This entry is not going to be exactly like the others where the focus is my journey, but it is about health, weight and in part my journey or process at least.
Thanks for reading.
Those of you who do not know right now in the County I live there is a huge Wild Fire that is devastating a entire town and impacting the entire County. It has been deemed the largest most devastating and deadly wild fire in the history of California since they have been keeping records. What that means is this, most devastation is equal to most destructive to building/structures, most deadly … well that is self-exploratory. Now I can go on and on about this but I don’t want to do that here. I only mention it because it brings up some things I believe are deeply related to health and weight issues.
I know for myself as I hear the number of deaths rise I just want to reach for something to eat. Yup food. How many times when stressed or sad have you just reached for the kids cookies? Or when a friend or colleague has a death you want to do something so you bake them something. When we celebrate what do we do? Bake a cake, go out to eat? As a culture we use food for so many more things than energy/fuel. I know first hand (and I know I am not alone) we use it most for COMFORT.
Now the fact that I know this and it is in my constant awareness the good news is I do not do it unconsciously anymore, like I use to or most do. I am fully aware of what I am doing. As a matter of fact my thought process generally goes something like this… “This is so sad and overwhelming, I feel like I am going to get so depressed, perhaps I will eat a piece of chocolate cake that will make me happy…… for a minute” . After that thought I have a whole new conversation with myself about the alternatives to the cake. What else can I do? Who can I talk to about these feelings? Then frankly there are times when I just throw up my hands and go for the cake, the difference is I KNOW what I am doing and it is a choice. SO often in our culture we just do things out of habit and/or unconscious robotic drive.
I wanted to share this because NOW during this crisis I see a ton of outreach and nurturing happening which is awesome and most of it in the form of food. I guess I really just want people to be aware that they can make healthy choices even when we are in crisis or even daily life struggles. We do not have to become victim to our old patterns and the patterns/traditions of our culture. I have said this before but it is true, Food is not the enemy. Find ways to care for yourself during the hard times and if the Cake wins at least acknowledge it and know what you are doing is a choice, a conscience choice.
This is also all applicable to the holidays as well. We all know and expect, even plan on over eating during the holidays, but again I encourage you to make a choice to do something different! Even if you choice to indulge in the special seasonal treats just do so in small portions. I have never deprived myself of anything. SO I will have treats at the holidays but again I know I am making a choice to eat something that may not be great for me but I will do it sparingly AND I usually will increase my exercise (when I have a working hip-LOL) or some positive area to balance it out. 
Also please remember to give yourself credit for the work you have done. I often forget how far I have come on my journey and can get frustrated, which leads to this food nurturing process as well, so have your reminders of the strides you have made. My sister-in-law recently gave me a photo I had not seen before and it was so surreal , I barely recognized myself. It was a really good reminder of my journey and how far I have come, so give yourself credit and stop beating yourself up of the Cake, just be aware and move forward making better choices! Your health is in your hands!