Thursday, December 31, 2009

New Year's Resolutions

Anyone else making resolutions for the New Year? One of mine is to take better care of my body. For me, that means really focusing on my eating patterns and making sure to get regular exercise. I know, I know, everyone says that at New Year’s, right? I certainly have said it more times than I care to remember. Sometimes I’ve kept my resolutions, but most times I haven’t.

So what’s the difference between resolutions we can keep and those we end up ditching a few weeks (or even days) after the New Year begins? Best I can tell, it boils down to 3 things – 1) having well-thought out, reasonable goals; 2) being ready to make changes and; 3) commitment to sticking with it when that first blush of excitement has faded.

Here’s how I’m hoping to address those things:

Since I have a significant amount of weight to lose, I know I will need the structure of a program to support me. After looking at lots of different options, I’ve decided to sign up for the University of Vermont’s 6 month Online Weight Loss Program. This plan focuses on healthy eating, writing down everything you eat, and getting regular exercise. It’s not a quick weight-loss program, but it has had a lot of success helping people make healthy lifestyle changes they can keep over time. Plus, the weekly lessons, trained nutritionist/facilitator, and group of classmates will all serve as the added support I need to keep me going.

I’ve also made a schedule for going to the gym. I don’t know about your work schedule, but my teaching schedule is different every day, so it helps me to plan out exactly when I will go to the gym AND to plan more trips than I have actually committed to make each week. That allows me some flexibility for life intervening and also pre-empts the drill sergeant in my head that likes to scream at me when I don’t follow all the “rules” I have set for myself. You know that voice I’m talking about, don’t you?

That brings me to another key element of keeping resolutions that I forgot to mention – having compassion with ourselves. So many great goals have been tossed by the wayside over a few setbacks. But just ask anyone who has ever reached an important long-term goal and they will tell you that they had LOTS of setbacks. Remember, it’s not whether you fall down, it’s whether you get back up that will make the difference. Like my Zen teacher says, “7 times down, 8 times up.”

For me, being ready to make a change is almost half the battle. For whatever reason, I can’t just seem to start work towards a new goal without thinking it through, deciding that I really want to do it, and making a plan for when I will start. Maybe it’s just the control freak in me, but I seem to need time to process internally what this change will mean for me and get myself psychologically ready to take the plunge.

If being ready to change is half the battle, then the other half is sticking with my commitment. One thing I have learned about myself is that I can do almost anything for a short period of time. I just suck it up and gut it out. When it gets tough is when I am doing something for the long haul. That’s much harder for me. Part of the reason it’s harder is that I often try to do too much too soon or to do it all perfectly. I want to make an “A” in whatever I am doing (you know, be perfect at life in general) and I can function under that pressure only so long before I rebel and want out. Sometimes the only solution when I get like that is to take myself aside and say lovingly, but firmly, “Lighten up!” Another thing that helps is asking for support. There’s nothing better than having someone who believes in you give you a pep talk. You know, remind you of all that stuff you know, but have just forgotten? Everyone needs a cheerleader like that on their team.

So, those are my resolutions. They’re big, I know, but I’m trying to break them into bite-size pieces (so to speak) and stay focused on what I need to do one day at a time. Hope you’ll join me for the ride!

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Recipe for Discovery

I have always loved to eat. Coming from a Southern family where food was often front and center (and not just any old food, GOOD FOOD), I learned early in life that food has many meanings. After all, eating is a centerpiece of our culture - one of the key ways we share our love, laughter, and friendship with others.

And yet, for many of us, eating can also morph into something more. Since it is the primary way we nourish ourselves, it can easily become the way we seek to meet other needs which food, for all its wonderful qualities, just can't touch. I have to confess, this is an issue I have struggled with my whole life and am still trying to get in balance.

Because I love to cook, and because food has such a central place in my life, I eat for a variety of reasons - mainly because it tastes good. But sometimes I also eat because I feel bored, lonely, tired, discouraged, happy, or fill in the blank with any other feeling I want to enhance or numb in the moment. Am I aware I do this? Of course... at least, in theory. What I want to do is become more conscious that I am doing it IN THE MOMENT. I know that when I am aware of what I am doing, I am less likely to use food in a way that won't truly nourish me. Being conscious allows me to enjoy the wonder of food without expecting it to fill some other need.

I suppose that's why I am writing this blog. I want to explore the wonder of food and the many ways it nourishes us. And I want to become more conscious of other ways to nourish myself when it's not food I am really needing. So I guess, when all is said and done, it's really a search for what will truly feed me - body and soul. Anyone else out there hungry?