Thinner peace and rainy day lentil soup
Continuing on with The Four Day Win: End your Diet War and Achieve Thinner Peace,
by Martha Beck, recent exercises had me make a grid showing how fat I
felt at various times in my life. Then you analyze the times you were
thinnest and the times you were fattest. You rate things like your love
life, work, friendships, finances, family, medical conditions, leisure
time, living environment, etc. Then you try to find patterns.
I only remember one time I was 'at my thinnest' and that was age 21 when
I went from about 165 pounds to 125 pounds and a size 7. I went jogging
every day and only ate one meal a day -- a single frozen
weight-watchers entree´ like lasagna or something. That's it. It
worked quickly and I never felt so slim and sexy in my life, and that's
when I met my first husband. Of course I couldn't eat that way forever.
As I put weight back on, he made me feel bad about it, unworthy and
unlovable, and I put more weight on. He had affairs, and I put more
weight on. So I was pretty miserable and feeling fat then, and that
lasted until my late 30s when I hit my all time high weight of 296
pounds, and it freaked me out. Seeing 300 that close was scary. I did
get down to about 288 before moving to Australia, then 275 by my wedding
day. The first few years here I actually got down to 197, so while
that's hardly thin, it's one of the thinnest weights for me in many
years.
As far as finding common elements of the times I felt my fattest, it
wasn't hard. Unhappy in love or single and lonely. Unstable/unhealthy
friendships. Dealing with my screwed up family's issues. But I don't
feel that way these days, do I? Are any of these things holding me back
today? I'm very happy in love now, have healthier relationships and …
hmm. While I moved away from my family, there are still major issues
back home that affect me. Family members I wish I could help, but
who've chosen their beds and now have to lie in them. It's stressful,
sometimes causes anxiety. Could that have anything to do with why I've
felt stuck for the last couple of years? And what can I do about it?
Half hour walk today -- wanted to go longer but it started to rain. But
hubby made a nice observation. He said my endurance has improved a lot
in the past week. Those first couple of days I was walking slower and
breathing harder -- now I'm moving much faster, taking the inclines, and
breathing a bit easier. That's good to hear. :)
Today's Menu:
Overnight Oatmeal
Half serve Spicy Lentil Chili
Spinach & Mushroom Lasagna
Rainy Day Lentil Soup
1 crusty bread roll
TOTALS: 1573 calories (65/21/14)
I gotta say, that Rainy Day Lentil Soup
was delicious, though next time I'll throw the potato in a bit later as
it got done way before the lentils and fell apart a bit, and maybe add
the garlic sooner, but this was really delicious! Leave it to Susan, I just love her recipes and use them often.