Listen to Your Body

Our bodies are pretty smart and they can do amazing things.   I have long said that if we listen to our bodies, truly listen; that they will tell us exactly what we are needing.  If we heed the call and supply our body what it needs than we will be so much healthier.  Sometimes it calls for a day of rest....which we did a lot of relaxing over the weekend.  We just need to listen to our bodies when they speak!

What am I talking about?  I'm talking about those cravings, those niggling thoughts that something would be "Soooooo good."  I have always believed that our bodies tell us what they need.  Have you ever craved a salad, or green beans, or even potato chips?  I'm not talking about a simple 'want'...I'm talking about the mouth watering craving that no matter what you  do won't go away.  I think a true craving is our bodies way of telling us that something is missing in our diet.  If your craving a salad, I think your body is telling you that you need some nutrient in that salad. Potato chips?  Maybe your body is telling you that you need the salt!   Out bodies require so many different things to function properly and when it doesn't get what we need, it will definitely tell us.  At least that is my personal opinion.

A few weeks ago Jason and I were in the grocery store and we saw cherries.  Jason commented on how he had been really thinking about cherries and how they sounded so delicious.  We bought some. They didn't go to waste.  I ate them.  Jason got sidetracked and didn't have any.   By the end of the week his foot was bothering him. The dreaded gout had reared its ugly head.   If you read about gout online, you will see that one of the home remedies for gout is cherries.  They say straight up cherries work.  Tart cherries work better....and even juice works.  So we bought some juice concentrate (amazon affiliate link) to have around the house....and we have a fresh supply of cherries.


So was his craving a coincidence?

I don't know if it's a coincidence or not.  But seriously.....if he would have heeded the call of cherries, he would have most likely avoided a flare up.

On to the weekend.  It rained.  Isn't that said?  It poured on Saturday.  YUCK!    We did buy a small grill and we did fire it up under cover on our deck.  (shhhhh....we were careful!) 

We are happy with the grill we purchased. (amazon affiliation link).  We used it and ate buffalo hot dogs and corn on the cob for dinner 

On Sunday it was threatening rain.  We relaxed a bit and did try to get outside a bit so we didn't feel like total slugs!  We

The magical cookies are still working their charm. My weight is still nice and low and slowly dropping.  I have two theories.  I'm not sure if either are correct...but hey, this is my post and I'll share my theories.  Theory number one is that the I was stuck in that 'sweet spot' that my body seems to revert to quite easily if in the area.  I was doing everything right to show a loss (small losses...nothing drastic) but nothing was happening.  Eventually my body caught up with my efforts and the weight dropped.  The second theory harkens back to a book I read a few years back. It was written by Jillian Michael and if I remember correctly, she talked about eating the lower calories every day of the week...except one.  She wrote that your body gets into a rut if you eat the same everyday.   Your body adjusts and in theory just begins utilizing those calories efficiently and you lose less.  She recommended that high day to keep your body guessing.  (and my apologies if I got that totally incorrect.)  Either way I'm happy.    The magical cookies are almost gone and then no cookies for a while....back to the grind of eating healthy and getting this weight GONE!

Birds of a Feather and a fearful finding

I've been thinking a lot about the food that I'm eating.  Am I wrong to approach my lifestyle change by still eating 'anything' I want, just in moderation.  I lost 140 pounds doing just that.  I didn't have pizza everyday.  I did have to manage and limit my bread. I did it all and I honestly did well.  When I wanted to have one of the items I worked it into my schedule.  Last week, I made the brownies in the morning. I KNEW that I would want a piece of brownie that night.  I managed my food all day to allow for my brownie.  This is what worked for me in the past and this is the route I plan to take this go around.   

For me to take food away and put it on the 'extinct' list in my life is just not feasible. I know me.  You say I can't have it and I will move heaven and hell to get it!!!!   I spent some time on my morning walk today talking to my side kick about this.  Her words to me were "it worked for you before and why bother with elimination diets when you don't have health issues that need elimination'.   She is also not doing any elimination diet....not in the strictest sense of the word.  Yes, she's giving up diet soda because of the chemicals.  She's giving up ingredients in food that are un-natural.  She's moving to a natural lifestyle.   So I guess birds of a feather flock together. 

That said, I eat mostly natural and organic foods.  I cook from scratch, so that eliminates much processed foods.  I eat a healthy diet.  I just don't eliminate.  God gave us these foods.  I'm a firm believer that he gave us these NATURAL foods for a reason....and everything, in moderation works together to create a healthy and vibrant lifestyle.

Cravings?   Really?   I honestly don't have cravings.  My binges are usually not based on a craving mentality.  They are usually born from emotions.  Any cravings....I've always said when I'm taking my multivitamins the cravings disappear anyway.  Cravings are our bodies telling us we need something...so if we are getting our proper nutrients...bye bye cravings.  :-)

So as I went through this thought process  I went home and started folding laundry.  Out of my husbands pants pocket fell this packet of Pure Via.  Stevia. You know, we've all seen it.  We've all seen the ads. We've all heard about the product.  I picked it up off the floor where it fell and sat amazed that the package was somewhat intact after going through the washing machine AND dryer!  But as amazing as the package was...there was something that absolutely shocked me to no end!

I opened up the package and poured out the contents.  Holy cow. It poured out onto the surface like I had just poured it from a sugar bowl.  The grains of sugar were pure and unadulterated.  This sugar had been through the clothes washer AND dryer.  What?  It didn't dissolve in water??????   It didn't melt in the heat of the dryer?????     How can this be??????   OH wait....that's right.  While they say it's 'natural' there is something intrinsically wrong with this picture.  VERY wrong.  I think I'll stick with straight up sugar...because, oh wait.....that's natural too...but at least I know that organic sugar melts and dissolves in my gut!






I got out hiking yesterday and I walked with Sherry today.  Ok, so lunch ended up being at Bucca di Beppo.  Yummy Italian.  But my breakfast was really light as was my dinner.  Moderation and management!  

The awesome thing today????   This big boy was just hanging out near our house.  Gorgeous!!!!