Bodies of all backgrounds eat

I came across this piece the other day. 

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/hunger/

It helped put my life with my body in perspective. As I think about cutting back on expenses and eating well, I must remember how lucky I am to be in a place in my life where I can afford to eat healthy foods. 

I've also always wondered why, when poor people are pictured, they appear overweight. This article has a nice response to that exact question - 
"The answer is 'this paradox that hunger and obesity are two sides of the same coin,' says Melissa Boteach, vice president of the Poverty and Prosperity Program of the Center for American Progress, 'people making trade-offs between food that's filling but not nutritious may actually contribute to obesity.' For many of the hungry in America, the extra pounds that result from a poor diet are collateral damage - an unintended side effect of hunger itself."

I weighed my body last night

I weighed my body last night. It was a wake up call. I had assumed that just talking with my body more would mean that my weight would go down – somehow, we would be in better tune which would mean that there’s less noise (read: pounds) between us. Not so.

I have started my cleanse again. This time, I will allow myself SOME wine, and protein. It feels silly not to have protein and be running all of these miles. So far, so good – I ordered some more powers/pills as part of the Standard Process cleanse.

It is almost lunch and my body is calling for it.

I would really like to feel a life shift here, and I think I’m close. I remember the days when I would shove anything in my body that my mind wanted. I can’t even fathom those days. I had dessert on Sat night and it felt insanely different. It was all processed things – cookies, Nutella, fluff. Wow. I ran 11 miles the next day to shake some of it off.

So, here we go… recover, begin again.

I am conscious of the fuel I’m putting into my body and my muscles and bones get a rest after yesterday’s run. It’s lovely.

I have been heavy on my body lately

I've been treating my body poorly. I've been slacking on runs, drinking too much, smoking weed and over eating. This is not new.

And...

Now that I'm in a relationship with my body, the beat goes on. It's not a brand new start, I'm course correcting. And it's a good thing. 

It's about to rain and I'm forcing myself to go out for my 3 mile run. 

I keep acting like life is black and white: I will have a full-blown party weekend or I will have a weekend where I sleep and rest and eat well. It feels like I am giving myself a choice between two extreme scenarios. But there is so much grey in between.

This weekend, I've chosen to stay around town, indeed, to get some rest and get a few things done (including an 11 miler). And I hope to find some joy. 

I left my computer at work the other night and it was quite liberating. My body and I love watching tv, and I'm noticing how much down time it really eats up. With it in my life, it feels like I am working and watching and not much else. I would like to leave my computer at work more - we will see how that goes.

My body and I picked out some healthy eats today and we're fighting off some allergies. So, we're going to run in the woods and then get clean and get some rest. SoulCycle tomorrow morning - woo hoo!

My body can help me let go of guilt

I had a wonderful, long, Fourth of July weekend. 

Before leaving for the trip, I got into a fight with sister and immediately felt guilt. It was hard to sleep and I knew I had to get up very early the next morning to head down and catch my ferry boat at 6am. The guilt plagued me. It was hard to sleep, I woke up in the middle of the night, I got up grumpy.

My mind tried to shake it, but the guilt stayed with my body and I all the way down the cape and all the way on the ferry over to Nantucket. I couldn't sleep it off, I couldn't think it out, it just stayed.

My body and I went for a run and I said to both of us: "this is it. sweat all the guilt out on this run. no more guilt once I shower this sweat off." It was empowering and it worked. It happens at Soul Cycle too, my instructor will say things like "if there's something you can't shake, put it on the wheel." Making a glimpse of an idea tangible helps get it out.

Other forms of guilt showed up this weekend. They were forms that were harder to shake. But at least there wasn't a massive pile on. 

Breathe it out

Sweat it out

Dance it out

Scream it out

All of these activities help me move from my mind into my body. I am not someone who can "think" something out. Our bodies are incredible.

My body and I have embarked on a fun daily thing

My body and I went out for a run this morning. While we were out, I thought about this app called "1 Second Everyday." A friend had recently made and posted a video of a year on Facebook, and it made me think that I could use that platform to capture something I'm doing that honors my body every day. 

Right away, I thought about videotaping the run itself. Then, as I was stretching, I found that videotaping my shadow as I was stretching would be a more fun way to capture the spirit of the morning and set the stage for the kind of care I want to give my body.

On the nutrition front, I've been noticing that I get really warm after eating certain kinds of foods. A few months ago, a friend told me about Chinese warming and cooling foods. I did some more homework and want to start noticing where this comes into play. As someone who usually "runs" hot, it's good to be aware of.