Intuitive Eating

Have you ever heard of the book, Intuitive Eating?  It has been around for a while, but I just barely heard about it.  I decided to give it a look.

I loved it.

The premise seems to be that your body knows what it needs to stay at a healthy weight.  It talks about being in tune with your body, eating when you start to feel hungry, and stopping when you are satisfied.

The thing that is unique about this is that there are no "restricted" or "off-limits" foods.  It talks about throwing out the "diet mentality."  That is scary concept for someone who has been dieting ever since they can remember!  No off-limits foods?  Seriously?  I can eat anything I want?  Crazy, right?  Sounds like a one way ticket to dramatic weight gain.

I decided to give it a try - as in I actually made a concerted effort to follow the principles outlined in this book.  It has been 2 months.  Remember that I do not have a scale.  Nor do you count calories and worry about weight with this program.  Miraculously, it seems to be working!  I cannot quite understand it, but it does.  I am losing an average of a pound a week.  (Don't worry, I didn't get my scale back.)

The great thing is that the anxiety is leaving in regards to food.  In the beginning I could not think of anything except how what I was eating was going to affect my weight.  However, as I have continued to work on it, the intrusive food thoughts have decreased.  In the beginning I could not tell when I was hungry or full.  Now, my satiety signals are returning.  I am able to stop eating before I am completely sick to my stomach.  It is a great feeling!

I love the freedom to eat what I want.  I find that my body actually loves and leans toward healthy food, with some play foods.  I am also remembering how much I love to move and get regular physical exercise.  It just makes me feel better.

I still have a long journey ahead.  But, I am excited to see where this takes me.

Have you read this book?  What were your thoughts?

Couch to 5K

I think my roommates might be trying to kill me...that or make me a better person. I am not sure yet. They "invited" me to do a 5K with them in a few months.  I use the word "invite" very liberally.  They will be running the half marathon.  Go team!

I decided I could do the 5K with them.  After all, this will be great goal to work toward.  It will help me keep up on my fitness goals.  At the time it sounded like a GREAT idea.  Before long I had the FREE C25K app on my phone.  I was excited.

Yesterday I decided to start on my couch to 5K journey.  It was a little chilly outside, but it was not bad.  I decided to try out my new app outdoors.  The app is fantastic.  However, ten minutes into the workout I was dying.  My whole body hurt.  I remembered what it was like to work out with all of those extra pounds.  It. Hurts.  I finished the workout and was feeling so proud of myself for actually making it the whole 30 minutes!  I sat down and I thought I might never get up again.  Not because I did not want to get up (though at the time I didn't) but because every muscle in my body seemed to be frozen in a sitting position.

One by one my roommates came home.  They really are the best.  They are the best cheerleaders.  High fives all around.  They cheered me on.  They congratulated me.  They encouraged me to do it all again tomorrow....I am grateful for them.

The Last Ride of the Year

I am a huge fan of self-care.  After all, you cannot take care of anyone else until you take care of yourself.  Too much self neglect places your health at risk and then someone else will have to take care of you.  Self-care.  It is essential.

One of the things I do to take care of myself is riding my bike outdoors.  I love it!  I was sad it was so cold the past few weeks because I could not ride my bike.  I decided to brave the weather and try it one more time.  Do you see the snow in this picture?  That is SNOW!  It snowed on me!  By the time I got back to my car I could no longer feel my legs, my toes, my fingers, pretty much any appendage.  It was my last definitely my last ride of the year.  It makes me sad.  Working out in the gym is fine, but there is something much more satisfying to me about riding outdoors.

What do you do to take good care of yourself?