You think what - not my business!

16th March 2016

Peace comes from within, do not seek it without.  Buddha

So I need to get back to tracking!  I haven't done it since last Thursday, not eaten stupidly but not tracked and it makes such a difference for me to know how many points I'm consuming.  Although I Smart Point every meal, it's still really easy to have that odd taste or just go over a little higher at each meal and not think about it.  Bread too has been eaten more this week, bagels to be more precise, now that wouldn't normally be an issue if it was within my allowance but I notice that when I eat bread, I don't really lose weight, not it's not the breads fault, the bread isn't doing something weird and wonderful inside my stomach to stop my weight loss or bloat me or any of that, what's really happening is, I'm usually not filling the plate full of veggies like I would when I have something else, so my meal is just a sausage bagel with a few salad leaves impersonating my veg quota, it's not as substantial and I'm hungry again soon.  It's also added to an already big enough meal, I have this thing for a bit of spread added to the bread and then wiped round the pan of whatever I've just cooked, that's a couple of points I didn't need and I wouldn't normally have if I was tracking!

So no it's not 'bread' as such that makes me gain weight, it's copious amounts of the stuff eaten when I really don't need it, eaten in addition to my meals, or replacing the good stuff like veggies that my body needs for nutrition.

Have you noticed when it comes to the way we think and behave, negative events and experience are far more noticeable and have a greater impact than the positive ones.  If you put a person in a bad mood, they'll quickly and easily remember other negative life events, but cheer them up and they find it harder to recall the good moments!  Weird or what!  In Dale Carnegie's book How to Win Friends and Influence People, he argued that even the slightest hint of criticism has an enormously damaging effect on relationships, he urged his readers to shower their nearest and dearest with lavish praise. 

We all know that rarely happens, heck you lot can't even be nice to yourselves half the time, I witness it day in, day out.  In case you're thinking 'where's this come from?'  Everything I write about has some relevance to something that's happened around me in the proceeding days, I started my blog to help me process stuff in my own head, it just happened that people started to read it.

Anyway, back to my thoughts, so I used to let everything, everyone said to me or about me really affect me, then I read something one day that changed all that, "What other people think of you is none of your business", I no longer waste my time thinking about what others are thinking about me, it's serves no purpose at all.  Seeking approval is a waste of time and energy, it only brings you suffering.  It's not about whether others approve of you but if you approve of you - that's what truly counts. 

The truth is how people perceive you reveals more about them that is does about you, they'll perceive you based on their own conditioning and filters, don't take it personally, not everyone is going to like you.

The truth is you can live in a closed off box where you never interact with anyone, or you can put yourself out there, and risk being judged, talked about and people projecting their stuff on you - it is what it is, I happily take that risk every day because ultimately I LIKE ME!  I'm a good person, if others choose to see something different, that's there prerogative and it ain't none of my business ;-)

Don't give anyone the power to determine your happiness, I sure as hell don't anymore.

The focusing on the bad stuff happens internally too, from a weight loss point of few - everything can be turned back to food and eating!   We're quick to criticise and judge ourselves when we have a bad food day but we rarely big ourselves up when we make a good choice, when we resist temptation, when we stay on track, when we make the time to prioritise ourselves and our next healthy meal.  Yep, remember even the slightest hint of criticism has an enormously damaging effect on relationships, don't forget Dale Carnegie urged his readers to shower their nearest and dearest with lavish praise, I reckon that should include ourselves.  He was a clever dude I reckon, that book has sold millions of copies, I'm sure even I have a copy somewhere, I haven't read it but I've opened it at one time!   

Remember you can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time.  And BeYOUtiful you'll never be good enough for some folk, but as long as you're good enough for YOU that's all that matters.

Today big yourself up for the good stuff, don't focus on the negative, it'll eat you up and drain you, trust me, I witness it a lot and it ain't pretty.

Here's today's easy Smart Points recipe, mmm nice!

Blue cheese chicken Serves 4, 5sp per serving

4 medium skinless chicken breasts (7sp)

50g blue cheese crumbled (8sp)

2 tbsp low fat mayo (3sp)

4 slices wafer thin ham (1sp)

1 tsp olive oil (2sp)

salt & freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to gas mark 5/190C line a baking tray with non stick baking parchment.

Make slits along the length of each chicken breast to form deep pockets.  Place the blue cheese in a small bowl with the mayo and seasoning, and mix together thoroughly.  Spoon equal amounts of the mixture into each chicken breast pocket.

Wrap a slice of wafer thin ham around each chicken breast and secure it with a cocktail stick.  Place the wrapped chicken on a baking tray and brush with olive oil.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Leave the chicken to stand for 5 mins before slicing in half on the diagonal to serve.