Posts from — February 2012

Hi everyone!  I’ve been writing this post in my head for a while now.  I was not quite sure about it and had to do some deep soul-searching, but I have reached the point where I know it’s time to say goodbye to the blog.  Although part of me is sad, I know it is the right thing for me at this time.

When I started on this new journey to deal with my emotional eating and redefine my relationship with food, I wasn’t prepared for the changes that would occur for me.  Working with an emotional eating coach opened my eyes to many areas I didn’t know how to deal with.  During those coaching sessions, I was able to work on some of my reasons behind the eating like my fear of hunger  and the meaning of goal weight.  But, there was still a part of the journey I wasn’t willing or ready to truly deal with.  And that was my deep desire for weight loss. 

As time went on and I worked on the other areas, I couldn’t completely let go of the idea of weight loss.  It began clouding my work and created so much noise in my head.  This hit especially hard around January when everyone seemed to be making their New Year’s resolution to lose weight and all the latest and greatest diet plans were in full effect!  I felt conflicted.  Maybe I should be losing weight, too and trying out some of these diets?  There was even a time or two when I would wake up and decide that “today was diet day!”, but by the end of the day, I would have steered off track and given up.  Deep down, I just knew dieting is not for me any longer and I had to stay focused on making a permanent change in my life from within;  not just a quick fix.

Around the same time as I became sure that dieting cannot be a part of my life anymore, I realized that blogging wasn’t quite fitting in either.  All the book reading I’m doing in trying to change my relationship with food points to not obsessing over food and unfortunately, I think that food/weight loss blogs contributed to my obsessing nature.  When I started my work with the emotional eating coach, she warned me that this may be an issue and that I may eventually need to leave my blog behind.  I didn’t want to believe her and thought that I could work the two together, but I’m beginning to see exactly what she meant.  I’ve been so torn on this issue and not sure what to do.  It felt sad to say good-bye, but I had to  figure out why it was sad.  Was it because I’m leaving that obsession behind and moving toward change? Or that I’ll miss it and not have something to replace the hobby?   It was a tough decision, but taking a break from blogging these past few weeks has solidified that it is time to move on.

Since I have committed to this journey, I am so excited about the changes I have made in myself.  Through the Mirror Challenge , I have learned to love my body.  Through the Enjoy Your Food Challenge, I have learned to take the time to treat food and myself with respect while teaching my family good habits also.  By reading many, many books and putting them into practice, I have learned to change my thoughts about food and find other ways to deal with emotions rather than through the comfort and protection of food.

  And I have learned that it IS possible to lose weight without dieting.  Never in  my 44 years would I have believed it!  I really couldn’t even imagine that it would be possible.  However, the scale has become my friend, showing me on a weekly basis, that listening to my inner voice, practicing positive self-talk and respecting the need for self-care, encourages a healthy, lasting weight loss.  It is slow, but steady.  And for the first time in my life, I believe wholeheartedly that I can lose weight, get to my desired goal and keep it off.  For the first time in my life, I have more than hope… I know it can happen!

If I can at all inspire any of you to take this journey, please, please do!!  It is a confusing and scary path to take at first, but it is well worth the effort.  My mind has never been more free and happy!

If any of you are interested, here are just a few of the books that have been helping me continue on this journey…

• The Rules of Normal Eating by Karen R. Koenig
• Life is Hard, Food is Easy by Linda Spangle
• The Diet Survivor’s Handbook by Judith Matz & Ellen Frankel
• AFTER (the before and after) by Karen CL Anderson
• Full-Filled:  The Six Week Weight Loss Plan for Changing Your Relationship With Food and Your Life From The Inside Out by Renee Stephens
• Self-Talk for Weight Loss by Shad Helmstetter & Bob Schwartz
• The Beck Diet Solution by Judith S. Beck

Finally, I just wanted to say thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who have stuck with me over these 3+ years of blogging and supported me through all my trials and tribulations!  I have loved being a part of this community!!!  Please know that even though I won’t be posting, the blog will still be here ( I have hosting until 2013!) if you want to check back for recipes, etc. and I will always be available via email if you have any questions or just want to check in (as many of you have this past few weeks – thank you!).

One more thing…

XOXOXO
~ Marisa

Hey guys!  Long time, no blog!  Aaaah, I know.  There is so much going on in this gray-haired head of mine.  Where to begin???  I don’t want to blog your eyes off, so I’ll just break this up over a few posts.  Alright, let’s start with good stuff…

The Enjoy Your Food Challenge was fun!  This week-long challenge brought great opportunity for me to focus on what I was eating and learn to savor my meals.  I  didn’t realize what a foreign concept this would be to me.  It brought to light how often I eat on “auto-pilot”.  Yeah, like EVERY meal.  Shovel, shovel, shovel…then, it’s gone!  But, setting the timer forced me to pay attention – noticing the colors, smells and feel of food.  It was quite an experience!  I found myself being so much more satisfied at the end of a meal rather than searching for more.  I will admit, toward the end of the week and especially days when I was busy, that 20 minute time frame seemed like an eternity.  There were a few times I caught myself thinking, “Just hurry up and eat this so you can ____(insert some kind of task).”  I just wanted it to be over.  Mindlessness at its finest working there!

Another benefit to the challenge was the ability to connect as a family at dinner time.  Normally, when the husband isn’t traveling for work, we always sit down to dinner as a family.  Everyone rattles off what their day was like as we eat and jokes around.  However, as soon as the plates are clean (usually less than 10 minutes!)… we all jump up and run our different directions! 

With this challenge in play, I would set the timer when all were seated and even if the eating was finished before the 20 minutes, I encouraged everyone to stay and linger at the table until the timer would signal the meal had ended.  There was resistance at first!  But by the end of the week, we realized it was a great way to keep the conversation going.  Sometimes, we even played a “question game” ( i.e. “Do you like your name/ would you change it?”  or “If you could design your room any way you wanted, what would it look like?”) which made for some fun conversation!

All in all, besides the food awareness piece of it, it was a beneficial challenge for the entire family.  Since the challenge ended, I haven’t kept the timer going, but I have tried to stay mindful during my eating. <—- failing miserably.   Consistency, or lack thereof, is becoming the common thread in my life right now.  And there is no other reason than I am my own worst enemy. 

But, TODAY, I have set my intentions for the day, both verbally and written.  Nothing earth shattering or life changing.  Just a couple small, concrete, do-able intentions that I can follow through with and that are good for me.

Yes, TODAY… I will be mindful of me.

Have a great day, everyone!

What will you do today to be mindful?

Hey guys!  I know it’s been a little quiet here.  Life has been busy on the home front and when I have had some downtime, my words just weren’t flowing.  I will be back next week to give you an update on how the Enjoy Your Food Challenge went.  In the meantime, here’s a tasty dip that you may want to make for your Superbowl get-together this weekend…

Black Bean Chili Dip
(adapted from Cabot’s recipe)

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed, drained and partially mashed
1/2 cup drained canned whole kernel corn
1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
3 tbsp. sour cream
1/3 cup salsa
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
5 ounces 50% Reduced Fat Cabot Cheddar Cheese, grated
2 tablespoons drained canned green chilies

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine ingredients and pour into a small casserole dish coated with cooking spray.
3. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and filling is bubbly. Uncover and cook an additional 5 minutes.

Makes about 2 cups.

Since there are veggies in the dip, you can feel good about serving it with lots of chips!

Mmmmmmm….

Enjoy and have a great weekend, everyone!

What is your favorite dip to serve at parties?