I don't understand it.....But I'll take it just the same!

Yesterday, I had to take my daughter to the orthodontist. Okay! I didn't HAVE to (she can drive now), but I HAD to, because this gave me the perfect excuse to go cruise the clearance bins at a couple of super stores in the same town (about forty minutes from our town). Once that was done (okay deals, but nothing worth blogging about) we headed another thirty minutes away (from our home) to exchange her (only four week old) ipod. I could get into the whole phone experience (similar to the experience with the phone bill),I went through before making the trip to the ipod store, but I am trying to keep these blogs positive so I will just say instead, that the staff at the store were very curtious and helpful and my daughter has a new (as in brand-new..... as opposed to a four-week-new) working ipod now, so we are both satified and happy. There was a point to this story.... I know there was..... Oh right.....

The plan was to eat dinner out, and we decided just to eat in the mall's food court for the sake of time. Oh! The choices....... I could have a three cheese Olga and curly fries (I have ALWAYS loved these), or Chinese (what's not to love about Chinese???), or Middle Eastern, or....... I decided on a veggie pita, and as I was asking about what was on it (they like to throw those "fake" cheese slices on and pass it off as the real thing, but I am on to them), that little voice (whom is becoming my best allie) said "You know, you're not really hungry." And it was right! I had eaten both breakfast and lunch, and of course for the drive down had to have my skinny (skim), decaf, sugar-free, mocha mocha and my tummy was nice and content. Once I realized this, I thought about the six miles I had ran earlier in the day (one to one and a half mile at a time in between my other responsibilities), and fast food just seemed like such a waste of all those calories I had burned. I ended up choosing a mega fruit smoothie to share with my daughter, and when I got home, had some (real)cheese and a few crackers for my dinner.

Why do I deem this important enough to blog about? Because this is not the "me" I have known for many many (many!)years. The "me" I am used to has an arsenal of justification why it is okay to eat junk food. I say this not to brag (not much anyway), but as a yearning to understand how this has happened. The truth is, I believe if I can't figure out how I got to this point, someday the "magic spell" will wear off and I will go back to my old habits (sorta like they say "those that forget history are condemded to repeat it). You might say, I don't yet trust this new "me" as being valid and real. So much work to do yet, but hey......everyone needs a goal. Right?

Another (big) reason I wanted to share the above experience, is to encourage those of you that have given into the "I'll never be able tos" that we all give into from time to time. It might be regarding eating, getting in shape, paying off debt, changing careers, the sense of failure is all pretty much the same no matter what it stems from. I am here to tell you that if I can do it, then you can too. NOT that I am not special....... Just that we all are! You are special enough to deserve the best, so go after the best, and keep going after it until you are in possession of it! Start with one tiny tiny small change towards your goal (much easier to swallow than a big bite). Think of it as choosing one of those fru-fru crustless tea sandwiches they serve in REALLY fancy places rather than the giant hero subs that we are all used to eating. Enjoy the experience of the change, and patiently wait a while (within this experience) to see if you like the way it fits/feels on you before taking another bite (I will be the first one to admit to eating too fast)of your long-term goal. I think this approach is HUGE reason why I am where I am today, and encourage you to give it a try.

Off the subject (sorta)...... In the February issue of Fitness Magazine on their "This month I promise to" page were two items I thought deserved honorable mention: 1) Toss the chocolates I bite into and don't like. I will not waste calories on gooey pink mystery filling. (and here I add..... I am worth the few cents wasted on thowing out the yucky ones and savoring only the yummy ones) 2) Stop referring to my most forgiving jeans as my "fat" pants. There are no fat days, just times when Lycra is more welcome than others! (that statement says it all..... one more example of how we can love ourselves)

Have a great day!