At 5:30 PM I was feeling overtaxed.  I had been home from work for about an hour and it has been non-stop. As soon as I got in the door I made my lunch and pre-tracked tomorrow’s points. As I was doing this, I kept thinking about my word choice from a couple of posts ago – brute effort. This constant effort has to be the reason why many people, including me, haven’t made it to goal yet.

As I read this back, I can see this is not productive nor is it kind thinking. So it is time to change the narrative: “Jennifer you’re doing great and losing weight requires a lot of work and dedication.”

To which my snarky inner voice says, “Well, duh…”

Again, this is not helpful, and now the word endurance keeps coming to mind. Losing weight feels like a marathon of mindfulness. When I came home, I was hungry (internal hunger because lunch was over four hours ago) so I ate 1/4 cup (with the shells) of pistachios (2sp) and then I heated up a serving of homemade vegetable soup (0sp).

A little while later…

Having eaten a little something,  I’m feeling better.  As I read back my post, I notice that my thoughts/feelings were negative and stressed. Stopping to write and reflect on what was actually happening helped.  I feel different. It makes me appreciate the difference from reacting and reflecting.

If I think about everything from a different perspective, I can say, “Jennifer you are completely ready for tomorrow. Great job making lunch and breakfast. It’s good to know that is done and is ready to go in the refrigerator.  Also, you laid out your clothes, so that’s another thing off your list. Nice going!” I have to say thinking this way makes me feel calmer and better about my situation.

I’d like to leave you with these words I found on Facebook:

This is true for me, and it’s true for you too. Sometimes a bowl of hot homemade soup, and permission to think about how your feeling is the best way to show yourself some love.

More tomorrow…