By Andrea Mabey
Healthy thin people and I have a lot in common. I used to be one. Stress and old age happened and a silent flag went up to indicate that I’d been moved to “Overweight-landia.”
As a new resident of “Overweight-landia,” I started to treat my weight as a disease that needed a cure. My health insurance company offered me a health coach which I accepted. Without giving me any negative feedback on my eating choices they suggested I observe a couple things scientifically. They even provided an app for me to record my measurements. The measurements were number of meals, number of pounds gained or lost in a week and minutes of exercise in a week. At first, I lost weight but by the end of the year I was back to the exact same weight I started at. Some cure!
At Leslie Householder’s suggestion, I changed the way I thought about my weight. No longer believing it a disease, I chose to see it as a neutral data point in a long string of health choices. I began to focus on how good it feels to be healthy and thin. Since I’ve never been on a diet nor am I a physician, I will forgo any health advice. However, I may have entertained a few thoughts you’ve never thought of. 🙂
I love my pancreas. This little butterfly-shaped organ wants me to experience the “sweetness of life” in a healthy way. It even controls the hoarding of “sweetness” in case I want to experience it later. I love my pancreas by eating fiber, drinking bitter chicory root tea and taking capsules of Prickly Pear cactus pads. My pancreas loves me by keeping my energy levels at the right level all day long and even into the night if needed.
I love my heart. This magnificent organ not only keeps my blood flowing, it stores my most treasured memories. When I feel strong emotions, my heart remembers them for me. Is that possible, you say. Indeed the heart has nerve cells or neurons in it just like the brain. I love my heart by choosing stress-reducing activities on good days. I share the love by focusing on gratitude and building those memories up instead of the less-than-ideal ones. My heart loves me by working harder when I’m active and working smarter when I’m resting.
What about that avocado toast? Well I don’t really focus on what I eat. I think about food in color. The living foods are in bright vibrant colors for me and the dead ones are in black and white. I think of water as my new favorite drink and I love myself enough to measure how much I drink of it every day. Healthy thin people occasionally eat a cookie without much worry. They are too busy thinking of all the fun things they can do with their body. They need fuel and they know what is best.
I’m on the verge of moving out of “Overweight-landia.” My metabolism has gone up. I’m snacking on a bowl of fresh steamed green beans like I used to eat potato chips and loving it. I’m sleeping deeply and my body is clearing out some of its hoarded stores while I sleep because I’ve got plenty of “sweetness of life.” There’s no need to stress.
Leslie Householder is the author of Portal to Genius. I’m a Mindset Mastery facilitator for Leslie’s coaching company Rare Faith.
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