Shrinking Daisy

Where’s the Root?

Sunday, June 21st, 2009 | Thoughts | No Comments

Some people, when faced with massive stress will go shopping, buy a bunch of stuff they don’t need, or even want, some people will start gambling, and some will hit the bottle, but not me! I’ll have a party with my old friends Ben, Jerry, Betty (Crocker), Otis (Spunkmeyer), and of course Mrs. Butterworth (maybe even a doctor.. pepper that is!)  Actually, it doesn’t even have to be stress in a bad way, nervous jitters count, extreme happiness, sadness, pressure… name an emotion, that will do it!  In any case when the stress starts pouring in, and I catch myself wanting to eat my ice cream directly from the carton standing in front of the freezer… I ask myself, “What’s this all about?” 

I have tons of great tricks for how to manage this, distract yourself, read a book, exercise, call a friend, make sure you take your stress eating out on a head of lettuce or bag of carrots to minimize the damage.  But really, its not hunger, so what is it inside that makes us turn to food for comfort, for relief?  Have you taken the time to think about what it is that makes you overeat? Where did that hole that you’re trying to fill come from?

While I was losing weight, I wanted to go as fast as possible.  It was like a race and I wanted to be the fastest loser possible, the excitement of people commenting about how great I looked, and the cheers from the gang at Weight Watchers was just addicting! When it would take a bit longer than I wanted, I would get so frustrated! Now I’m happy for the pace that I lost.  Whether I wanted it or not it gave me time to do some self examination, to really think about how I had gotten myself up to this weight… and why? 

I think it’s probably different for everyone, we all have our own stories and reasons for being who we are, but for many (myself included) food is comfort, it’s a short term pleasure, and extra weight can be like insulation from the world.  Figuring out some of the root issues can be so freeing, it’s a great step on the journey to a balanced healthy life!

Have you looked at your roots lately?

Tags: root, stress

Taking a Moment Off

Friday, April 24th, 2009 | Thoughts | 1 Comment

Did you know that stress can make you gain weight?

“Um… duh, I know,” is probably what you’re thinking right now.  Stress from work, home, school, our fabulous economy, it all piles up, and I know my first response is “I know what will make me feel better… a brownie! Yay, brownies!”  But you know the story right? Inevitably the brownie bliss is short lived and unsatisfying, and only leads to a spiral of guilt, which leads to more brownies, and so on until a scary weigh-in experience occurs!  Wow, this sounds like a total downer, how to avoid this scenario?

Well, some stress we can control we can choose to eliminate, and some of it we can’t, so what can we do about that? Lucky me, I was a lucky attendee at an amazing women’s conference this week, and one session discussed just this subject. So here are a few strategies I picked up, try a few out and de-stress yourself!

• Take a Break - Sometimes 5 minutes is all you need to clear your head and give yourself a new attitude! Set a timer, give yourself a break to look forward to, and actually go!  Go outside if you can, take deep breaths and notice the scenery.
• Step out for lunch (and dinner, and breakfast) - I’m not talking about eating out here, I’m talking about stopping what you’re doing, moving to a table, outside on a bench, or to some other lunch type spot, and giving yourself a few minutes with no distractions to have a meal.  Eating with someone else can be great too, the social interaction is healthy and refreshing!
• Find a Childhood Picture  - I love this idea!  Do you have a picture of yourself as a child? One where you’re really happy and smiley? Do you remember how you felt in that picture, what it was like? Find that picture, hang it up, and take a minute every so often to take a look.  You’d be surprised how it can change your perspective.

Tags: stress, Thoughts