#off the couch

[so-this-is-my-blog-i-guess]

I did the thing yesterday.

[pickingmybattles-com]

Keep Walking

On his good days, Thing1 can still Demonstrate that he’s still stronger and faster than we are,and, after a transfusion or infusion, that he still has endurance for some of his favorite activities.

We do try to get him out to hit a few holes or drive a bit. They have minimal impact on his health one where the other, but they keep them connected to his old way of life and, or importantly, what…

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[counseloroffthecouch]

Give yourself the freedom to explore...

I make a point to eat and drink what I like, and what makes me feel good, in the amount that makes me feel good. I can only do this adequately when I’m not feeling numb, and I’m capable of listening to my body’s signals.

I used to CONSTANTLY drink cow’s milk – not just a cup or two, I’d drink it in place of the typical amount I eat per meal now, on top of my regular daily meals. For scope: About a half gallon. And I’d chug it. I wouldn’t sip it, not enjoy it, not even taste it. It’d be one thing if I bought that half gallon at $1.45 just to allow myself to take sips of a nourishing, rich beverage.

It’s also what I’d drink every day. Now, I don’t wonder why. Not only did it not occur to me that I wasn’t honoring my body’s signals, I was ignoring that my body needed other things, and not just a gallon of milk and junk food alone. Since, my tastebuds have changed, because I understand now what it means to honor what my body wants and how great it feels after those signals are honored.

But I had no insight on what I wanted, or even the fact my body wanted other things.

Develop insight on what you’re eating and how it makes you feel.

When you scarf your food, do you really get a chance to experience how that food makes you feel? What it’s doing to help your body work? Chugging: When you are downing a glass of wine in one sip, do you really get a chance to taste it? You get the effect of maybe feeling tipsy, but you don’t get the experience of the taste.

And while you don’t have to limit yourself to one “serving” of anything (I don’t), you can most certainly take the time to recognize what you like and don’t like about foods, and the way they make you feel.

Thus, I began turning off distractions while I ate. Sure, this isn’t always realistic – sometimes you have to grab some quick fuel in the morning and run out the door, but when you really have the opportunity to think about what you’re eating, you make a discovery.

The discoveries I make while I ate allowed me to discern what food means to me. I ask myself: Do I like this food? What do I like about it? Does it satisfy me? Am I eating it out of convenience? Convention? If I don’t have the taste for it one day, am I able to get something else? Do I even want this right now?

At this point, I felt like I was willing to explore other options. Not even just fruits and vegetables – anything and everything, and consider the nutrition in it, and how that generally plays a role in my cravings. Shopping for fruits and vegetables is a great idea, but I’ve learned that if your goal is to eat less, you have to have balance so that you won’t end up binging on those foods later on because you felt so deprived of them before.

Because I was satisfying my cravings with my daily intake allowance, I would still lose weight, and I would not be tempted to shovel down candy if I didn’t feel like eating candy at that moment. While there’s no crime in occasional ice cream for breakfast, or even drinking a whole pint of milk in one sitting, it’s improbable that most people would have cravings for that every single day.

Give yourself the freedom to explore. At this point, when I tasted both alongside each other, I realized what qualities I liked about both foods. I never realized that what I enjoyed about milk was the hydration, and the smooth, cold and refreshing taste. For me, Almond Milk has the same satisfying properties. It warranted exploration for me.

And sure, milk was okay. Exploring gave me the opportunity to see that my body likes other foods. It’s also a bonus that it’s a great substitute that allows me to be more conscious about how many calories go into my body (without being concerned about how much goes into my cereal or a cup).

There’s no crime whatsoever in indulging in those things, it prevents you from going out of your comfort zone and realizing that there may be foods that do the same or more for you – and when you’re present enough to notice, you may like some foods that you never knew you liked.

Healthy or unhealthy, your body needs all types of foods. Eat the foods that feel like food to you. Eat what you crave in small amounts to avoid binging later on. Remind yourself that the war isn’t against food, or against your body, but to fuel your body to the extent it needs fuel – no more, no less.

[ceeceedunn-blog]

Couch to 5K to Half-Marathon: Giving it a Shot

Couch to 5K to Half-Marathon: Giving it a Shot

In my insanity, I am going to try to join a friend of mine in a half-marathon in March. I haven’t run in two years, when I (slowly) did an 8 mile trail run. This is daunting. I’m 55, and gained back about 13 of the 30 pounds I lost last year. So I see that I have one of two choices: go back on that starvation diet I was on, or start working out every day. So I am going to pick the latter.

I don’t…

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