You can't hibernate - you're not a bear!

12^th November 2013

Happiness comes when your work and words are of benefit to yourself and others. Jack Kornfield

What’s with all the dreaming, not usually aware of my dreams but they’re waking me up the last few nights, random they are too.  Add to that cats wailing on our front garden and I’ve had better nights, thankfully I went to bed early, yeah it seems I’ll doing part-time hibernation this Autumn, I’m really early to bed – bright side to that, it stops the evening wine and late night nibbles so I’m not complaining.

Speaking of hibernating, how about our squirrel, yesterday he was on the ground about ten foot away from the kitchen (he usually just sits on the fence and eats the nuts mom has hanging for him) so I found some sunflower seeds from my cooking cupboard, opened the window and made my “here boy ttt tt tt” noise that I make for squirrels – it’s different to the dog calling noise :) anyway I threw a few on the floor and he didn’t run off, he came over and ate them – how cool is that!  Easily pleased ain’t I?

Speaking of easily pleased, I love my new frying pan, it needs no oil to fry eggs, I made a delicious 3 egg (5pp) omelette for my breakfast yesterday morning with 20g chorizo (2pp), mushrooms, tomato and spinach and a small slice of seeded bread (2pp), it was delicious.  Then for dinner we had a Co-op chicken tikka masala and rice for 11pp, that was nice but a bit warm for a masala, mom couldn’t finish hers, she doesn’t like spicy at all.  Then for my tea I had 50g parma ham (3pp) and 20g cheddar cheese (2pp) with a small glass of red wine (4pp), which was just enough as I wasn’t hungry, I sat nibbling at it whilst reading my book up the kitchen table in the kitchen that I’d spent the morning cleaning thoroughly

which if I’d remembered to put my pedometer on would have earned me some ProPoints, so I managed to clean the kitchen, tidy the living room and sort the mess out that is my bedroom – more than enough for one day!

Weigh day today – eek, I just want a pound a week till Christmas, so I can enjoy Christmas, anyone who knows me knows I’m never going to be the ‘perfect’ dieter, I may be a Weight Watcher leader but I play the plan all the time – I also take the consequences (so don’t try to copy me if you’re not happy to not lose weight!)  I’m never going to be a size 8-10 again because I like food and red wine way too much, actually never say never, things change as do people so who knows I could wake up one day and not be fussed about food, or have a desire to wear a size 10 bikini, sitting here on a cold November morning I can’t see it myself but you never know.

I love how different things motivate people, like a friend who found a pair of her size 10 brown cords in the back of a wardrobe and realised that she was now in a 16, they were enough to spur her on to lose 4 stone!  Or the trainer I was talking to a few weeks ago who when asked what she wanted to achieve on her first visit to Weight Watchers all those years ago, she said a size 10 bikini, even though she’d just had a baby and weighed around 15 stone, she was being cynical when she said it but the leader told her she absolutely could do it and to buy herself a bikini on the way home, which she did!  When her husband came home and saw the size 10 bikini hanging on the wardrobe, he asked, “who’s is that?” she gave him that look women give to men and replied, “IT’S MINE!” to which he said, “Oh, ok luv” and wisely walked away, twelve months later, she did wear that bikini.  

Everyone can find something to motivate them, it doesn’t have to be an item of clothing , sometimes it can be a realisation, as a wonderful lady I know told me yesterday it was the lyrics to a song, the new John Lewis advert, "I'm getting tired and I need someone to rely on", it had made her realise she’s tired, but rather than hibernating like the bear in the advert, she’s going to change her habits instead, she’s realised she needs to put herself first occcassionally because her needs are just as important as everyone else’s, her plan is to emerge in the summer back at her goal. 

It’s too easy to think, ‘it’s almost Christmas, I’ll start again next year’, it’s also not a great idea, there’s a lot of damage can be done in 2 months or more, healthy eating is for life, we need to make changes that we find easier to keep in place most of the time, spring, summer, autumn and winter, not just the six weeks that lead up to a holiday, or the 2 months before you get married.  Taking care of yourself is a forever thing, can you imagine saying to your kids, go make your own breakfast and sort yourself out for school, I’m taking a break from all this looking after you, I’ll start again in spring!  It wouldn’t happen would it – then don’t behave that way towards yourself – take care of you because you’re important too.

Today I want you to EatGorgeous, focus on the BeYOUtiful and know that you matter so much. xx