Did you find yourself sweeter and kinder after Whole30 reintro?

[MeadowLily]

Give your Food Addiction Recovery the attention it deserves.

Recovery is my friend.

"You might think that someone else is your best friend...but they aren't.

Nobody supports you or wants you to succeed more than the person staring back at you."

That friend has been kind enough to CARRY YOU and not complain."

That friend is more than ready to assist you

Encourage you

Smile back at you

As you move through the W30.

Food Addiction Recovery

Realize your BEST Friend

 

dcducks

 

[MeadowLily]

"You might think that someone else is your best friend...but they aren't."

 

 

[MeadowLily]

Oooooo, Felicias.

There will be those who run after cars and lick the tires. They'll be patiently waiting for you by the door but they have one motive, too. Put that food in the dog bowl and I'll follow you anywhere.

In the midnight hours when you're all alone, no one can do this for you.  

Let nothing deter you. 

Do not fall back into self-pity. You'll be headed for a Relapse.

Your thank yous may not ever be forthcoming. You can't Recover from any addiction for the thank yous or pats on the back.  No one is going to give you all of the rewards for no longer eating all of the things.

Food Addiction is chronically rewarding yourself with food.  If you're looking for more rewards from others and things. STOP.

Food Addiction Recovery is not about more rewards.

It is about replacing old destructive habits with positive new ones.  

I'll walk a mile in your shoes. That way, I'll be a mile down the road and have your shoes too.  

Then, I will shake the dust from my feet and keep tooling along.  I ain't no quitter.

The other day...these words flew right into my spirit.

Tear Down This Wall.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander. 

 

 

I'm tearing down all of my walls. That's what all of us need to do so we can Recover.

Recovery is not easy. My spirit is the best part of me. It's always been free.  I just had to let it rise to the top, along with hope and faith.  

[MeadowLily]

Behold the elephant.

Some say we should throw all of our possessions away and get rid of anything that connects us with others.

That can easily become a very legalistic and religious way of thinking. 

This Happy Place, the half has not been told how much it's helped me.  I am grateful for my W30 friends.

How many possessions do you own. Are they the best versions of yourself. 

I'm not concerned with what I have because the only thing I'm taking with me is my spirit. My focus is on my innermost being rather than my outermost possessions that will rust and fade away. 

You choose, you decide. Throw all of your things away but tear down all of your walls, too. 

FOOD FREEDOM FOREVER

It's not legalistic.

We can create our own positive food management plan and break free from the Prison Food Menu.

If you own tons and tons of elephants in your living room, go ahead and tell them goooooo. 

Remember to pull the dross out of your head, too. We've just got to use our heads besides something to part our ears with.

Paw used to sleep under a tree. He went days and days without food as a child. He didn't become legalistic or make it a religious experience to return back to that way of living.  Less is more but not when you're a starving man.

I'm simply inspired. My things and foods don't define me. It's not my religion. 

I'm free. 

Is this not the path that was chosen to set this captive free?

 

 

[MeadowLily]

Do you have any peace?

If getting rid of all of your things will give you peace. You should do that.

We are a product of our raising. But I wouldn't trade my Paw or his wisdom for all of the things.

Bear's never been to Spain but I've been there. I've traveled all over Europe. I'm soooo glad I did.

I've been to Oklahoma, too. Bear and I went to the end of the trail of tears. Tangible. The atmosphere will still make you fall on your knees and weep. You should go.  It's not a theme park and you won't find all of the pesky tourists there. Your heart will be touched. You'll break... but in good way.

I like history. All of the versions are interesting.

 

 

[MeadowLily]

I was a rebel from the day I left school
Grew my hair long and broke all the rules
I'd sit and listen to my records all day
With big ambitions of where I could play

My parents taught me what life was about
So I grew up the type they warned me about
They said my friends were just an unruly mob
And I should get a haircut and get a real job

Get a haircut and get a real job
Clean your act up and don't be a slob
Get it together like your big brother Bob
Why don't you get a haircut and get a real job

 

Overthinking everything. It's probably time to get a haircut and get a real job. Quit feeling sorry for yourself and stuck to the couch like a blob, Bob.

 

[MeadowLily]

One more for the road because I've worked myself UP into Happy Awareness.

There is no lasting glory in fast weight loss. Losing weight by a force of your will. Deprivation is the mother of failure.

Whatever you choose to do yourself that is brutally strict right of the chute your body and mind will interpret that as punishment.

Body and Mind will both rebel and turn on you.  All-you- can-eat-bender, Dog Breath is hot on your heels.

You will consume everything you've abstained from and more.

Don't bring the food triggers or offenders home.

 

[MeadowLily]

Strike while the griddle is hot. Or not.

When I walk away....Bing!

When your past comes calling let it go to voicemail. It has nothing new to say.

 

They say that motivation doesn't last. Neither does showering. That's why we take one every day.

So get out there and blow the stink off of yourself.

Much Love. Tanto Amore.

 

Eclipse mania is ramping UP. I'll be at the grocery store for a Total Eclipse of the Cart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MeadowLily]

Eating the same bowl of dog food day in and day out?

[MeadowLily]

Those who are stuck in all of the same routines, day in and day out are 53% more like to edge up against Alzheimer's.

Varying aspects of your environment - MUSIC, time of day, sitting, standing, location, location, location

Your brain links whatever you are learning to the context around you.  The greater the amount of contextual cues the more your brain has to draw upon. The greater the memory and your ability to learn.

You can teach any dog of any age new tricks. 

[MeadowLily]

Are you good with remembering faces?

Rather than focusing on the eyes, focus on the nose. That allows you take in the Whole Face.

After all, it's not the size of the nose that matters...it's whats in it that counts.

[MeadowLily]

http://www.rd.com/funny-stuff/annoying-phrases/

"Whatever" was voted the most annoying word.

Know the most annoying phrase?

"Thanks in advance".  ^

This demeaning management phrase, often accompanying some unwanted assignment, is the polite corporate way of saying......

Next. "It is what it is."

"At the end of the day"

"Just sayin"

And on it goes. 

 

Your end of the day may not look like mine.

I mean, at the end of the day let there be no excuses, no regrets, no rationalizations, no explanations and without further ado, just go to bed.

 

 

[MeadowLily]

Habituation with food is not good for your health. Eat the widest variety for the Big WIN vs. dialing food down into 2 or 3 items.

Food Addiction = Reward Driven Eating

Food Addicts and food disordered are driven to eat the same foods.

Has that changed everything for you then?

[MeadowLily]

Habituation with everything - food, exercise, routines, words, clothes is not good for your brain. 

Open. Mind. Insert. Possibilities.

Think about it.

A bored brain becomes dull.

 

[MeadowLily]

Here's Johnny!

[MeadowLily]

Food Boredom = Dull Food Routines

Constant exposure to deliberately engineered to be craved foods made out of 3 ingredients....

Sugar. Fat. Flour.

The three items in every baked good and refined food changes the brain chemistry.

That brain chemistry results in addiction.

Trying to numb yourself out to food by eating the same things over and over and over again backfires.

It comes with a mighty big bite.

Starting over and over and over again after

Relapsing over and over and over again

All dieting all of the time

Constant relapsing all of the time

Constant restarts all of the time

Is some cray cray shizz for the food addict. It does not stop binge eating, it adds to it.

These are the routines of a food addict that affect the brain and body.

 

 

[MeadowLily]

Recovery is what you make of it.

It can be a boring routine or the beginning of a new life.

 

Food Addiction Recovery is hard.

So is remaining exactly the same.

 

If you're exactly where you were 1 year ago, 2 years ago, 3 years ago, 4 years ago...you are not healed.

 

[MeadowLily]

"You might think that someone else is your best friend...but they aren't."

When you live in a sea filled with non-stop food rewards and you cannot control what comes into your house, you will have to remind yourself, talk to yourself, encourage and motivate yourself that you really are your best friend.

Recovering alcoholics have to do the same thing. For real.

A Dry Drunk white knuckles it with sheer willpower. It takes more than willpower and discipline to recover from addiction.

We've lost another young person to addiction. We were UP all night long.

Extremes beget extremes. Boredom begets, aids and abets addiction.

So go ahead and throw away all of your belongings. Or not. Get rid of your connection with others if you think it will bring you peace.

When you're all by yourself, alone, what then?

We need each other. I'm not the same person I used to be on the first part of this journey. I no longer edit myself or delete my words.

I blather and foam at the mouth. It helps me make order out of the rough seas of addiction, chaos, heartache and pain. It takes me to a place of hope, faith and Happy Awareness.

Thanks for listening. Universe.

Much Love. Tanto Amore.

 

 

[MeadowLily]

  

Recovery from owning all of the things can easily become a new religion and legalistic. Extremes beget extremes.

This is the new thing and it may be amazing. Until it isn't.  Wild swings back and forth, UP and down.

It reminds me of the Grapes of Wrath.

My greatgrandparents told me about the Great Depression. They were long lived people. Grandparents, parents. They did more with less and Bear's ancestors did, too. 

Some of them went out into the fields and ate dirt because they were so hungry. It was another trail of tears.  Paw and his siblings had rickets from going days and days, months and months without much food.

Finding our balance with food, belongings, shelter. It all comes down to having peace in our heart.  In our final hours here on earth, the last thing you'll be thinking about is your possessions or whether your house was tiny enough or if your hiney was tiny.

You will want all of your family around you.  Holding your hand and speaking life unto your life.

Be very careful what you say to others in their final moments. Tell them how much you love them.

 

 

[MeadowLily]

The truest human is the one whose conduct proceeds from goodwill and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self control is equal to all emergencies;

Who does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man conscious of his inferiority or deformity;

Whom is himself humbled if necessity compels him to humble another;

Who does not flatter wealth, cringe before power, or boast of his own possessions or achievements;

Who speaks with frankness but always with sincerity and sympathy;

Whose deed follows his word.

Who thinks of the rights and feelings of others rather than his own;

Who appears well in any company.

A man with whom honor is sacred and virtue safe."  Markesa Yeager

 

[MeadowLily]

I love boxing and it did a lot for me. But sometimes it made me think how savage human beings could be to each other. That wasn't the kind of boxer I wanted to be.

My strategy was to be scientific as I could when I fought. I didn't want to be seriously hurt, and I didn't want to do that to anybody else either.

I hated the sight on TV of big, clumsy, lumbering heavyweights plodding, stalking each other like two Frankenstein monsters, clinging, slugging toe to toe.

I knew I could do it better. Circle, dance, shuffle, hit and move...make an art out of it.

 

A long time ago, I took a walk down a street in Harlem in New York City.  I came upon a man who asked me for a dollar. He had asked a few other people before me but they only passed him by without glancing his way.

I stopped and handed the man some money. As I began to turn away, he reached out and shook my hand. He looked me in the eyes and said, "I will bless you." Now, I'm not saying that was God Himself. But how do we know it wasn't someone working for Him, walking around in disguise, just to see what we would do.

The Soul of a Butterfly

 

 

 

[MeadowLily]

Nurturing the spirit sets the table for food addiction recovery.

Spiritual help is not the same as self-help.  Looking after your spiritual health is connection and letting go at the same time.   Spiritual health is turning loose of the body's hold over you....in the form of food addiction, body and weight obsessions.  All of it.

The spiritual connection takes fear out and allows recovery to come in.

Spiritual health and well-being.  Turning loose of the body's addiction for rewards that get you nowhere good. 

[MeadowLily]

Willpower will only get you so far.  Bare knuckling it and willpower results in a relapse.  Over and over and over again - along with overcompensation dieting. Wild Weight Swings and more numbing out.

Muddling around and going through the motions.  You can't out-exercise a binge eating disorder.  

 

Dieting =  Illusion of Control

 

Relapsing.  Some give up and never make it back.  

 

You don't thrill eat because of any particular emotion...you shove emotions down with food because you have a food reward addiction.

Dis-eating

Disconnectedness

Self-willing it with willpower is a struggle of life with a food addiction.

A quiet life of desperation trying to fill the hole with donut holes ain't the way to go.  Thrill eating is sleepwalking through life.   But we don't have to solve things on our own. We can't control what anyone thinks of us and trying to use self-control can be a trigger for more food addiction and binge and thrill eating.

Connection with others and your spirit brings tremendous freedom and relief.

Reach out. Don't let your recovery slip away.

 

 

[MeadowLily]

Food Addiction Recovery.  Those who've got your back cannot be with you 24 hours a day.   For the alcoholic, ice in a clear glass can be enough to cause a relapse. 

Big Kahuna trigger foods can be brought back to life by  high stress.

The grapes will be squeezed.   Your true essence will be revealed. 

What comes out of your mouth in an emergency or tight situation is who you really are. What's been lurking in your heart will come to the surface.  The Good. The Bad. The Ugly. 

Repeated and chronic stress triggers the primal brain - our responses to stress and others. Quick to respond or snap at others, moody, snarkalicious.....Houston,  time to step back and take a look at your own multi-crap once again.   Our reactions, outbursts,  words spoken in haste....cannot be taken back.   

 

If everything gives you a big pinch,  and your fave phrase is ...that really pizz's me off.... it's not about them,  it's you.  Our words and responses reveal alot about our Wholeness.   Neuroflexibility.  The ability to deal when the grape is squeezed.

The Duck Stops Here.    The primitive area of the brain regulates our emotions.   I've got my eye on you, primitive paleo brain.  I'm on hyper alert not to fall back into bowls of pasta and bread and corn syrup. In the midnight hours, when you're alone with your thoughts...who are you when no one else is watching.

These are times when you absolutely have to care about yourself.  You stand alone.  A food log won't help you.  You may have all of your ducks in a row,  points and calories counted...they won't help you.

You go down deep inside and pull on your spirit. Your spirit reigns far and above the primitive paleo brain.  Wake. Pray. Slay.  Everything looks brighter in the morning.  Mercies are renewed and you can face the day.

Intact.   Body.  Mind.  Spirit. 

[MeadowLily]

There is nitwittery and snarkalicious fun but it's all been done out of much love.  I stopped caring about myself.  I looked like a runover dog.  I reached out for help.  It saved me. I'm still swinging by this thread.   

Grapes will be squeezed. The spiritual condition of your heart will be revealed.

That's the true litmus test. Who you really are.

Everything that becomes political divides us.

Strife and division. Hearts and houses divided against themselves cannot stand.

Answers, answers, answers.  Much Love. Tanto Amore.

Carry on.

Oooo, do you know what I really want. I want that authentic Herbal Essence shampoo back. Not the sweet, overflowery ones. The original. We used that when I was a child. It was just like the piney woods. Everyone used it and it was wonderful. We need that back. Universe. Bring back that authentic Herbal Essence. Why did you take it away? Do you remember how your long hair shimmered in the sunshine. Life seemed so easy then as a child.