a moment to refocusonlife ~ oh food, where art thou?

Happy HUMP day everyone! I hope this week is treating each one of you the best it possibly can! I'm having a great week...but I'm hungry. Ever feel like you just cannot get enough to eat? Well, that's me this week. For a foodie to be hungry is a problem!

But, I keep thinking about things I've heard and things I've read. The more I read about other people's journeys and the more healthy living information I read, the more I know I'm on the right path.

Little more smiling, little less eating! 

I recall hearing a podcast by Jillian Michaels a few months ago where she had a conversation with a lady that had lost some weight. This lady was frustrated because she had gained back a significant amount of the weight she had lost. Jillian started questioning and found out that the lady had been on a "low carb diet". After she reached her goal, she began eating food as she had before. She was done. She reached her goal and expected to stay at goal even though she was no longer eating low-carb.

I remember specifically, this lady told Jillian it wasn't fair that people all around her could "eat bacon cheeseburgers and french fries and not gain weight". Jillian asked her how she knew that people were eating bacon cheeseburgers and not gaining weight. The response was that she saw people eating in restaurants, at events, and all around her. Jillian told her that was not a good comparison. How did this lady know that the person eating the bacon cheeseburger hadn't just finished a 6 hour workout at the gym? How did she know that this person wasn't eating their one cheat meal of the week or month? How could she possibly know what was happening in that person's life?

Quinn Hatfield, Men's Health
Look at those Pizza eating legs! 

Last night, I was reading Men's Health Magazine (an EXCELLENT resource), and saw an article about Quinn Hatfield. He explained that he had a "cheat window" where, "I don't hold back. Pizza, cookies, ice cream--and lots and lots of it. It's important to remember how good it feels to just eat." If I saw Quinn eating this one cheat meal, which is possible because he is a North Carolina native, would I know that he is a Michelin-starred Chef from Los Angeles? More importantly, would I know that he is a member of the USA Cycling Team and trains his ass off most days of the week? Probably not. I would just be jealous that he is eating his weight in greasy food and delicious desserts and he has a ROCKIN' body. Yep, I would be jealous.

At that point, I try to remember, I did this to myself. My habits for the first 35 years of my life pushed me into early diabetes. My lifestyle is a work in progress. Lately, I've been eating a bowl of Edy's No Sugar Added Fudge Tracks ice cream nightly. It kind of grew over the weeks. It went from a half of a cup a night to a full cup a night with sugar free caramel sauce and sugar free cool whip. Fun times, right? Then I noticed a sneaky trend...every morning, my blood sugar levels were between 120 and 130. An alarming trend when my blood sugar had been running less than 100. So, even though I crave the ice cream (that's what sweets do to a diabetic), I have been actively avoiding the nightly treat this week. Guess what? My blood sugars have corrected themselves. With that in mind, I know what I have to do, but dang it, I'm hungry and I want my ice cream like Quinn Hatfield!

It's too cold for that! Where oh where is Spring?
NYC 1/3/2014 Central Park

For today, though, I am one hour at a time. For a foodie (read food addict) like me, that's what I have to do. Moment by every refocused moment.

Enjoy the cold weather and let's hope for a bit of snow so that we can welcome Spring and outdoor activities with a passion!

Peace y'all!