Warm & fuzzy feedback…

I had to wonder… while standing there in that school hall, talking to 120 girls whether I was getting through to any of them. For those of you who’ve read my previous post - you’ll know that I was invited to talk to young girls at Buccleuch Primary on issues of self-abuse and self-esteem. We had 4 sessions over a period of 4 weeks to sow as much positive “seed” as possible in to these girls’ lives.

Tia Pillay made my day when she approached me on Week 3 to show me the Positive Book that she’d made for herself – after hearing my suggestion on Week 1. It was filled with certificates and awards that she’d received from school – as well as affirming letters and cards from friends and family – plus a few photos. Shy as she was, I could see the grin of pride on her face as I oooh’ed and aaah’ed my way through her positive book.

Man… it’s moments like these that make my day! Why am I doing this stuff? Oh yes – that’s why!

New ways…

I’ve come to the following important conclusions:

Diets suck and will never offer a long-term solution to obesity issues because:

• they’re a one-size-fits-all solution for different people – who have different issues with food.
• they leave no room for a normal flippin‘ life! (ie: weddings, business meetings, unplanned guests arriving with unplanned food, romantic evenings with hubby, holidays, etc, etc.) Diets assume that every single day consists of a perfectly planned Breakfast, Lunch and Supper eaten at very specific times. For those of us with fluid, unpredictable lifestyles – this is quite simply un-doable on any kind of long-term basis.
• their restrictive nature and bland menu leaves many feeling depressed and deprived. People won’t keep something up in the long-term if it makes them feel depressed and deprived!
• their rules-based structure also keeps people feeling depressed, deprived and resentful. The long list of ‘forbidden foods’ or ‘no-no’s‘… tend to make the rebellious child in us crave exactly that which is banned!

Solution? I cannot afford to diet! Without fail, diets mess me up (emotionally). They leave me feeling like a useless failure – simply because I don’t want to obsess about food every day… weighing, measuring, counting… obsess – obsess – obsess… fretting because I don’t have the right diet ingredients in my house… panicking because I’ve run out of sweetener and lite margarine… obsess – obsess – obsess… feeling anxious (instead of excited) about an approaching wedding / party / celebration because I’m terrified that I’ll ‘lose control’ and ‘cheat on my diet’… obsess – obsess – obsess... feeling like the ultimate loser because the scale didn’t register a significant weight loss at the end of the week… panic.. panic… obsess… obsess…!!

Secondly – I believe that in order for a person to keep exercising on a long-term basis – they need to ENJOY the exercise activity that they’re participating in. This isn’t rocket science. But for some, insane reason – I’ve been clinging to the mantra of “No-pain-no-gain” my whole life – I’ve had this idea that exercise was something that had to be “endured”… like a terrible torture of sorts. Well, no more!

I’ve reached a point in my life when I’m just TOTALLY fed up with diets and awful exercise regimes! I want a healthy relationship with food!!! And I want to enjoy my exercise!!

So – without further ado – here is my PLAN OF ACTION:

Firstly – as previously mentioned – I’m not one of those people who can’t understand why they’re fat (I have theory on that too). I’m very aware of why I’m fat. I know what foods are healthy and I know what foods are UNhealthy. Food ignorance has never been my problem.

So! My first step is this: to make a list of healthy foods that I (gasp!) ENJOY EATING! The list will go something like this:

Vegetables:

I like: snap peas in the pod, those teeny little mini-corn looking things, peeled mini carrots, mushrooms, onions, avo (yes, yes – I know that technically it’s a fruit), spring onion, baby tomatoes, sweet baby peas & broccoli.

I won’t get excited about (but will eat): lettuce, cucumber, green pepper, cabbage, normal-size carrots, brussel sprouts and marrows.

I dislike intensely (and won’t eat): asparagus, celery, radishes, gherkins, all other peppers and their hot relatives…. and if olives are a veggie – then I hate those too! (Yeugh!)

Potential problem veggies: Potato (because dry potato is gross. It BEGS for lavish amounts of butter or oil!), Gem squash (again, begging for butter and sugar), cauliflower (because it needs cheese sauce) and pumpkin (best with butter, sugar and lots of cinnamon)… and corn on the cob – because it wants to be rolled in butter.

OK?
So – what I’ve done – is I have made a list (like above) – covering all of the basic food groups… fruit, veggies, starches, dairy, meat – plus “extras” like snacks, drinks & condiments. But every food mentioned is basically healthy… there’s no sausage rolls, double-cheese burgers, chips, carbonated drinks or chocolate on my list. This does NOT, however, mean – that these items are placed under a section called “Forbidden Foods”. There are NO “Forbidden Foods” in my life – I am simply going to exercise my right to choose healthy foods most of the time. And… if we’re at a restaurant with friends… or a wedding… or whatever… and I order a dessert – then big flippin’ deal!! I will not berate and guilt-trip myself for weeks afterwards for “cheating”… because there are no Forbidden Foods in the first place!

Ta-daaaaaa! What do you think?

It goes without saying that the same thing is true for exercise:

I hate repetition. Loathe it. Find it too boring for words. Stationary bicycles, treadmills, step machines – or anything that requires me to stand in one spot repeating the same movement over and over again – NOT for me!

Here’s some healthy body movement stuff that I think could be fun:

• Dancing (I’ve always wanted to learn how to hip-hop!)
• Rock climbing (indoor & outdoor).
• Horse riding (wonderful memories from my childhood days).
• Rollerblading (maybe in a parking lot somewhere?)
• And I’ve always enjoyed the motorized stuff like jet-skiing, quad biking, water-skiing, etc.

I’m also not adverse to:

• Swimming (I love to swim, it’s what you have to wear to swim that most troubles me!)
• Other low-impact workouts at the gym (again, although the work-out seems appealing – I worry about embarrassing myself).
• Boxing style work-outs (quite like the idea of punching stuff and skipping like Rocky!)
• Hiking (but it must be somewhere beautiful with trees and rivers and stuff!)
• Mountain biking (again – must be somewhere scenic – NOT interested in riding on the road with traffic and exhaust fumes and barking, chasing dogs!)

Too boring for words (yawn!):

• Tennis (or anything involving the chasing of a ball!)
• Golf (see point about balls).
• Rowing machines, stairclimbing machines, stationary bikes, etc.
• Weight-lifting (again – it’s the repetition that’s the killer for me!)
• Running or walking in the neighborhood (too much traffic, too many barking dogs, too many people noticing me!)

So – long-winded post that this is — you now get the idea of where I’m going with this. Healthy eating and exercise: YES! – but with the condition that I enjoy the healthy food eaten – and the exercise undertaken… because the fact of the matter is – if I don’t enjoy it – I won’t stick to it long-term. Simple as that!

Signing off for now…