I Like Yes Better than No

Any restriction on food, whether its is my own doing or outward circumstances like camping, makes me want it all the more passionately.  Therefore, simply restricting what I eat can be counter productive, and sometimes makes things worse than before.

Answer?  I have started to think that it is more powerful to spend your time adding the things you should eat rather than trying to eliminate what you shouldn’t.  For instance, rather than trying not to eat refined carbohydrates like chips and bread, I will plan some healthy snacks for myself like cut up red bell peppers or carrot sticks dipped in my favorite dressing or hummus and make sure to have it on hand.  I stop focusing on the “NO”s, like a diet does, and focus instead on the “YES”s. 

With 2 year olds we call it diversion, and with older kids it’s the wisdom that tells us to make mention of the things they are doing right rather than only focusing on what they do wrong.  In both cases you could say there is great power to bring positive change when we focus on the positive rather than the negative. 

It’s a subtle attitude change, but I think a very important one. If weight, or healthy eating, is an issue for you right now, will you try taking one day and refusing to entertain thoughts of restriction and change them all to thoughts of incorporation.  Take the thought, “I shouldn’t have that piece of toast” and morph it into , “what fruit or vegetable do I like that I could eat with my eggs?” So a breakfast which would have been eggs and two pieces of toast becomes eggs, cantaloupe and apple wedges.  This is how we get more fresh fruits and vegetables into our diets.

David Rawls wrote a guest blog on my friend’s site showing a picture of himself at 380 pounds next to one sporting only 240 on his 6’7” frame.

“I was amazed that even after I lost 130 pounds and kept it off, I still consumed a lot of food. But the foods I consumed changed. You can eat a lot of veggies and fruits and still lose weight.” (1)

You too can eat plenty of food and maintain a healthy weight, but your food choice is crucial. Orange Tree Lane is not a diet, but we constantly strive to incorporate more fruits and vegetables in every meal, and I’ll bet you will have a hard time finding a weight loss plan which doesn’t do the same!

And rejoice with small victories. If you make one substitution today from something you know you shouldn’t have to something fresh and healthy, then get excited.  It’s like slowly changing the course of a little stream by piling rocks one by one to divert it rather than thinking that one day a bulldozer will come along and change the landscape in an instant.  Habits, like revolutions, need time and persistence to bring about true change.

When those fireworks are going off, remember that great things come to those who won’t give up.

Molly

PS- Wondering about that picture?  It’s a little, um, piece of a very small plant that actually won first place at the Del Mar Fair.  I thought it was a great example of celebrating small victories. (smile)

(1) http://foodliesandtruth.blogspot.com/2010/11/guest-blogger-david-rawls-dont-ignore.html