Day 19 - And it snows....

Day 19  And it snows......

Seriously, could I have picked a WORSE month to do this challenge?  I'm so depressed by this weather and I can't turn to my usual suspects to get me through.  (Um, that would be wine and chocolate.)

OK, after reading that, I guess this is the BEST month to do this because now I have to find new ways to deal with depressing and stressful situations.  Although I would rather be out running or taking a walk to relieve stress than having to run on the treadmill yet again....but that's another story.

Yesterday I was SOOOOOOO hungry!  All day.  Like, I could have eaten fish and veggies all day type hungry.  It was the real, physical, my stomach is growling and I feel weak hunger.  So what did I do?  I ate!  I ate good food, but I honored that hunger and ate.  I waited it out to see if it was real and hunger and deciding that it was, I ate.

Before this challenge, I would not have eaten.  I would have been cranky and suffered and made myself starve because that is what I have learned.  I also would, at this point, be frantically counting calories and fat grams and weighing myself and obsessing over every morsel I consumed and how much weight I would gain from eating.  That, my friends, is NOT healthy.

The past 19 days I have found myself really listening to my body and trying to learn what true hunger is, what food really tastes like, when I'm feeling a need to rest and take a break from a workout, when I'm just being lazy, when I need sleep, when I need to take a deep breath and relax.

In the busyness of life and the drive to be perfect, I lost my ability to understand what I need and what my body needs.  Slowing down, really enjoying my food, not pushing myself with longer and faster runs, being still in a yoga pose have made me realize how crazy my life has become.  Katie reminded us yesterday that it's OK to say no - no to food, to a favor, to a job, to a new commitment.  I'm beginning to make some changes in my life and it feels really good!!!

So, even though it's April 19 and snowing, I will be ok.  It will stop.  I will see the sun again.