Having One Of THOSE Days???

Like everyone else, I have days, or in this case months, where I am not feeling 100%. I am not pleased with how I am dealing with certain things, or I am not giving myself the care that I know I deserve.
As someone who has spent the vast majority of the past 9 yrs deeply involved in the Nutrition Industry, I find that people often assume that I am perfect, and lead by example 100% of the time. They often think that I will be critiquing what they eat, how they lead their lives, exercise, what supplements they take etc. It is as if every statement I make is an all-encompassing judgement on them.
The truth is that I am human, and just like everyone out there, I MESS UP. I get stressed, I stress eat, I am not always 100% "on", I don't always go 150% on my workouts, I eat junk, I struggle with my weight, and yes- I have "fat days".

I often feel worse, because people believe I SHOULD have all the answers. I don't. It is frustrating that I fall prey to the same human behaviours many make when I KNOW BETTER- but the thing is, I'm human. The difference is that I am aware of it; so keenly aware of it, that it sometimes feels as though it is a value judgement on my self worth.

Then I get over it. How? By NOT making a big deal of it. I find the more time and emotion I put into berating myself and thinking about NOT repeating the behaviour, the more it becomes a focus; the more it is on my mind, and the more I engage in the very behaviour that I am trying to avoid.

I have been under a considerable amount of stress recently, and I do not expect it to get much easier any time soon. So I have to accept this and deal with it unless I plan on being miserable for the next 9 months. This is NOT okay by me. Being healthy means MENTALLY, Emotionally, as well as physically.

We need to be healthy in all areas, as they are all interrelated. You can't expect to be happy all the time, but you also can't expect to be happy if you are treating yourself poorly all the time.

Today I propose taking a breather. I have written numerous times about taking a 'geographic' (physical change of environment/geography) be it just going for a walk around your neighborhood, to the grocery store, to the book store, or as is the case for me today: to the mall. Yes I should be focused, researching and working. But I need a distraction first and foremost from the stress that is permitting me from focusing in the first place. I need a distraction from myself, from the stress and the 'you should' voices in my head. And if window shopping achieves that, then so be it. Walking through Chapters, by THE BODY SHOP (their Satsuma Body Butter will uplift your spirit no matter what!), sipping tea @ Starbucks (CALM Tazo tea- very appropriate), listening to the music, trying on ridiculously expensive eye creams and taking advantage of great tester face creams; perusing boutiques and wandering around is exactly what my soul needed today.

 A break to unwind. Permission to DO NOTHING, instead of trying to do everything, and yet getting nothing done. Allowing yourself to procrastinate every once in a while is restorative, and will renew your energy and enthusiasm for life- revive your vigor and hopefully renew your spirit. Renew your belief in yourself that YOU CAN DO IT: you can conquer any challenge that comes your way.  That you will deal with it with dignity, integrity, self-respect, and in a manner which serves to strengthen your inner belief... and in the mean time, if you happen to catch a great sale or buy a little treat for dessert... it won't hurt either ;)

Liberte Greek Yogurt, Sweetener and cinnamon added, with a crumbled Chocolite Cookies and Cream Bite and another Yogurt with the To.Die.For Peanut Butter Patty... highly recommend it. I inhaled 1/2 of the tub before I snapped a picture with my phone. If you see Liberte in stores, I highly recommend giving them a try. I am in the midst of doing a product review, (products do differ from Canada to the States), and am thrilled they don't use any hormones, chemicals, growth regulators ( rBGH free ) etc.

If you haven't tried CHOCOLITE Products.... go get some NOW!

How do you cope with stress? What stresses you out the most and what events/circumstances cause the most unease? What are your triggers? Do you have a pattern of things (deadlines, certain events, people, fear of not living up, fear of success/failure) that cause you to feel less than "100%" and fall prey to certain behaviors? How does this affect and effect you?
What has allowed you to "move on" and stop these thoughts/behaviours and turn things around?
What are some of your best "distractions" and ways to get your mind off of things?

I would like to add that if you are really feeling low, and are having a hard time coping PLEASE seek some help and talk to someone.

The Art Of Allowing.

Hello!
I lieu of my food filled posts, I wanted to post this article I read on Oprah.com . It's about the 'Art of Allowing', which I've recently immersed myself in (viaMichael J Losier, Joe Vitale, Debbie  Ford, Katie Byron etc). It's about opening yourself up to receive all the things you want and accept things as they are. This article was written for Oprah.com by Mike Robbins:

THE ART OF ALLOWING IN 3 STEPS

Allowing, however, is an essential aspect of life and growth, as well as of your success and fulfillment. The first aspect of allowing has to do with accepting things as they are. As author and teacher Byron Katie says, "When you argue with reality, you lose—but only 100 percent of the time."



When you're able to allow people, things and situations to be as they are—without judging them, trying to fix them or wanting to change them—you begin to tap into the immense power of allowing. Ironically and somewhat paradoxically, when you truly allow things and people to be exactly as they are, you open up a space for real change and transformation to occur (if that is what you want).


The deeper aspect of allowing has to do with trusting, being patient and having faith that what you want to manifest, create and experience can and will show up in your life as it is meant to. In other words, it's an ability to allow things to happen and materialize, without you having to manipulate, dominate or control other people or situations to make them happen. If you have a tendency to be a control-freak at times, this can be incredibly challenging.


The paradox that exists with allowing runs deep within you. Perhaps you were taught and believe "if it is to be, it's up to me." And while there is truth and wisdom in this philosophy, feeling as though you have to work hard, run fast, keep up and make everything happen in your life is exhausting and insatiable. No matter how hard you work, what you try to fix or all of the changes you intend to make, if you don't learn, practice and ultimately master the art of allowing, true success and fulfillment will always elude you. Action is important, but you also have to learn to balance it out with your ability to allow.
 
Allowing takes faith, patience and trust—three things that are essential for your own peace of mind and well-being, but often are not things we focus on, learn about or are encouraged to practice in our intense, fast-paced, results-oriented culture. Allowing is truly an art and is something that often goes against the grain and runs contrary to societal norms and pressures. It has to do with remembering, as the well-known saying goes, "We're human beings, not human doings."



Here are a few things to think about and practice as you enhance your capacity and ability to allow with more ease in your life.


1. Ask yourself how you relate to the concept of allowing. Take some inventory of your own relationship with this idea. How do you feel about it? How comfortable are you allowing things and people to be as they are, as well as allowing things to manifest with ease in your life? This is something you may understand, but may not practice. Tell yourself the truth about how you relate to allowing, and notice how this impacts your life one way or another.




2. Pay attention to what you focus on in regard to your biggest goals and aspirations. In terms of the biggest goals, dreams and aspirations in your life right now, how much of your attention and energy are focused on doing, and how much are focused on allowing? While both doing and allowing are important, most people put a disproportionate amount of attention on action. Increasing your focus on allowing and ultimately receiving can be a magical, relaxing and incredibly effective way for you to relate to your goals and dreams. This is often one of the big missing pieces in your desire not only for success, but—more important—for fulfillment.


3. Create an allowing practice. This is a simple practice you can do daily (like prayer, meditation, quiet reflection or affirmation) when you put your attention and awareness on allowing: accepting things as they are; trusting things are working out as they are meant to; believing the feelings, experiences, accomplishments and outcomes you desire are on their way; and allowing yourself to receive these gifts and blessings with ease and gratitude. You may need to reach out to others for support, guidance and feedback about creating or deepening an allowing practice that will work for you, but doing this is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself (as well as those around you).


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I found this article timely, as I am really working on 'allowing'- it's been one of my daily affirmational words that I have been using for over a month now. It's funny that an article using that exact word was sent to my email just when I started 'slipping' in my positive thinking/attracting things into my life habit! What do you guys think?
Questions:
What do you want to work on in your life?
What do you want to 'allow' into your life?
How comfortable are you to receiving/allowing things to come into your life?
Do you ever put up resistance to letting 'good stuff in' (self sabotage)?

Here is 1 picture of todays' protein cake (this was times 4 and I ended up going through a whole carton of egg whites, Walden Farms Calorie Free Strawberry Spread, psyllium etc which remained unpictured)

Here is a good link:

http://www.mindbridge-loa.com/art_of_allowing.html