Change

Dear Reader,

I apologize for the lapse of time since I last wrote here. I've had a major change in my life in that my son, daughter-in-law, 3 grandchildren, my 87 year old mother & their 3 dogs all moved to Phoenix, AZ. I'm very happy for them, but not so much for me! It is a tremendous change. Sid & I had centered our lives around them. We, of course, can visit them, but it's just a very big change.

Another big change is that my best friend from first grade is slipping away as I write this due to a brain tumor. She has always been there for me, even though we live 1,000 miles apart. This loss, alas, is permanent.

I have been really putting my money where my mouth is, so to speak, by practicing what I preach about accepting my feelings. In the past it was just so much easier, in the short term, to make my feelings go away by losing myself in ice cream. Of course I then had to wear the evidence of this coping mechanism on my body in extra body fat. It is truly amazing how powerful it is to make a spacious place inside myself for my unpleasant feelings - to invite them in & see that they don't kill me, after all. I just allow myself to sit with my internal body sensations, letting go of the "story line". As a matter of fact I find that I feel lighter after & full of energy.

In an effort to keep myself busy (busier), I have been doing a lot of writing. Two colleagues & I are writing a professional blog for dieticians & others who want to teach mindful eating. It can be accessed at www.megrette.com. It's fun to write, but I often find that I get myself into a perfectionistic snit. Just one more imperfection that I can learn to accept and then, perhaps, with compassion, come to change - or not.

Well, I don't want to overwhelm you after such a long absence, so I will sign off for now.

One breath at a time,

Cheryl

Pre-Fall Carb Cravings

Can you feel the difference in the air? Are you noticing differences in animals' behavior? Are you aware of the subtle & not so subtle signs of the change of seasons that is happening?

Well, let me get right down to what might really be within your awareness & on your mind: Are you craving carbs? and, is that freaking you out?

Well, let me tell you what I have observed over time. In the summer I'm full of energy. I enjoy being out in the sunshine, exercising, gardening, etc. I'm attracted to eating "lite". Salads are very appealing and satisfying. Life is good.

And then, "all of a sudden," I'm sluggish, wanting to take naps, & finding myself digging out recipes for heavy stews, chili, breads, desserts that I have traditionally made in the Fall. I'm craving carbs over and over again. What is wrong with me? This change in behavior panics me. Oh, no, I'm going to become a fat slug. Can you relate to this?

Let me tell you what else I have come to notice. The sunlight has changed. Around Aug. 15 I noticed that in my home, the light coming through the large windows we have in 2 sliding glass doors seemed to be dimmer. It's like when I turn the kitchen light on & realize that 1 of the 4 light bulbs in the fixture has burned out. It "just doesn't look right". I experience this dimming, as if someone pushed a dimmer switch in every room in our home.

This awareness had a familiar ring to it, so I went back to last year's journal &, sure enough, on Aug. 16, 2009 I had written about the same phenomenon.

I am very aware of the action of the animals around me since I love nature & observe it at every chance. We live in a woods & I notice that "all of a sudden", the squirrels have become very active. They are racing all over the trees, causing branches to dip & bow unexpectedly under their weight. They are beginning their loading up with acorns & other nuts & nutty behavior as they bury & then lose their nuts.

In the past couple of weeks the hummingbirds that visit my 2 feeders, have become what seems frantic in loading up on my homemade sugar water nectar. The past day or 2 I only see an occasional hummer at the feeders. I sadly realize that they were "gassing up" for their long migration south.

These are signs that winter is on it's way in the natural world. Why do we forget that we are also a part of that natural world, try as we might to pretend that it isn't so?

So, just like bears & ground hogs, our bodies sense the subtle light changes that signal that the sun is lower in the sky & cause us to have the urge to stock up our fat reserves so that we can survive the long, cold winter ahead of us. What does that best? Carbs, lots & lots of them. So that's why we are instinctively drawn to them. The thought of carbs keeps coming up over and over again in our minds, tempting and tormenting us.

STAY TUNED: In my next post I will give you a strategy for dealing with this annual phenomenon.