Change, Change, Change! The Advice Giver Puts Herself To The Test

Chia Pomegranate Parfait

Last month, I made a personal change I didn’t plan to make at all, and would not in a million years have predicted. 

After reading one of the chapters in Dr. Christiane Northrup’s new book “Goddesses Never Age” about health (in particular the chapter on glycemic stress) I called a halt to my usual intake of grain, as a test trial, just to see what would happen.  You know, in the spirit of discovery and all!

In two days I felt different — more happy and steady.  And I thought to myself, “Wow!”  On the third day I was dancing inside and felt pretty much giddy about the whole thing.  On the fourth day, dancing outside began!  And on the 5th day, I missed bread and muffins terribly!!!  I felt a bit insane.  I’m not kidding!  It was a little sobering to say the least.  When you skip grains, and the sugar that often goes with it (toast and jam with my morning eggs, a brownie later) you’re really throwing the sugar baby out with the bathwater!  Apparently, I’m pretty hooked on sugar. 

It’s been about a month now, and I’m blown away by my vacation from grain.  Who knew?  I guess some of us get along better without the amber waves of grain. 

I had no idea this experiment would make such a speedy difference in how I feel.  Given that I’ve never made any attempt to avoid sandwiches, pizza, or muffins, I figured that figuring out how to eat without grain would be difficult, but it isn’t at all.  Go to this link on Bon Appetit.  There are ideas, recipes, and even encouragement.  And yes!  They have a cookbook!

Since then, I’ve had grain here and there.  I’m not crazy strict about it.  But I have eliminated my usual fall back choices, the choices I made out of habit, or because I was in a hurry, or because I knew I’d be bored without brown rice to go with the stir fry.  But the fact that I feel better keeps me going.  Feeling better is its own reward.  My energy is more steady and that means the world to me.  I’m a cleaner burning machine, still sputtering a bit, but cleaner. 

What’s interesting is that even after a month, I can still feel my body shifting gears (or is it my mind, ahem!) and I think that might continue for a while.  Not eating so much grain or sugar is quite a diet overhaul, for me at least.  I can tell you for sure that the big ship called “my eating habits” is still turning around — slowly, steadily, daily — and it requires vigilance.  This change in eating is about creating a different set of habits, standards and priorities.  That’s a big deal.

I do fine if I think in the direction of what I want (ease, delicious food, healthy body, feeling good) and what works for me vs. restriction.  How we think makes a big difference.  

This experiment reminds me of how people feel when they come to see me about relationships.  They describe their situation and say “please help me.”  They tell me how things are going and what they do now.  I make suggestions about how to do things differently if they want a different outcome.  And the difference between “what I’ve always done” and “what I could do instead” to enjoy new results comes front and center.

This week, author Elizabeth Gilbert wrote a Facebook post about how her book Big Magic changed her own life.  She joked that she wrote the book for her readers, not for herself.  She wrote the book to help others with their creativity, and it never occurred to her that her advice could help her as well.  As usual, the post is funny and well-written, in true Elizabeth style.  It will give you a good chuckle!  (thirty five hundred people liked it, you might, too!  :–)

It’s good when advice givers get that light bulb moment to walk their talk, don’t you think?  Or to give it a go on another subject, the one we’re not so expert in!  It’s easy for me to make changes in my relationships, ’cause I’ve practiced that.  (It wasn’t always easy.)  But now, it’s what I do well.  But my diet?  Not so easy!  But I’m hanging in there just fine, and learning as I go, I’m happy to report!

Thank you and hats off to all my clients, past and present, for being courageously focused and for making changes that weren’t exactly a piece of cake (so to speak) to make!  You’re so amazing!  You inspire me every day!

 

 

Big Magic, Bon Appetit, Dr. Christiane Northrup, eating well, Elizabeth Gilbert, Godesses Never Age, grain free, In Care of Relationships, Terri Crosby

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