A new day, a new week
yiska
and was happy to read a bit about who is with us this go around with
the course online. Thank you for introducing yourselves and taking the
time to write about what brings you to your Transformative Nutrition
process.
It's time to fully jump into the game, whether you were one of the
ones who got a late start or not! The workbook for me is really always
about showing up wherever I am, no matter what. I don't need to love
myself already to be loving to myself. I don't need to be perfect.
'Now', 'this moment' is always on time! I read a great excerpt from a
book called "Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters" by Courtney Martin
(about disordered eating amongst women in our culture feeling like
being good isn't even good enough anymore and we've got to be perfect;
that not only can women be anything in this day and age, but we often
feel like we have to be everything and make it all look effortless to
boot!) The quote and charge is to "meet your body where it is". Meet
yourself where you are and start there. Thank you for being willing to
do that.
That said, week one was about seeing nutrition as more than just what
you eat, but all that feeds you in all aspects of your life. The most
important piece is to complete the life wheel exercise and create a
snack for the coming weeks that will nourish you in some area of your
life in which you are being less than satiated.
You began also to write your food in a journal this week and this I
find to be one of the most helpful tools in creating mindfulness
around food for me. It helps to see what's going in and when. The
point was to notice without changing a thing and this week too is also
about continuing this process of keeping track of what you're eating
without making any deliberate changes, while adding a new focus. This
week you will be exploring and exposing your inner critic and
judgments around food. Exposing the nasty voices in our heads is the
first step in being free to choose what we want in life rather than
being in chronic reaction to fabricated imperatives, the shoulds of
life.
Our first recommendation is that you sit down and read through week 2
today if you haven't already. Don't worry if you haven't completed
week 1 yet. If you have the time, go through both, and if not, just go
right ahead to week 2 and you can come back to week 1 later. The
workbook is yours forever to review and relearn from as you continue
in your journey to explore and heal your relationship with food and
your body. See what is there for you this week and play with the
exercises we've offered. I usually sat down with the workbook 2-3
times during the week to complete the tasks of each chapter.
Enjoy this week, this day! Let's look honestly at the game we're
playing! I promise this process is amazing- a walk through the "maze"
of your life with food that will bring you to a new clearing as you go
through the process. Sarah and I are eager to hear your discoveries
and how the process is going with you. Please share your excitement,
your frustration, your fear, your enthusiasm, whatever. Jump in fully
if you haven't already!
We are so happy to have you!
All my love and support....Yiska
Janice
And everybody else. I've found this past week that my habit is to
graze through the day - eating the remains of whatever Deacon (my
toddler son) has to eat for meals & snacks and then adding my own
meals on top of that - sometimes with him and sometimes in addition to
his meals. Particularly at lunch - having Deacon's lunch with him at
noon and then another lunch with Reagan (my husband) at 1:30/2pm when
he comes home. I'm hungry at noon and also want to share food with RG
and have some "adult time". Just observing right now and I think it
would be good if this shifts.
Janice
Sarah & Yiska
Specifically regarding what you wrote: Do you notice yourself trying to defend yourself in your mind in choosing to have a second lunch with RG? When we do that it is usually a reaction to an internal judgment. Like one inner voice says you shouldn't eat again and the other says, hey I'm justified, damn-it! I get to eat with my husband if I want to and you can't say otherwise! We all do this, the downside is that there is no freedom to choose another possibility from that space and we lose touch with our authentic desires in the moment, which may be to eat and may just be to sit with your husband, etc. I'm curious. Do you notice this kind of inner dialogue? What inner dialogue do you notice? Week 2 can be about watching these conversations, judgments, etc.
Enjoy the ride....I look forward to hearing more.
Yiska
Yiska Obadia, L.Ac. & Sarah O'Leary, L.Ac.
co-authors, Transformative Nutrition
www.redefiningdiet.com