

I have dropped 32 lbs in 6 months. I wish the weight would drop off faster, but I remind myself it took years to put on, so give myself time to lose it. I’m very grateful!

I hope all of you are doing well. Be mindful of what you eat and how much. It takes dedication, determination, and reminding yourself of the GOAL!

Here’s to health and happiness.

Deanna

Treat your body as you want to be treated

Our emotions are a powerful driver of what we eat. When we aren’t eating we are thinking of what we will eat for the next meal, or what we will cook. We even snack in between meals when we probably aren’t really hungry, but thirsty! We assume when we feel hungry the need is for food, but I’m sure 90% of the time our body is asking for water! We eat and eat and eat… it’s the western culture. We do not deprive ourselves – even if we eat healthy food.

If you really think about it for a minute, it’s our emotions that drive our eating. Stress, sadness, depression, feeling unseen or heard, the need for love, desire, and I could list 100 more…. Eating with emotions is slowly killing us, making us obese and unhealthy. I’ll write more on this topic later.

Back to overeating. Do you think our bodies need to eat so much? Think about it for a minute. Do you think our ancestors ate like we do? They hunted and gathered and probably didn’t eat for days until they hunted and collected again. Food was even more scarce in the winter – hunting was even harder so eating was few and far between. They had strong bodies and none of them were obese or had gut issues. I could be wrong since I wasn’t living back then, but have to think I have a point to some degree.

Have you tried fasting? Have you tried not to EAT ALL DAY LONG? Our bodies are used to eating so much that the liver and pancreas can not keep up with the demand of their time. They are overworked and tired. We don’t need to eat so much.

If you compare the overworked and tired feeling to your job, then you will begin to get some sort of understanding. I had a job once where I was working 70 hours a week, and in the beginning, I didn’t mind doing it for the “cause” of the organization, but then I slowly began to get sluggish, tired, have brain fog, and didn’t even want to get up in the morning to go to work. It took a heavy toll on every part of my being. I couldn’t keep it up but my boss demanded I do it.

This is the same for your body. It’s tired, overworked, and can’t keep up with the 24-hour pace of the job. But you are demanding your body do it by eating all the time. Yes, you are that boss! You may not want to be that boss, but your eating habits demand it.

I lived in Germany for 3 years and loved the way Europeans feel about work. I was the foreign money teller back when each country had its own currency. I loved the job. When I started, I was given 6 weeks of vacation to start, plus 2 bonuses per year – one in June (vacation bonus) and one in December (Christmas bonus) which was a full month’s salary. That would NEVER happen in the United States. Countries abroad believe in a happy employee. They believe people need a break from their job, promote vacations and in doing so, the employee comes back rested and happy. Happy employees become faithful employees. Happy employees want to show up for work.

Give your body a break. Let your stomach get empty – you won’t die! Don’t eat breakfast and slowly push back your first meal to 11 or 12pm. Eat a big healthy salad with protein. Chew your food 32 times before you swallow it. This breaks the food down so your stomach doesn’t have to work so hard. Take your time when you enjoy this meal. Savor the taste and time away from your job. TAKE A BREAK and give your body a break. Treat your body as you want to be treated. Love and respect.

Here’s to being Happy and Healthy.

Deanna

What Happened to my Great Body?

Where did my college body go? What happened to my strong resolve to say “no” when offered a piece of cake? After having two babies, menopause, and postmenopause, fast forward to middle age. My body, while remarkable as God made it, has changed dramatically since my twenties. I’ve made a lot of bad food choices on top of experiencing major life events. The question now is – How do I get my body back? Can I do this at my age? Will my body resist or appreciate the effort to change back to healthy?

My body is different, so a new game plan needs to be figured out. I do think the old “no” to cake or sugar is the first start. Saying no to sugar is always a good plan. This will be week one of my journey. I’m active in walking and moving every hour but I will shoot to add some simple weight lifting twice a week for the upper body and lower body.

I want this to be easy and simple. Week 1 – Say no to sugar. Weight lift – easy sets 2 times this week. Move my body more. Drink MORE water.

I will report next week on my progress. Small repetitive steps are key! Just like doing accounting – it’s about being consistent.

Have a GREAT WEEK….

Here’s to BETTER HEALTH.

Deanna

Beautiful Day

What a beautiful spring day! I feel the warmth of the sun coming through the sliding door, making me excited for the new season ahead.

Do you look forward to the change of seasons? I know I do. For some reason, I feel its a new beginning for Mother Earth, the animals and all the new change about to happen. I feel that change is vital to growth and rebirth. I am constantly finding opportunities or things that give me growth in all areas of my life. I never want to remain stagnate – I feel that would be death for me.

Enjoy the new season upon us! See the growth and beauty in change. May you grow this season, in a big or small way, but grow!

 

Deanna

 

Living Life

Life on our own terms is more difficult than we imagine. We put masks on to various groups of people in our lives so we feel accepted, not judged. It’s a persona we wear so we are accepted, not left out or cast out, we feel a part of the ‘norm’. Acceptance is sometimes more important than being who we really are.

I went to see the movie “Love, Simon” last week. If you haven’t seen it, I’d recommend it. It’s about a teenage boy in high school who is living the “accepted” life but his deep dark secret is he is gay. He hasn’t told anyone for fear of being cast out, his life will be changed when he decides to live his true self. How terrible it would be living his life as what we deem “normal” as a society, but lying every day or burying his true self for his whole life? I can’t image what that would feel like! It makes me sick to even think about it. I’m so happy he didn’t, that this movie had a happy ending. I know it’s not like that for everyone, but finally a movie shows a positive outcome coming of age and being true to one’s self. Bravo!

One of the top regrets of those that are old, dying, and realizing their lives are about over, is they didn’t have the courage to live they life they wanted, but lived the life others wanted for them.

Be brave. Live your life the way you want, the truth of who you are without regret. There will be people who like you and ones that don’t no matter what mask you wear. So why not simply be who you truly are and find those people who like you. I bet you will live a happier life.

Deanna