A big fat soft pretzel with salt and butter..... and dip it in some cheese while you're at it. With a Coke please. Not Diet Coke. Ick. Nothing diet. If you're going to do something, give it 100 percent, I say :)
Today's post is yet another admission-
I love food.
Now when I say I love food, I mean I love, love, LOVE food. Meat and potatoes, chips and sweets. The kind of food that is either cheesy, creamy or dipped in chocolate. Maybe sometimes all three :) No, I'm not pregnant (thank you, beautiful and kind God). It's just that lately I've heard lots of girls talking about diets and giving up certain food groups altogether. I have a teenager who looks in the mirror and seems to be more critical everyday of her appearance. (No need, she's gorgeous). But this makes me sad. (and panicky!)
As delicious food goes though, I'm absolutely a believer that you should eat whatever you want- in moderation. It's the moderation part that's hard :)
On the other hand, I'm also a believer that we as a people need to get up and move. A lot. Adults are working crazy hours. Schools are eliminating recess. Kids are tied to electronic devices. I actually need to give a huge shout out to my mom who kicked us out of the house everyday and told us to "do something constructive". We never argued. Who wouldn't want to play outside until the house lights came on or until we were called home for dinner?
For me, it all fell apart starting in college. Remember the "freshman 15?" Well, mine was more like 20. Or twenty five. I could not wait to eat and then eat some more. I yo-yoed on every possible diet for the next 10 years. I dieted and starved myself and became hateful towards my body and eventually myself as a whole. I'm sure I ate everything then too. I just wasn't paying attention to how much of it I was eating. Instead of enjoying the food, I was using it to replace every emotion I could think of. It became my friend. The kind of friend that you don't tell anyone about, the one you sneak around with because they're nothing but trouble.
About 5 years ago, I was at a gym with my girlfriend who actually gasped when she saw how much I weighed. Granted, I'd just given birth- but it was the end of the line for me. I was humiliated and hormonal; emotional and unhealthy. I quit the gym. It had become to me a place where tanned, plastic size two people came to taunt me. I realize now they were normal people, (most of them) who were trying to stay healthy. But at the time, I thought I was a complete failure. Who needs to pay 100 dollars a month to feel like that?
Before I quit, I took a few classes that introduced Yoga. The rooms were full of beautiful-looking people with the latest outfits and matching hair who could bend in ways that would make my husband rethink our marriage. I hated every minute of being there. But I LOVED the way I felt after each class. And so I was hooked.
I bought everyYoga DVD, book and item that could bring me that feeling of contentment. I learned how to stretch and meditate, how to move and feel every muscle in my body. Most importantly, I learned how to breathe. I discovered more about my self every time I practiced. (There's not much more you can do in some of those poses than to reflect on yourself.) I was dealing with some chronic health issues after my last pregnancy and found that the stretching and breathing helped immensely. For me Yoga, and let's be honest, a
little bit lot of therapy worked. The weight came off. Baggage inside and out. I've come to realize that it doesn't matter what size I am- only that I feel happy and healthy. I don't pretend to know what works for anyone else. Some people are happy vegetarians. Some people can run for miles. Some ride bikes or ski. Others can body build and kick box and cardio their little hearts out. But for me, yoga has helped me become aware. Aware of what and how I feel, of what I'm doing wrong in the world and also what I'm doing right. So yeah. I LOVE food. I LOVE yoga. And guess what? I LOVE me :)
Ice Cream, anyone?
Happy Monday friends :)
Below are some pics of one of our room renovations. We are more than fortunate to have extra rooms in the house. This was the last family's office. It is now our home gym. The husband calls it my Yoga room. 100 dollars a month at an outside gym adds up- We've actually saved a lot by having it :)
By the way, that husband who NEVER once said a negative thing to me about my ever-changing appearance? He installed that awesome TV all by his lonesome. He is absolutely better than anything I could ask for in this house; or in this world, for that matter :)
