Daily Muse

“The mind’s first step to self-awareness must be through the body.”~George Sheehan

As spiritual beings having a human experience it’s important to take care of your body and listen to it. Your body gives you a lot of feedback and many times that feedback is ignored because of the latest diet or exercise trend or the ego mind gets in the way. When it comes to your body ‘one size fits all’ does not come into play nor does it mean that NOW you can do what you did in the past. Very simply, bodies and needs change over time. If you don’t feel good, by all means try something new but listen and pay attention to what your body is telling you to know if it’s the right thing for you.

I should probably call this post “Reflections of a Carbohydrate Addict” but in the interest of keeping in the spirit of this healing mind, body, & spirit blog the current title will suffice. I want to also be clear that if you are doing something that works for you and you’re feeling physically good (or better than you did) by eating a certain diet I not only applaud your choices but will support you in any way I can. The story I’m about to share is for you to shift your attention and have you check in with your own body to see what’s working and what’s not. Awareness and listening are powerful tools which help with your ability to create change. In other words; You can’t change what you aren’t aware of.

Every Body Tells a Story

First I’d like to confess that I am a carbohydrate addict! In my freezer there is a ‘bread for all reasons’. I eat a healthy, balanced diet. I’m a lifetime Weight Watcher member (I’m also a WW leader) having lost 86 lbs and still work the program. As I got older my body changed and I started to put on a sneaky little one pound a year. I wasn’t worried because after all it was only one pound and I’ll take it off tomorrow. Sound familiar? One pound added up to two, then to eight, then to 10. RED ALERT! I re-focused my efforts but a funny thing happens after 50. What was once relatively easy to do becomes a struggle. As your body and hormones change (for both men and women) you not only need to step up the exercise to balance out natural muscle loss but you really have to pay attention to the aging process and how it affects you personally.

After reading several articles and books in addition to hearing the success of several friends and listening to the ‘experts’ I decided to try a totally gluten-free diet. A gluten-free diet is said to reduce inflammation, even out sugar levels, get rid of excess bloat and belly fat among other things. I’m by no means a medical expert so do check with your doctor before making a dietary change for health purposes. Again if you eat a gluten-free diet and it’s working for you I think it’s GREAT! What I experienced was something quite different from what I anticipated based on all that I’ve heard, read or seen.

I cut out ALL the bread (and other items with gluten) and did not replace them with gluten-free foods. I figured that cutting out all processed carbs would be beneficial. I ate more protein as suggested (2-4 oz depending on the meal) in addition to 2-3 fruit servings, 2 tsp of olive oil, lots of veggies (which I already eat) and at least one serving of a gluten-free grain. I stayed within my daily WW Points Plus target and exercised as usual. After one week there was no noticeable difference in how I felt and much to my surprise I GAINED 4 POUNDS!

Maybe I should have stuck with it another week but 4 pounds sent me reeling! Since the only real difference I noticed was being hungry almost all the time despite all the healthy foods I was eating I realized that although gluten-free is necessary for some people (for health reasons) and great for others (who feel better doing it), it doesn’t work for ME. I’m happy to report that after going back to not worrying about the gluten and limiting carb intake instead of cutting it out completely I’ve taken off 3 of the 4 lbs this week. Oddly I feel better, I’m not hungry all the time and it did make a difference in showing me that one size does not fit all.

What’s Your Body’s Story?

Every BODY is different and what works for one person may not work for another. What is good for one may not be good for another. When you listen to your body for feedback you will know what’s working for you. You’ll know by your moods, your energy, your weight and how you feel over-all. The most important thing to remember is that your body is the only one you have this lifetime. If you are doing something that you can’t stick with for the rest of your life it might be time to consider trying something else.

Listen to your body. What’s it telling you? How’s it feeling these days? How is your energy level? Are you taking the time to love and nurture it? Are there changes your body is screaming at you to make? Do you need more rest and relaxation? Take a moment each day to check in with your body. Your spirit will love you for it!~Shine Your Light Debbie

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“It isn’t what you did in the past that will affect the present. It’s what you do in the present that will redeem the past and thereby change the future” From the book Aleph by Paulo Coehlo

Today I decided to finally clean out the cutlery drawer in my kitchen. Frankly it was disgusting and needed to be cleaned out for quite some time. I never seemed to have the time or want to make the time to do it. It actually got to the point that I would use the clean ‘silverware’ in the dishwasher instead of even opening the drawer lest I be reminded of how badly it needed to be cleaned.

I started my project with great resistance thinking it was going to take me hours when in fact it took me all of 30 minutes to clean and sanitize the drawer, the inserts and everything inside. Yes it took a total of half an hour to clean years of crumbs, dirt, spills (and other things not very recognizable) all of which could be seen in plain sight. Clearly for whatever reason I never took the time to address it even though the grime was in plain sight. Every time I opened the drawer I winced and promised myself I would do it ‘tomorrow’ then I closed the drawer until the next time. In life, as ‘hidden’ in a drawer used every day, there are things right in front of our eyes which for whatever reason we either can’t see, don’t want to see or for lack of a better term are hidden in plain sight until we are ready to see them. There are questions we seek answers to that have already been answered and we would know this if for just one moment we took the time to open the drawer (our eyes) and see them clearly.

Your answers are in plain sight even if they have a bit of grime covering them. Your answers are hidden in plain sight all around you at this very moment. Your answers live in your home, they reside in the people you surround yourself with, the conversations you have and more importantly; Your answers are hidden in plain sight within you. Your answers lie within your past, what energies you hold on to and even what you’ve already let go of. Answers show themselves to you every day when you choose to ask the right questions, see the answers and be open to receiving what is now revealing itself to you. It doesn’t have to take a lot of time but it does take a dose of awareness. It takes courage to open your eyes and look at your life and your patterns and to see what you don’t want to see.

How many times have you looked for something and it’s sitting right in front of you? How many times have you absently walked by your answer because you’ve gotten used to seeing it there and it blends in the background? What answers are hidden in your past which might affect the future? What answers do you seek outside of yourself which have already been answered but you refuse to see? Take a closer look at the picture on this post. Did you see the grasshopper when you first looked at the post? Do you see it now? It was right there all along but perhaps you missed it at first glance.~Shine Your Light Debbie

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