My Soul!

Carnie Wilson said she don't care that she has gain weight. Oprah is okay with her weight and she is not going to make an issue out of anymore. I can totally relate to these women. Now I'm a little shaky on Carnie because she might go back to worrying later because of pressures of others and the gastric bypass community. But my girl Oprah is in a wonderful place.

What is that place and where is it! I can tell you it is like the imagines of heaven. It's comfortable, silent and wonderful. It's a place that I wish all people could experience. It's a place of true acceptance for self and it is in your soul. I have been in that place for almost a year now and I have never looked back. I feel healthier because I'm happier. I will never go back to that dark place of hating myself and depriving myself because I don't want to have self-control.

Now that I'm at a size that I can maintain with just a little toning in certain areas I can focus on my happy place. I remember weighting less than I am now but not telling myself this is a perfect size so lets maintain it. I was never content with a size. I was more content with being overweight than I was being skinny. It's very confusing but it's real. I wonder if others feel this way. For me being content with a set size has taken so much pressure off. It's owning your size, embracing it and moving on to more important things in life.

The weight did not make me content my soul did. Contentment is in the soul and that is what has given me so much peace and joy about myself. I'm truly in love with every inch of my body. It's a wonderful place to be.

History of meals: I was reading about the history of mealtimes in American and came across a few interesting websites that got me thinking about my past eating habits. I read that many years ago breakfast consisted of a piece of bread and a hot drink. This was not just for the poor but wealthy people ate this way as well. Dinner which is now our lunch was the heaviest meal of the day and was eaten between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Supper which is now our dinner was a very light meal. I also read that people did not snack like we do today. So how did we get here?

Advertising has played a big part in our eating habits today. We are told that we must eat 3 meals and 2 snacks. We have been conditioned to believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day to push breakfast foods like cereal and eggs. I remember when I was younger that most people did not eat a large breakfast. A big campaigns in the 90's started pushing breakfast by stating "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" Is it really? I have always questioned that and wondered if the cereal industry was behind the campaign ads. I think every meals should be important and nutritional.

It's so important to read about how we got to this place of needing to eat 3 meals and 2 snacks. Who is behind these bright ideas. We are told to eat to much food in one day. Just analyze the U.S. food pyramid and visualize all that food in front of you on a table. It makes me sick to my stomach. 6-11 servings of rice, grains, wheat, pasta, 2-4 servings from the fruit group, 3-5 servings from the veggie group, 2-3 servings from the meats, nuts, eggs, dry bean group, 2-3 from the cheese and milk group, and sparingly from the oil sand sweet group. I believe this is to much food for one person to consume in one day. No one needs to eat like this. I think this guideline is used to keep the all the food industries in business. The government is telling us not to forget about the egg industry, the wheat industry, etc. But what is this doing to us? Making us fat and confusing us about what we really need to eat. We need to question our eating habits and make some serious adjustments. It's important to come up with your own food pyramid and meal time lines. It's about taking the control back of our eating habits. Asking self, do I really need to eat this way and is it really a true benefit.

Last week I cut out dinner thinking my life would be turned upside down. My body has adjusted very well and when I wake up now I'm not hungry for food right way. My plan is to drop the mealtime titles and just eat when my body need it. I don't want to be on an eating schedule because the food industry want me to be. My plan is to really learn to listen to my body and give it what it needs. I know my body is not interested in junk food or overeating. If my body is asking for spinach at 7 a.m. than that is what it will get. My body has proven that it is amazing and it will tell me when and what to eat. This week is an experiment.