Healthy Strategies June 27 edition

Stay thirsty my friend....

And hungry.  
WHAT?   Stay hungry?  Yep... you heard me.

So one of the many hats I wear is that of a Midwife's apprentice.  Being a homebirth helper I do all matter of things.  We act as wiper... scooper... holder... wrapper... hander... pumper... deflater... comforter... cheerleader and rarely but sometimes... catcher.   In this modern age, most mama's first concern when discussing labor is pain control.   Our mamas though... they're doing this au natural.  Pain is part of the game.  When we talk to them about how to handle the pain we tell them to welcome the pain.  Seems insane doesn't it?  I know, I know but hear me out.
In labor... Pain is not dangerous.  Pain is not unexpected.  Pain will not kill you.  Labor pain is the result of your body doing the work that it's supposed to do and every pain brings you that much closer to the end result.  When a contraction comes, your uterus is literally pulling upwards to pull itself over the baby's head. Each time you feel this, imagine your cervix being pulled over the baby's head.   It's a kind of creative visualization that actually works for some moms.
Other moms?  Not so much but hey... we're keeping it real here right?

Hunger is the same way.   Normal hunger is not dangerous.  It is not unexpected.  It will not kill you.  You may kill someone else but that's a personal issue.  ha ha.  So embrace what hungry feels like.  Study it.  Realize that your stomach doesn't have to be full all the time.  Give it time to rest.
We all hear and we've all said "but will it keep me full" when we're talking about meal plans but let me propose that maybe, just maybe.... we're looking at this all wrong.   Was the food I ate an hour ago easily digestible?   Did it nourish me?  Am I hungry because my body is recognizing that I'm more active?   These are all great things!!  So welcome the hunger! Embrace it!  You can also ask yourself "why am I so afraid of being hungry?"  Someone told me once "every negative emotion is based in fear".  Think about it... it's so true.

And while we're at it, here's a little tip that helps me a bunch!  

Keep a stapler in your pantry.  When you open a bag of chips?  Take out what you're gonna eat and staple it closed.  You're gonna think twice before you open it again! 

Small victories.

So today is hub's official birthday and he wanted to go to Cabela's and Firehouse subs. If you don't have a Firehouse Subs in your area and your watching your diet, You.  Are. Lucky. I mean the medium sub there averages more that a full days worth of points alone.  Never mind the chips and drink. I tried to plan accordingly. The site that I checked for nutritional info said I could get away with a veggie sub for about 12 pts.  I got there and it was not on the menu. I had to ask for it.  I got my sub and took a bite.  Delicious!! But... It was so delicious that I KNEW it wasn't 12pts. I did a little more research on my phone and found that indeed... It was NOT 12pts but TWENTY points.  *sigh*

Here's where we find the victory. I only ate half and half my friends.... Is not a lot.  It was also soooooooooo good.  I really wanted the other half. I also was duped into a light cherry lime aide. Au contaire !! 5pts is not "light" to me!! I dumped it. I got the little bag on 40% less fat kettle chips for 4pts and only ate 4. So I came out of there for about 12 pts and didn't feel bitter about it.  In fact I felt pretty pleased and not dying for something else to eat. 

What a huge victory!!

I hung out with my family and did what they did while not making them feel guilty about their lunch and being good to myself. 

Last night was a restaurant victory as well!  We went to a local gastro-pub with friends and I was able to escape with only 12pts of food in my tummy.  I actually had 14pts left over last night!! I planned my day a little TOO well!!

Today I'm feeling it in my clothes and hubs said he's noticing. How could I possibly not keep doing this?

Attitude / mindset is everything.