Define Your Why and Your Vision (Reclaiming Your Health, Part 2)
I hope you had a fabulous week treating your food like a special guest! (If you missed Part 1, here it is.) The goal for last week was to pay attention to and enjoy your food; to minimize automatic, mindless eating. I hope you had fun developing an awesome relationship with food!
Reclaiming Your Health, One Step at a Time (Part 1)
"I don't know where to start."
I've heard this statement repeatedly in the last few weeks, from people who are ready to make healthy changes, but feel overwhelmed by the abundance of (often conflicting) health information.
Have Fun with Your Health
For so many years I took dieting and exercising way too seriously. I was fanatical, and quite often a stick in the mud. It was stressful to live in such a regimented way!
Adopting the primal lifestyle has given me a whole new perspective on health; now being healthy feels like freedom and fun!
Today I'd like to share some of my tips for having fun with your health.
Purposeful Snacking
I receive many client and reader questions about snacks. I find that these questions tend to stem from two different situations.
#1 Snacking when you are truly hungry.
#2 Snacking because you are conditioned to snacking.
The Temporary Nature of Struggle
Tamara from my Calm meditation app recently told a story that went something like this...
A farmer wakes up one morning and realizes his horse has run away. His neighbors cry, "Oh, what a misfortune!"
"Maybe", replies the farmer.
Keto Cabbage Enchiladas
Tom was reminiscing about enjoying enchiladas in Mexico.
I had a cabbage sitting in my fridge.
"Steamed cabbage leaves", I thought, "could make decent enchilada wraps!"
Truly, the goodness of enchiladas equals the meat, the sauce and the cheese. Would Tom even miss tortillas?
Finding Your Passion
One of the fascinating things I have discovered while working with clients is that food issues get in the way of experiencing life to the fullest. While this may sound obvious to readers who are in the midst of a food struggle, I didn't make this connection until I fully adopted a primal lifestyle.
A New Year, A New You
Happy New Year, friends! Tom and I have just returned from a beautiful trip to Mexico, filled with sun, seafood, sand, nature, guacamole, and a bit of tequila. We had a fabulous time, staying fairly true to our primal roots, with a glorious exception here and there. The exceptions were fun (warm homemade corn tortillas with fried shrimp and queso fresco!) but now we are ready to get back on track.
The Power of Belief
In my last two posts I talked about cultivating awareness and using gentle questioning to consider automatic behaviors.
Today I want to talk about belief.
I will start by sharing a personal story. For the past 15+ years Tom and I have gone on a tropical vacation for the winter holidays. Traditionally I spent the months before vacation exercising ferociously and severely restricting my diet so that I could be "bikini" ready. I repeated this behavior year after year.
Holiday Treats and Gentle Questioning
Anyone feeling a twinge of holiday anxiety? I am!
Last week I recommended taking on the role of an observer, to pay attention to behavioral patterns and automatic responses regarding holiday treats.
I try to practice what I preach. As a result I've noticed a steady increase in my anxiety levels and a corresponding desire to create and indulge in paleo/keto treats.