Day 46- If not Food then what?

Spangle suggest in her book 100 days of Weight Loss to make a list of things that are more important than food. She starts by having you put food in the #1 spot and then list things important to you. Then, she has you move it to the 11th spot so that it is on the bottom and not as important as the other things in your life. 
 
Here is my list of 10 important things with #11 on the bottom: 

1. To do my personal best as mom, spouse, sister, daughter, friend, teacher
2. My health and well-being
3. My marriage
4. My family and friends
5. To lead an active lifestyle
6. My career
7. Learning to play the ukulele
8. Traveling and experiencing different cultures
9. Archiving my life via photography & scrapbooks
10. Reading for pleasure and to learn new things
11. Food

Spangle suggest a book by Barabara DeAngelis called Passion. Angelis asks that you spend an entire day deepening your commitment in one area of your life by expressing it in your words and behavior.

Here is me writing to a friend about one the important areas of my life- As I recall, the question was what makes you feel alive and passionate?


I want to be appreciated and valued for the hard work that I do daily not just as a teacher, but as a mother.  I take my children very seriously and I strive to make sure that I give them everything that they possibly need physically, mentally and emotionally. I let them make mistakes and I help them problem solve. I teach them to take care of themselves and others. I praise all their strengths and work on their weaknesses so that they can understand that they sometimes have to work on things that are hard, but that they can do it.  I'd like to think that I am a tough mom who expects much, but loves with all my heart. I would go to the ends of the earth for my kids.

As you can tell, I have put my family very high on my importance list. And by doing this simple exercise it has made me realize what is really important to me and it made me realize how much emphasis I put on automatic, mindless eating. I was thinking about what I was going to eat after I had just finished eating a meal. I can feel the "brain waves" starting to really make a change in the way I think, the way I see food, the way I am conducting my life. I am approaching it with more awareness, empathy,  understanding of myself and others. The emotional piece that I have been struggling with in this healthy lifestyle change now has a clear direction because I have been working on the inside of me, the emotional part, and really getting to know myself- embracing and accepting it all.  I had spun my wheels over analyzing things and rationalizing this change on how to do it and what to do. Now, because of my own goal setting, my own planning and my own action the journey is set in motion. There are hard days, but now I know I will win this.  I know that this is going to take time and I am very impatient with myself, but I am learning to do like Darla,"Loving Me Experiment is working." I'm taking it one day at a time...

REMEMBER-
YOU CAN DO IT!
JUST FOR ONE MORE DAY! 
NEVER EVER GIVE UP!
Always,
Mer