What's On Your Thursday Menu, RNYers?

I just Googled Sunriver and it looks amazing!  Have so much fun!  And I legit LOL'd at that comic. 

Hahahhahaha 

I LOVE that cartoon!!!  

Yesss! I totally feel yucky and sloppy some days and other days feel pretty good.  The scale can impact that but usually it is just in my head.  Sometimes I find that if my outfit is blah or fits too big I might feel yuck.  Sometimes it is that I catch a glance of the saggy skin. Sometimes it is just old thoughts playing in my head again. The Cognitive Triangle to the rescue!  Change my thoughts and I change my feelings.

I think of it the way I think of head-hunger. I know I am not hungry; I just have an emotional state I associate with a desire for food. I hear the craving in my head, acknowledge it, and choose to move forward with either giving in and having pretzels or finding something else to focus my mind on. Depending on how that goes I either spend some thought energy on feeling proud I made a good choice or sorting out why my mouth is now full of pretzels. Then I chalk the whole thing up to "that was then, now I move forward" and let it go.

With body image negativity I try the same process.  Like head-hunger, I know I am not actually fat anymore.  I can see that on the scale, the BMI chart even says so. When I hear myself thinking "I'm ugly" or "I'm so fat" or "I hate my body," I acknowledge the negative self-image I am feeling/thinking about. Then I get to choose...do I move forward feeling deflated and blah or do I decide to change my thoughts to intentional self-praise and smile through. If I am still feeling ugly and fat, then I try to sort through what I have control over that might be impacting that and make a plan to adjust.  If I am able to lift my thoughts and get re-centered then I give myself a little mental pat on the back and try to remember what the hell I did that worked that time.

With both things I use other people as my accountability and sounding board.  I write/post here with you all and that helps.  I also talk really openly with my Guy about my body image and head hunger. He is a great listener...especially if he has his mouth full of potato chips. LOL Seriously though...if I say things I am feeling 'shameful' about out loud they lose a lot of their power to make me feel crappy.

The difference between feeling embarrassed and feeling shame is huge. Embarrassed it easily soothed and passes. Shame is a lurking phantom you can't shake.

Nothing like using my professional magic tricks on myself!  Basically this is based on cognitive behavioral therapy and is a really helpful tool for me. So there you have it... my therapy session for the morning. If only I could bill my own HMO. LOL

QOTD: I use Celebrate Multi and Iron, B-12 , Calcium chewys and Magnesium (all chew-able form). Don't remember all the brands and doses.

Menu:B: Chobani Simply 100 "Crunch", L: 1 cup taco meat, 1/2 shredded lettuce, 2 tbs salsa, 1/4 reduced fat shredded cheese, S: Light & Fit Dannon Greek, D: STEAK!!! Nom nom nom. Totals: Cal 712, Protein 74, Carb 29, Fat 33

Have a wonderful weekend everyone. I am heading out of town first thing in the morning for yet another conference.  Catch you all on the flip side.

~Elizabeth

This whole post is revelatory.  I love it so much and it makes soooooo much sense.  Thank you.

Thanks for giving us a great relevant therapy session too,E! That's so true though that we are our own worst enemy.

I will have to try that.  It makes perfect sense.  However, i still have some of the external indicators that I'm fat. Even at 128 lbs, according to the BMI chart, I'm fat.  Can't escape it.  I know I need to change my perception and not allow my thoughts to define my self worth.  It's a definite struggle.

So... 128 pounds. You are less than 5 foot tall?  Also keep in mind that BMI is not valid...even in the military...when you are very physically fit. Muscle mass is not taken into consideration. Just a thought. 

Also...if you saw a picture of your body without your head and didn't know it was a photo of you...would you think poorly or well of that person? Would they seem overweight to you?

You are far better than you believe. We all are our own worst enemy.

~E

I'm 4'11.5" I have this dialogue with my surgeon at every appt.  He tells me BMI isn't valid after the first thing his staff does is calculate BMI.  I do know I focus more on the flaws than I probably should.  The headless picture is a great idea actually.  I just need to find someone to decapitate me! 

Wow, thanks for sharing!