My Body is My Friend

I have been building a new relationship with my body this past year. We've become friends. I have gotten to know it after making peace with it. One thing I notice about my body is that when I reduce the amount of food I eat by too much, it responds immediately by wanting to make up the difference. Last night, for example, I fell asleep for just about an hour and I woke up craving and hungry. I had eaten less yesterday during the day. I got up and ate. I had a half of a bag of microwave popcorn and some dry Chinese noodles. It was a carb fest, more than I would have wanted to eat, but less than the past years of night eating. Then I stopped, and went to sleep. I know when I am starting to lose weight or right after I lose a few pounds, my body has the urge to gain it back. It does not know that this weight loss is a good thing yet. It may think it is a crisis. I need to give it time to adjust. And, I may need to resist some of the urges to eat in favor of a small steady input of food. I can tell my body that it is okay to have less, and then eat something but maybe not as much. I can also reassure my body that it is okay to be empty and hungry sometimes. We will always have food. There is more than enough.

Since my body is my friend I want to take care of it, show it I care, and do nice things for it. I want to spend time with it and enjoy it for what it is. I also accept it for what it is, unconditionally. My body has been with me all my life, faithfully serving me, doing whatever I tell it to do. It has worked very hard, and served me well. It reflects what I give it, and how I treat it.

Anyway, this morning I feel all right. No big crisis because I had some popcorn and noodles late at night. I am moving on. I brought some green pepper and celery to work with me in case I feel the urge to nibble. I had an eighth of a bagel with cream cheese at work instead of my oats. I don't want any more but I acknowledge that I am treading on a bit of thin ice here. I have my lunch of tuna steak and peas ready to eat when lunch time comes. I have protein shakes to make if I need something later. And I have some soy nut butter to spread on the celery if I choose that for a snack.

I like being prepared. I am back on my path to further weight loss. And I have a better understanding of how it impacts my body. I know if I drop my calories abruptly I am going to most likely have a reaction, and it could hit me late at night when I have less resistance. I can put something by the bed, ice water and a protein bar, something that I approve of to have if the craving strikes.

Work is busy but I feel I can manage. Little by little I finish each task. I am happy to be here and I love being able to help people. It feels good. I enjoy making each encounter with a person as pleasant as possible. Each encounter is an opportunity. Life is packed with surprises and unexpected gifts. I want my eyes to be wide open so I don't miss any.

I have been reading in my Emmett Fox daily reading book the past few days. He has been discussing the Four Horsemen - and what I am getting from that is simple. He calls the red horse our emotions, the black horse our intellect, the pale horse the body, and the white horse our spiritual side. When we let the red, the black or the pale dominate, there is trouble. When we ride the white one, life is good. I believe I was on the red one here lately for a while. So I can pick which horse to ride and today I am climbing on the white one.

More will be revealed.