It's not FAIR!

I've been feeling a bit under the weather this week -- no biggie, just a bad cold or virus, but I feel weak and tired all the time and I keep getting chills/fever/chills/fever UGH. 

I know it's just a virus, it will pass...I'm FINE, really.  But whenever I feel sick, I also feel like, well -- like feeling SORRY for myself and EATING! 
 
Ever get like that?

You get to thinking, "It's not FAIR!" ... and then that becomes an overall sense of unfairness about your weight-loss battle. 

"How COME I have relatives and friends who can eat and eat and never gain an ounce?  They seem to live on Starbucks and they eat all out the time, and post pictures of what they ate out last night on Facebook ARGH.....and yet I gain weight if I simply THINK about having a donut, for pete's sakes?"
I know, I know.  It's not fair, is it?  NO WAY is it fair.  You're a good person, right?  You deserve all the finer things in life, right?  Well, at least you deserve some COMFORTS, right?


So the world is handing you lemons instead.  It sucks but there it is.  The boss is a jerk, you had a fight with your spouse last night, you don't feel well, it's raining and you can't find your left shoe!  ARGH!
Might as well 'chuck it all and EAT'.  Right?

Oh yeah....I did that.  Many many MANY times.  I turned to FOOD as my comfort, my solace, my way of dealing with life.

But you know what?

The food is a LIE.

You know it's a lie.  Because that 'comfort' only lasts mere MINUTES.  Sometimes even SECONDS....that's all it takes to go off program, right?  A few bites of an off-program food, and OOPS there I go again, I blew it, might as well REALLY enjoy myself now, I can't do this anyway, I'm weak, this doesn't work for me, I don't have the patience, and besides it's TOO MUCH MONEY (great excuse, right?)...and the holidays are coming and how will I EVER do it yada yada..

It's a LIE.  A great big fat LIE that Fat Brain is telling you. She's swearing you'll feel better....and the bummer is, you WILL feel better....but only for a few minutes!  Then the guilt sets in...and the shame, and you go through this "I can't do this I'm not strong enough" thing all over again.

Listen to me.
You ARE strong enough.  You are!  All it takes is to just say NO....to remember that the food is a LIE, and that you KNOW better. 
And talk yourself right back out of it again. REMIND yourself of your goals. Think about your 'future self'....picture her....what does she look like?  Are you letting her down?  What about the holidays?  We have two weeks till Thanksgiving.  In 2 weeks, you could be 5 lbs. lighter.....or stay the same and still be angry with yourself...or even GAIN and be even ANGRIER at yourself.

Don't do it.  Don't let YOURSELF down that way. 

I often think about heaven and the hereafter...and wonder about what it's going to be like.  Will I have a body?  (what can I say, I think a lot LOL).  Will I be able to eat whatever I want? I mean, it'll be HEAVEN, right?  So there MUST be like, an all-you-can-eat-24-hour-a day buffet, right?  Like a cruise only you never gain a pound LOL.

Right?  :)
Well, who knows. We'll all find out someday, won't we?

But here's the thing.
I've been doing a lot of spiritual reading lately, and a lot of the 'experts' believe we actually DO have a body, but we don't NEED to feed it anymore. In other words, all of our physical problems....our aches and pains, whatever illnesses you can name, our disabilities, even AGE, will be stripped away.  We will ALL have a young, firm, beautiful body...in fact we can even 'order up' how we want to look just by imagining it (I've thought about this and decided I want to look like Sela Ward LOL....or maybe Courtney Cox). 
Wouldn't that be COOL?

BUT.....no eating will be necessary.  I'm not sure - and neither do the experts seem to know - whether we will be able to EAT and ENJOY the pleasure of eating....seems like we'll be 'above' all that and not need to (and that's a shame for someone like me who loves to eat so much LOL)....but the thing is?  We'll be way PAST that.  We won't NEED the physical pleasures anymore. (no sex either...hmmm...)
Anyway.  But if that's true, then the experts also agree that those of us who have this weight loss struggle in our lives, our 'crosses to bear', so to speak, need to CONQUER that struggle, that addiction.....in order to 'move on'.

In other words, those who abuse their own bodies may be doomed to 'come back' to this Earth, over and over again, until they get it right. 

Hmmm....more things to think about, huh?

Bottom line?  You and I BOTH know that when we abuse food, when we binge or overindulge just to "DEAL" with life....it's a cheat.  And it's not what God intended we do with the gift of LIFE that our bodies are.  We were meant to cherish and take CARE of ourselves.  That means somehow finding the strength....and the courage!....to HANDLE our particular addictions.  Be they smoking or drinking or eating or drugs or any combination.  They are all COP OUTS.

LIFE....in all its glory....just gets BETTER when you take care of yourself. It really does! Because you can move more, you're more flexible, you can exercise, sex IS better (trust me on this), you breathe better, you're healthier in general! 

FOOD is not the answer. It's just a temporary escape, and it solves NOTHING.

And as far as life being fair goes, we all KNOW life isn't fair, right?  I mean, all you have to do is turn on the 6 o-clock Evening News to figure that out.  The bad news comes in so fast that at times you don't even want to KNOW about it.

But ..... there is ALWAYS a light at the end of the tunnel.  Even on the Evening News now, they'll do a segment on something GOOD that's happening.  It shows that there is some good left in the world. 

- A baby's laughter, a sunset or sunrise, nature in all its forms, FLOWERS, Children!, LOVE (need I say more?), Entertainment//Movies/Disney, FRIENDS, HUGS, a warm fire, a whisper in your ear from someone you love.....the list goes on and on.

There are still PLENTY of good things in this life. 
 
So get that 'it's not FAIR' thing out of your head. 

Because YES, you're right...! 

But WHY DWELL ON IT?  WHY do that to yourself? 

Choose instead, to focus on what's RIGHT in your world....and to make it better.

And trust me, every day you stay OP?  Is another step in the right direction, and will almost GUARANTEE you some 'good times'' in the future....because you'll be losing weight and hearing, "Did you lose weight?" (is there any sweeter question in this WORLD? LOL)....and getting into smaller clothes and LOVING the way you look and feel. 

One day at a time. One MEAL at a time. Stay focused and don't dwell on the bad stuff. 

Remember, "THIS TOO, SHALL PASS"!!!!

Keep on keepin on,