Something UPLIFTING for a change??

Jo 1962
on 5/11/11 10:35 pm, edited 5/12/11 3:34 am - NearHouston, TX

I'm in the middle of reading Geneen Roth's latest book called" Lost and Found: Unexpected Revelations about Food and Money". I didn't know what to expect with such a title but I really enjoyed her last book (Women Food and God). I read her first book "Feeding the Hungry Heart" a long time ago when I first learned what a compulsive eater was. I feel like that as I grow, she just gets more indepth and tells me more of what I didn't think I needed to know.   This book just expands on her earlier books and is such a good book for anybody, IMO..because we are all part of the human race.

This is an excerpt from page 105  so you can decide for yourself if it's worth reading.

" The If-Only-I-Had Myth

If being rich made people happy, all rich people would be happy. If being thin made people happy, all thin people would be ecstatic. And although we've all read the stories of the lottery winners who are abjectly miserable, and the rich and very thin celebrities who cycle among making movies, taking drugs, and being in rehab, we persist in the myth that more money and less weight leads to more happiness. And although most of us weren't over-the-moon happy when we lost weight those previous ten or twenty times or when you had more money than we have now, we keep the myth alive, as if the alternative- not putting our lives on hold and living here, now, in this moment, with all that we have and don't have- were intolerable. We've become so acclimated to the if-only-I-had myth that we don't bother to question it. Has being thin ever, in one single instance, made anyone happy? If it made you so happy, why did you gain the weight back? Do you know one rich person who is happy because they are rich? Is it really true that the way things are now is intolerable?

     We live in a trance; we make up the stories we tell ourselves, and then we act as if those stories were true. We create a make-believe world for make-believe assumptions, putting our real lives on hold for a make-believe life that has no relation to our direct experience.

     Let me be clear: It's not that losing weight doesn't make us more comfortable if we are huffing and puffing when we schlep our bodies around, and it's not that having enough money to buy food and shelter and clothing and basic comforts doesn't make life easier. I'm not disavowing the importance of living in a body that can get around with ease or having enough money for basic comfort. But when we begin ignoring what we do have, we miss the only place that is real, the only place from which we can glean any kind of happiness or satisfaction or love- which is here, now. And if we haven't learned how to see through our myths, quiet our minds, and be in the present moment, it doesn't matter if we are thin or rich; we will do what we've always done: raise the proverbial bar and miss the ongoing feast that is now."

5.0 cc in a 10cc lapband (four fills) 1 unfill of .5cc on 5/24/2011.
.5 fill March 2012. unfill of .25cc May 2012. Unfill of .5cc June 2014.

Still with my lapband with no plans for revision. Band working well since

last small unfill.

HW: 267lbs- size 22-24 LW:194lbs CW:198lbs Size 14-16

barbara314
on 5/11/11 10:48 pm

Thanks Jolena. I just finished reading "When Food Is Love" by Geneen Roth. This one looks good too!
~ Barbara

Jo 1962
on 5/11/11 10:53 pm - NearHouston, TX

Lap Band on 08/25/10

You're quite welcome, Barbara. I suggest you read "Women Food and God" first because this latest book refers to that one...further expanding upon what she learned at that time. This new book also rises from her losing her life savings from investing with Bernie Madoff - the realizations that came out of that experience mirrored the lessons from Women Food and God..so much that she wrote this book. I think she's awesome.

5.0 cc in a 10cc lapband (four fills) 1 unfill of .5cc on 5/24/2011.
.5 fill March 2012. unfill of .25cc May 2012. Unfill of .5cc June 2014.

Still with my lapband with no plans for revision. Band working well since

last small unfill.

HW: 267lbs- size 22-24 LW:194lbs CW:198lbs Size 14-16

(deactivated member)
on 5/11/11 10:54 pm - Des Moines, IA

I will have to check out these books!

I think it's so true about " THE If- Only-I-Had Myth" We need to make the most out of each day and appreciate what we have today. Time goes by so fast.

Thanks for posting this! I'm heading out to volunteer for "Field Day" for the elementary school that I volunteer at. I'm hoping for no rain. It rained all day yesterday and last night.

Have a good day,
Kristi

Jo 1962
on 5/11/11 10:57 pm - NearHouston, TX

Lap Band on 08/25/10

Thanks Kristi..you too. I hope your rain moves down here to Texas!

5.0 cc in a 10cc lapband (four fills) 1 unfill of .5cc on 5/24/2011.
.5 fill March 2012. unfill of .25cc May 2012. Unfill of .5cc June 2014.

Still with my lapband with no plans for revision. Band working well since

last small unfill.

HW: 267lbs- size 22-24 LW:194lbs CW:198lbs Size 14-16

michele1
on 5/11/11 11:09 pm

Revision on 07/07/15

Thanks for posting this, I might have to read this authors books.............I am still struggling with the food issues and I would really like to get to the bottom of it but don't have time to do formal therapy.

Any suggestion on which one to read first??

Thanks again,

Michele

Jo 1962
on 5/11/11 11:15 pm - NearHouston, TX

Lap Band on 08/25/10

Probably one of her first two books: Feeding the Hungry Heart & when Food is Love. You can find both in paperbacks and they are a quick read!

A later book "Breaking Free from Emotional Eating" could also be a good first read.

5.0 cc in a 10cc lapband (four fills) 1 unfill of .5cc on 5/24/2011.
.5 fill March 2012. unfill of .25cc May 2012. Unfill of .5cc June 2014.

Still with my lapband with no plans for revision. Band working well since

last small unfill.

HW: 267lbs- size 22-24 LW:194lbs CW:198lbs Size 14-16

Tarris
on 5/12/11 2:37 am

"And if we haven't learned how to see through our myths, quiet our minds, and be in the present moment, it doesn't matter if we are thin or rich; we will do what we've always done: raise the proverbial bar and miss the ongoing feast that is now."

Absolutely profound.

Jo 1962
on 5/12/11 3:46 am - NearHouston, TX

Lap Band on 08/25/10

I agree :) This is why I love her books so much. She also gives practical advice...I remember when I first read Overcoming Overeating when she said in the book to go out and buy the food you always over-indulge in...and buy THREE times as much as you would eat in a normal sitting. I thought the woman was crazy but I went out and bought 3 cartons of Blue Bell Ice Cream. The idea is to keep replenishing the stock so I'd always have three cartons in the freezer. The idea is to give yourself permission to eat it..(There are no "bad" foods). At first it was cool but very soon, I got tired of icecream and had to even throw some out. That NEVER happened before. Ever since then I can now have a small cup or even just a few bites without the urge for more.

My DH came home yesterday was was upset to see me eating Doritos. He used to see me go through a whole bag at a time) He didnt realize I could have just 5 chips and be satisfied. The smaller pouch certainly helps ;-)!

5.0 cc in a 10cc lapband (four fills) 1 unfill of .5cc on 5/24/2011.
.5 fill March 2012. unfill of .25cc May 2012. Unfill of .5cc June 2014.

Still with my lapband with no plans for revision. Band working well since

last small unfill.

HW: 267lbs- size 22-24 LW:194lbs CW:198lbs Size 14-16

Something UPLIFTING for a change??

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Something UPLIFTING for a change??