Is a Cookie Ever Just a Cookie?
There’s a scene in the HBO documentary THIN where Polly, who is in treatment for anorexia and bulimia, can’t eat a piece of pizza. She just can’t do it.
It makes no sense to a rational person: it’s just food, why can’t she eat it? But to Polly, it’s not. It’s “poison.” It’s “fattening.” It’s “weakness.”
Her therapist asks her in a soft, soothing, low voice if she can’t maybe view it as, “A piece of bread, with some tomato sauce and cheese on top”?
Polly shudders. She can’t. She just can’t. And then she leaves the table.
I don’t understand this, personally. Unlike Polly, I can eat a slice of pizza or a cookie, and I do (ok, if the pizza is in NJ being the pizza snob that I am!).
I’m learning to ungroup/uncategorize foods to make life more enjoyable … it’s been a long process but I’m getting there. I don’t look at foods in such stark black and white terms anymore. (more…)
14 comments January 29, 2009
The “Whole” Picture
Sometimes I get hung up on my weight, and it takes a more holistic look at my body composition to make me see my body for the “temple” it really is.
Sure, I’m X lbs from where I want to be, but yesterday I had a wellness/biometrics screening at my husband’s employer (and have another one at my employer next week!) and I found out, I’m healthier than I think.
Though I’m borderline again for BMI (given my gain since last year), the goal the nurse set for me is exactly the goal I had in mind. It’s doable, and won’t kill me to get there.
My blood pressure, glucose, tryglycerides were all great. My good cholesterol (HDL) was up a point (hurrah!) and my bad cholesterol (LDL) was in the desired range. My total cholesterol was bumped a little (the nurse said due to the HDL), but again, the ratio was still in the desired range. (Phew!)
The overall message was I’m not as badly off as I feel sometimes. (more…)
4 comments January 28, 2009
Au Revoir: Tossing Triggers
What's your trigger?
Other times I can enjoy a small handful now and then and be done with them …
And other times, I can’t get them in the trash quickly enough.
I hate to be wasteful, and I realize how awful it is to throw out food (why buy it in the first place?!). But I liken “what is a trigger food” to how sometimes my IBS (which has been much better the past five years on WW) can flare up from eating, say, tomato sauce one day, and the next day I’ll be fine with it …
In other words, what might be a trigger today might definitely not be tomorrow. And it’s nearly impossible to predict, which makes playing “defense” hard. (more…)
17 comments January 27, 2009
Ode to Wellness: Paying it Forward
During tough economic times like we’re experiencing here in the U.S. — where most companies are cutting back on benefits and laying people off left and right — the agency I work for has just offered us a pleasant surprise: we’re implementing a new wellness benefit.
After we undergo a complete physical on-site, we’ll be eligible to be reimbursed up to several hundred dollars a year to use towards health/wellness initiatives. This includes fitness equipment, weight loss programs, gym memberships, fitness classes, yoga, smoking cessation programs, massages, etc.
The theory is by investing in employees’ health now, it’ll (hopefully) cut down on future health insurance premiums, and (hopefully) keep employees who embrace the benefit healthy and happy, reducing the risk for many diseases and conditions. (more…)
6 comments January 26, 2009
Great Body Image Quote
“Life is far too rich, interesting and short to waste on hating your body.”
Heather at HangryPants shared this quote in her blog entry today and I just thought it was a such a good pre-weekend, motivating, inspirational quote.
It speaks volumes in just a couple words.
And here’s an awesome interesting article from the BBC that I found over at Thinspired (a healthy living blog, not to be confused with “thinspo”).
The article talks about why some people never get fat; how our bodies do, indeed, have a natural, set weight. Food for thought.
Have a fantastic weekend and health and happiness to all.
7 comments January 23, 2009
Hunger + Exhaustion + Anxiety = Chew-and-Spit
Last night after work, I drove to the gym to get in a last workout for the week … and turned around.
I was seriously so proud of myself. It’s so very rare I do that (I can count twice in the past 6 months — both of which have been documented here)
But this week alone (my “week” goes Friday to Friday) I had burned an awesome 3300 calories in exercise (per my heart rate monitor — I usually aim for 2800-3000) and have been sticking to my SP range, never going above the max limit.
So I didn’t need the exercise, and knew a night off would probably be beneficial for my muscles. In addition to that, I was wiped out after a restless night’s sleep the previous night … and the biggest factor of all: I was genuinely hungry and knew a workout would only make me want to eat more later.
All of these factore led to the rational, calm, sane decision to take a night off.
I went home intending to just unwind with my husband, since this has been a stressful week for both of us and we hadn’t spent much time together.
But that was not to be, thanks to Mother Nature. (more…)
18 comments January 23, 2009
Perusing the Perimeters of the Grocery Store
Sticking to the outside perimeter of the grocery store can save both your wallet and your waistline. Why? Well, the outside perimeter is where you’ll find fresh produce, the deli, the bakery, the butcher, the dairy case. You know, the majority of the non-packaged stuff chock-full of preservatives.
It pleased me to realize that it’s where I spend probably 95% of my shopping time, save for the cereal/jam/PB aisle, the frozen veggie aisle, or the ice cream aisle.
Aside from when we’re having a party and stock up on snacks, we really don’t buy too many packaged things anymore; it’s easier and cheaper to make our own meals or snacks — and healthier, too. My husband even recently made three batches of hummus (which I personally don’t like but I hear is mighty tasty)..
I don’t know about you, but the only stores I find myself wandering the aisles tend to be Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. Even if I don’t snag much off the shelves, I love the organic variety that is unmatched by my local Meijer.
How about you? Where do you spend most of you grocery-shopping minutes — the aisles or the perimeter?
4 comments January 23, 2009
Super Scary Stats
Sometimes I feel like I have two personalities, even on my blog.
On the one hand, I started this blog to overcome disordered eating issues that arose after successful weight loss the healthy way (eating less, moving more)… And on the other hand, I’m trying to lose some weight I’ve gained, while keep my disordered eating behaviors in check. You can see how this could easily be viewed as having split personas.
I blog about both parts of my persona because they are related to one another, and because they feed off one another, for better or for worse.
Fortunately, I’ve been doing really well re: said disordered eating behaviors — no midnight eating, no chewing and spitting, and no emotional eating –especially since journaling on Sparkpeople. It’s like something clicked last week, and I know it’s not necessarily a permanent click, but in the meantime, it feels darn good.
But after reading a recent blog post by a favorite blogger of mine, it hit me that sometimes it seems with even the best of intentions, for every one step forward we as individuals might take, our society ends up a step back.
Case in point: MamaV over at MamaVision posted some super scary stats about the underground pro-ana movement.
I urge you to take a look at these stats she shares, the most frightening of all being that pro-ana Web sites have increased 470% from 2006 to 2007, according to Optenet. (more…)
10 comments January 22, 2009
Is Pride REALLY a Sin?
The other night, my husband and I watched a documentary on the History Channel about the Seven Deadly Sins and PRIDE was the “sin of the day.”
It got me thinking … is pride really such a bad thing?
I don’t mean “pride” as in ego or boastfulness or narcissism … or even the opposite of humility.
I mean pride, in the most innocent, literal sense of the word: feeling good about yourself and the actions you make and the life you live. Being a good person, and being proud of it.
I mean, shouldn’t we be proud of our accomplishments? Shouldn’t we inspire others by doing good things in life? (more…)
13 comments January 21, 2009
