Today was another really nice day. It was overcast a lot but I didn't mind because there was a lovely breeze! I am hoping that winter is over and from now on we'll enjoy springlike weather. There have been some years where the weather seems to skip fall and spring. Hopefully not this year!
Kristin and Heidi took some pictures and they were developed. I saw a picture of myself and was not happy at all. Today I have been careful with what I ate and got myself back on the dreadmill. As Dr. Phil says, it's not what I'm eating. It's what's eating me. I have been able to pick out self-sabotaging thoughts in my head. Once I become aware of what I'm thinking, I can act. Today I did. This is another addiction and I feel the same as when I quit smoking. I know I can't abstain from eating but it's just going to be a daily struggle.
I subscribe to a newsletter that sends me prompts and sometimes they just seem to fit, like the one for today:
I was reading about how it is helpful, if not a requirement to change ones behavior, that you must tell someone about the current undesirable behavior that you are doing. This echoes the AA & NA beliefs that one must do a moral inventory to be able to grow spiritually. What do you think? Is this your experience in life? AND can writing in your journal serve as the sharing of the current undesirable behaviors?
I have noticed that it's not so easy to go on with an undesireable behavior once you talk about it or write about it. As long as it's kept a secret you can pretend it doesn't really exist. Once you say it out loud or write it out in public, you have to do something about it. I'm not sure if just writing it in a private journal that no one sees but you would do the trick. You can tear the pages out. I guess you can delete an online entry too.
I've noticed that I make a better change when I talk about a behavior with someone else ... a therapist, a doctor, my husband. Tonight as we shared a Klondike lowfat ice cream sandwich I told TB what I was thinking. The ice cream sandwich tasted delicious but it didn't look very big. That might be an optical illusion. The sandwich is a square. A normal ice cream sandwich is a rectangle. Well anyway, I told TB that even though it tastes good I have this tendency to feel deprived because of the size ... "it's not enough".
That's exactly the kind of thinking I need to change if I'm ever to lose weight.
This evening, the news featured a success story. A woman lost 153 pounds, down from over 300 pounds. She did it by making changes in her diet and in her thinking. I can do this too. I just have to make changes in my messages to myself.
Today is the birthdate of Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss! Just about everyone grew up with stories by Dr. Seuss, what's your favorite?
My own personal favorite is Green Eggs and Ham. I remember reading it when I was a little kid and I read it (many times) to my kids when they were small. I can’t think of a single book by Dr. Seuss that I don’t like. For years, I could recite some of the books by heart. He made up such silly names for animals and plants they were just totally charming. Another book I enjoyed was The Cat in the Hat. When I was little, the cat seemed very intimidating to me. I think because he sort of represented giving in to temptations when adults weren’t around. My favorite book with a message is The Lorax. It’s rare that I’ve been so moved by an author of kid fiction. Well … his books are not necessarily just for kids. They all seem to have an important message and so adults benefit from the stories too. Maybe he had that in mind when he wrote the stories, that some parents would read the books to their kids.
Posted by Cassie at March 2, 2004 07:56 PM